The chief executive of SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK, Copenhagen Kastrup), Anko van der Werff, believes that the airline should be owned by only two parties instead of the current four.
Air France-KLM and the Danish state are the most logical pairing of owners, he told the Danish newspaper Finans in an interview on April 11, while the two other shareholders could sell their stakes in the airline at some point in the future.
"I have to be very careful here because it is not up to me to decide. It is up to the current owners, not the management, who will run SAS," van der Werff told the newspaper. "But a logical and rational path would be for Air France-KLM to acquire a controlling stake in SAS." He added: "I think it is the logical path for Air France-KLM and the Danish state to own SAS in the long term."
The Franco-Dutch group currently holds a 19.9% stake in SAS, US-based lessor Castlelake holds 32%, Denmark's Ministry of Finance has 25.8%, while 8.6% belongs to Denmark's Lind Invest.
Speaking at the Åre Business Forum in Sweden earlier this month, van der Werff emphasised the need for further consolidation in the airline industry in Europe. He noted that the carrier was looking how to position itself to be a part of this process and team up with one of the bigger airline groups on the continent.
"I hope that is the decision that Air France-KLM has to make, that [consolidation] continues and that we, in the near foreseeable future, will really be part of Air France-KLM Group and of a consolidated Europe."
His views align with recent comments made by Ben Smith, CEO of Air France-KLM, who said the group was seeking to raise its existing holding in SAS as the carrier continues to meet certain benchmarks such as integration into the Skyteam alliance, of which Air France-KLM is also a member. However, van der Werff did not rule out the possibility of launching an IPO to fund its further growth.
