Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
New SAS route: Miami-Stockholm
Encouraged by consumer demand for its nonstop routes between Miami International Airport and Oslo and Copenhagen, which launched last year, Scandinavian Airlines on Tuesday announced plans to add service from Stockholm to Miami starting Oct. 29.
The new nonstop route will operate once a week on Sundays with a 266-seat Airbus 330 aircraft, the Scandinavian carrier said.
“We have been looking forward to opening another direct route to the USA, this time between Stockholm and the popular destination of Miami,” said Annelie Nässén, SAS, vice president of global sales in a press release. “We always try to offer our customers a unique and special travel experience with SAS and we now fly direct from Scandinavia to seven destinations in the USA.”
SAS said it’s adding the Miami-to-Stockholm route “in response to demand” from its customers and because its Oslo and Copenhagen flights are “proving very popular.”
Its new Stockholm flight will depart Miami at 4:05 p.m. for arrival in Sweden at 7:35 a.m. local time, the carrier said. Returning it will depart Stockholm at 9:25 a.m. for arrival in Miami at 2:15 p.m.
“We are thrilled that SAS has chosen to expand its presence at Miami International Airport and launch first-ever non-stop service between Stockholm and Miami,” said Miami-Dade Aviation Director Emilio T. González, in a statement.
With SAS’s new Stockholm route and other airlines’ recent launches of nonstop service to Helsinki and Reykjavík, MIA will soon serve the five major Scandinavian countries and 25 European destinations overall, “the most ever in our airport’s history,” Gonzalez said.
The Scandinavian carrier carries more than 29 million passengers annually and operates nearly 800 daily flights to 117 destinations in 36 countries in Scandinavia, Europe, the U.S. and Asia.
With its Stockholm route, SAS’ offerings from Miami will mirror similar service by low-cost rival Norwegian Air Shuttle from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Norwegian currently flies from Fort Lauderdale to Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm. Additionally it also operates from Fort Lauderdale to London’s Gatwick Airport, Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and Guadeloupe in the French Caribbean.