SAS is making major changes to its premium passenger experience. After announcing that a true business class will return on European flights starting October 1, 2025, the airline has revealed plans to expand lounge access at 35 additional airports across Europe. Taken together, these updates represent a meaningful correction in how SAS serves its premium customers.

SAS Expands Lounge Access To 35 More Airports

Beginning this autumn, SAS passengers traveling on SAS Business or holding EuroBonus Gold or higher status will gain access to contract lounges at the following airports:

• Aalborg (AAL)
• Aberdeen (ABZ)
• Alicante (ALC)
• Barcelona (BCN)
• Bergen (BGO)
• Billund (BLL)
• Bologna (BLQ)
• Edinburgh (EDI)
• Faro (FAO)
• Gran Canaria (LPA)
• Gdansk (GDN)
• Helsinki (HEL)
• Keflavik (KEF)
• Madrid (MAD)
• Malaga (AGP)
• Manchester (MAN)
• Milan Linate (LIN)
• Nice (NCE)
• Palma de Mallorca (PMI)
• Prague (PRG)
• Stavanger (SVG)
• Tallinn (TLL)
• Vilnius (VNO)
• Wroclaw (WRO)

Theres Griger, Head of Onground Product at SAS, explained:

“This is a comprehensive upgrade of our Business Class offer, with lounge access as a key part of the experience. By partnering with established lounge operators, we can quickly give our customers access to a much broader network at important destinations across Europe and Scandinavia. The goal is to offer around 35 additional lounges at year-round destinations, and we already have agreements in place in cities such as Bergen, Helsinki, Billund, Stavanger and Aalborg.”

“Our ambition is to have as much as possible in place by October 1, while recognizing this is a dynamic process where new agreements will be finalized step by step. This means some destinations are already ready, while others will follow throughout the autumn. We will keep customers continuously informed about which lounges are available, ensuring they can plan their journey with ease and receive the experience they expect.”

With this step, SAS will be able to offer a significantly better and more consistent lounge experience to passengers across Europe.

A New Premium Experience At SAS

The timing of this announcement is no accident. As I wrote in April, SAS will reintroduce a proper business class cabin on European flights on October 1, 2025. While this will still be a “Eurobusiness” model used by many European carriers, which offers nothing more than an economy seat with a blocked middle in terms of hard product, the current “SAS Plus” product in the front cabin on these flights does not even offer blocked middle seats or meals served on

Now, with expanded lounge access, SAS is stitching together a much more compelling premium product: business class in the air paired with ground benefits that extend well beyond its hub airports in Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Oslo (and the smattering of partner lounges that still existed). For an airline that continues to integrate itself into the SkyTeam alliance and more closely align itself with Air France-KLM, it’s a meaningful correction after years of offering a subpar short-haul premium experience.

CONCLUSION

SAS is clearly correcting course. Between the return of a true business class in Europe and lounge access at 35 more airports, the airline is signaling that it wants to compete more seriously for high-value travelers. This broader access for business class passengers and EuroBonus elites represents a genuine improvement to the flying experience on SAS.

image: CPH Airport