SAS Joins SkyTeam: New Flying Blue Award Flight Sweetspots available

You’ve probably heard the major news: Following its acquisition by Air France & KLM, SAS Scandinavian Airlines officially switched from Star Alliance to SkyTeam on September 1. Recent developments have brought exciting updates, including how many Flying Blue miles can be earned for SAS flights. Additionally, SkyTeam flights are now available to book using SAS miles.

SAS A330-300 (Source: SAS)

We've found that Flying Blue offers incredibly attractive award flights with SAS, and upon closer inspection, the deals are even better than expected. The lowest-priced award flight starts at just 1,500 miles plus $19 in taxes.

Note: The KLM / Air France website is currently experiencing some issues. For many routes, especially to/from Stockholm, search results either don’t show up or only display Air France / KLM flights with a layover. Booking through the KLM or Air France app appears to work more smoothly.

Be aware that canceling or rebooking tickets is generally not feasible, as a cancellation fee of $75 applies.

If you need to refill your Flying Blue miles balance, click the button below (affiliate link):

Short-Haul Economy Class Flights

The standout deal here is for short SAS Go flights. The miles price seems to be roughly calculated as kilometers × 10 = award price in miles. For example, a short hop from Aarhus to Copenhagen costs just 1,500 miles plus taxes. The Hamburg to Copenhagen route is also quite appealing at 2,900 miles. These prices include 50 pounds of checked luggage. Some examples include:

• Aarhus, DK → Copenhagen, DK for 1,500 miles + $19

• Bergen, NO → Stavanger, NO for 1,700 miles + $19

• Tromsø, NO → Alfa, NO for 1,800 miles + $22

• Visby, SE → Stockholm, SE for 2,300 miles + $20

• Turku, FI → Stockholm, SE for 2,700 miles + $19

• Copenhagen, DK → Hamburg, DE for 2,900 miles + $32

• Hamburg, DE → Copenhagen, DK for 2,900 miles + $38

• Tromsø, NO → Bodø, NO for 3,400 miles + $23

• Oslo, NO → Stockholm, SE for 4,100 miles + $19

• Copenhagen, DK → Stuttgart, DE for 4,100 miles + $32

• Zurich, CH → Copenhagen, DK for 4,800 miles + $40

• Tromsø, NO → Svalbard, NO for 4,900 miles + $19

• Umea, SE → Stockholm, SE for 5,000 miles + $23

• Copenhagen, DK → London, GB for 5,000 miles + $32

• Oslo, NO → Copenhagen, DK for 5,500 miles + $19

• Oslo, NO → London, GB for 6,100 miles + $19

• Copenhagen, DK → Düsseldorf, DE for 6,500 miles + $32

• Kirkenes, NO → Oslo, NO for 7,000 miles + $29

For comparison, SAS EuroBonus charges 5,000 points for domestic flights and at least 10,000 points for international flights (plus taxes).

Short-Haul SAS Plus Flights

SAS Plus is the premium economy class for European flights (marketed as business class by Flying Blue). It offers perks like lounge access (where available), and Flying Blue lists the baggage allowance as 2 × 70 pounds, though this might be an error. Note that there is no guaranteed free middle seat. Here are some example prices for one-way tickets:

• Aarhus, DK → Copenhagen, DK for 3,300 miles + $19

• Bergen, NO → Stavanger, NO for 3,500 miles + $19

• Tromsø, NO → Alfa, NO for 3,900 miles + $22

• Visby, SE → Stockholm, SE for 5,000 miles + $21

• Turku, FI → Stockholm, SE for 5,800 miles + $19

• Copenhagen, DK → Hamburg, DE for 6,200 miles + $32

• Hamburg, DE → Copenhagen, DK for 6,200 miles + $38

• Tromsø, NO → Bodø, NO for 7,300 miles + $23

• Oslo, NO → Stockholm, SE for 8,600 miles + $19

• Copenhagen, DK → Stuttgart, DE for 10,000 miles + $32

• Umea, SE → Stockholm, SE for 10,600 miles + $23

• Tromsø, NO → Svalbard, NO for 11,800 miles + $19

• Zurich, CH → Copenhagen, DK for 11,800 miles + $40

• Copenhagen, DK → London, GB for 12,100 miles + $32

• Oslo, NO → London, GB for 15,000 miles + $19

• Kirkenes, NO → Oslo, NO for 17,000 miles + $29

For comparison, SAS EuroBonus charges 10,000 points for one-way domestic flights in SAS Plus and at least 15,000 points for international flights (plus taxes).

SAS Plus class (Source: SAS)

Long-Haul Economy Class Flights

So far, no long-haul flights in premium economy or business class have been found. However, there are some economy-class award flights available with SAS through Flying Blue, such as:

• Boston, US → Copenhagen, DK for 18,300 miles + $32

• Copenhagen, DK → Toronto, CA for 19,500 miles + $32

• Toronto, CA → Copenhagen, DK for 19,500 miles + $54

• Chicago, US → Copenhagen, DK for 21,300 miles + $32

For comparison, SAS EuroBonus charges 30,000 points for an economy-class ticket. However, EuroBonus offers premium economy for 40,000 points and business class for 50,000 points, which may be a more attractive option.