SAS Link (SVS, Copenhagen Kastrup) has announced it will open a new base at Bergen airport, in western Norway, during summer 2022.
The newly established but still uncertified regional SAS Scandinavian Airlines subsidiary will base its E195s out of Norway's second-largest city. However, it did not provide any further details concerning launch dates or new routes. The number of based Embraer regional jets will, however, depend on demand, it said.
SAS, which estimates it will hire around 100 staff in Bergen, said the Bergen base is in line with its post-pandemic strategy that envisages a greater presence in smaller Scandinavian cities. At the same time, SAS has recognised that demand is now different, with fewer high-yield business passengers thus requiring smaller aircraft.
SAS said it would evaluate the possibility of establishing other regional bases in Norway. Bergen will become SAS's second non-capital city base, after Aarhus in Denmark. Its main bases are at Copenhagen Kastrup, Stockholm Arlanda, and Oslo Gardermoen airports.
The ch-aviation capacities module shows that even without a base at Bergen airport, SAS connects the city not only with Oslo and Copenhagen but also other regional Norwegian airports namely: Trondheim, Stavanger, and Alesund. With 14,434 weekly scheduled departure seats and a 23.6% market share, it is the second-largest operator at the airport after Widerøe (WF, Bodø).
