Airline SAS said on Tuesday it would buy up to 40 widebody aircraft from Europe's Airbus in a more than $10 billion deal, the largest investment in the Scandinavian carrier's history.

The investment comes just two years after the airline, part-owned by Air France-KLM, came out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy following years of financial difficulties and a huge drop in traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The Airbus order represents the highest-value aircraft order ever placed by SAS, with ⁠a total list price of over $10 billion," SAS said in a statement.

The order follows SAS' deal last year for 55 Embraer regional aircraft worth around $4 billion.

"These investments represent the most significant modernization of the SAS fleet in decades, delivering substantial improvements in fuel efficiency, noise performance and customer experience," SAS said.

Large discounts from list prices are a standard practice when airlines place sizeable orders with planemakers.

YEARS OF DIFFICULTIES

SAS, founded in 1946 when the national flag carriers of Denmark, Norway and Sweden joined up, has struggled in recent years to compete with budget airlines.

Several share issues and restructuring plans failed to address underlying problems with high costs and low ⁠demand.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy allowed SAS to restructure debt of more than $2 billion, to adjust its fleet and delist its stock with the new owners taking on a more profitable business.

In 2025, SAS, whose corporate headquarters are in Sweden, booked an operating profit of 3 billion crowns ($308.5 million) on the back of higher passenger numbers and revenue. That compared ⁠to an, operating loss of 2.1 billion in 2024.

INDUSTRY FACES CHALLENGES

Its expansion plans comes as the airline industry faces significant challenges from the conflict in the Middle East, which has driven up jet fuel prices and disrupted key ⁠air corridors.

Earlier this month, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) slashed its forecast for industry profits in 2026 to around $23 billion, well below a previous projection of about $41 billion and the $45 billion achieved in 2025.

SAS' plans include ⁠a significant expansion at Copenhagen Airport, its main airport hub, towards 2030, supporting an additional 25,000 jobs and contributing 25 billion Danish crowns ($3.81 billion) to Denmark's GDP by 2030, the airline said.

Source: Reuters