SAS ending service to Växjö
[2008-05-22 15:51]
Scandinavian Airlines Sweden will stop flying to Växjö in Sweden’s Småland province from Stockholm-Arlanda as from July 12. Its competitor Flysmaland is instead boosting its number of flights between Växjö and Stockholm-Bromma from today’s 46 per week to 70.
SAS is currently flying three departures in each direction every weekday and one on Sundays, using Boeing 737 and MD80 aircraft. SAS previously flew more trips in the considerably smaller Dash 8-Q400, but since that aircraft model was removed from the fleet, larger planes have been used. This has driven up costs and hurt SAS’ profitability.
“In the situation we are in today, we are reviewing and adjusting our flight programme. The current result is that we have decided to stop flying the route to Växjö,” says Susanne Dahlberg, Commercial Director of SAS Sweden.
The upstart on the route, locally owned Flysmaland, will expand its service to Stockholm-Bromma using Saab 340 aircraft. Flysmaland offers up to five departures each way on weekdays and one on Sundays, for a total of 46 flights a week. Now that SAS is withdrawing from Växjö, Flysmaland will boost its service to 70 flights a week.
“More departures in smaller aircraft provide greater freedom to choose travelling when it suits you. It also enables us to fly more profitably than in large planes,” says Henrik Löfberg, head of Flysmaland.
SAS Sweden will continue as earlier to serve nearby cities in south-eastern Sweden: Kalmar and Ronneby. Passengers who have booked tickets on SAS to Växjö after July 12 may instead choose to fly to one of these cities or get their money back.
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