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When SAS Scandinavian Airlines conducted its extensive analysis of prospective new route from Copenhagen to Atlanta, it wasn’t just the promise of passengers that stood out.
The Southeast U.S. is also a key manufacturing node for many of the high-value products and components destined to be transported by air, from pharmaceuticals to auto parts to electronics.
“It’s not the things that you can get in Hobby Lobby that are moved by air,” Paul Kristensen, head of cargo sales for North America, said during an pre-launch event at the Buckhead Club Tuesday.
While air freight makes up almost a quarter of the value of global trade, it only accounts for 1 percent of the tonnage, as ocean vessels carry the bulk of the load.
SAS is a relatively small player, moving cargo only in the bellies of passenger jets destined for the 36 countries it serves, rather than operating full freighters.
Still, cargo plays a key role in making any airline route profitable, and 75-year-old SAS — which first flew to the U.S. in 1946 — offers both one-off shipments and allocations for companies with regular loads. SAS’s route map includes three Scandinavian capitals, many smaller Nordic cities, a healthy number of European hubs and second-tier cities, vacation destinations across Greece and Turkey, and even a couple of Asian megacities like Tokyo and Shanghai.
Atlanta will become the airline’s ninth destination in the U.S. when the nonstop flight begins June 17, said Jasmin Utter, SAS’s general manager for the Americas, who was visiting from the New Jersey headquarters.
“We have more than 100 aircraft and service more than 100 destinations, and have on an average day between 800 and 1,000 departures across the globe,” Ms. Utter said. “We have more than 7 million members of our EuroBonus program, which is our loyalty program, and we fly an awful lot of freight as well.”
Mr. Kristensen described the various cargo tiers and outlined how Scandinavian travelers could secure their dogs and cats for summer visits back home.
Ms. Utter noted that the new flight will depart at 7 p.m. Atlanta time, allowing for a full business day in the city, arriving the next morning in Copenhagen. The return flight takes off at 1 p.m. from the Danish capital.
She showcased SAS’s lie-flat business-class product, its premium SAS Plus cabin (completely separated from coach on long-haul flights) and its food service, akin to “a restaurant in the sky” serving fresh, local fare.
Sprinkled among the guests at the luncheon were many air freight forwarders and cargo carriers. An SAS representative, was posted at each table. That included three professionals dedicated to cargo sales in the U.S. Southeast.
A drawing for a free SAS flight anywhere around the world was held, with Lars Tolstrup, senior business development director from Danish-owned Terma Inc., coming out as the lucky winner. Danish Honorary Consul Christopher Smith took home a SAS model plane as a runner-up.
The event took place weeks after Danish Ambassador Jesper Sorenson visited Atlanta for engagements including the grand opening of water metering company Kamstrup’s new facility in Forsyth County.
SAS is hiring for a Key Account Manager role in Atlanta.
