In the congested European market place it’s more important than ever for airlines to differentiate themselves from the competition. SAS’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Eivind Roald, tells Airliner World’s James Ronayne about the carrier’s ambitious plans to reinvent itself as a lifestyle brand.
In November 2012, SAS (IATA: SK) found itself in a perilous position. It had all the costs and inefficiencies associated with a 70-year-old legacy carrier and faced fierce competition at home and abroad from the likes of Norwegian, Ryanair and easyJet. “We were only two hours away from putting it in bankruptcy,” admitted SAS CCO Eivind Roald.