It certainly has been an eventful year for SAS. The Scandinavian carrier mainly hit aviation headlines for its switch from Star Alliance, of which it was a founding member, to move over to SkyTeam. However, among other things the airline also made a strategic u-turn on its flights to China. The airline gave up its services to Shanghai as the load factors worsened and the operational costs increased. What the airline is not doing though is giving up on Asian destinations. The carrier has just announced that in 2025 it will be starting up flights from Copenhagen to Seoul, South Korea.
A First Time in South Korea for SAS Scandinavian Airlines
Just a few short months after SAS closed the last of its routes to China, the airline is already announcing the opening of a new destination in east Asia. Scandinavian Airlines will no longer fly to China but it will be flying to nearby South Korea. A nation which has grown to be very influential financially, culturally and as a tourist destination.
SAS must see greater opportunities in operating flights to Seoul‘s Incheon international airport rather than any other Chinese destination, as it will still have to deal with the closing of Russian airspace.
The first Scandinavian Arlines flight between Copenhagen and Seoul Incheon won’t takeoff until September 12th 2025. Therefore, we’re still quite some time away from the launch date. Nonetheless SAS has already shown its intentions are serious for this route as it will immediately become a year-round scheduled flight. During the winter months four flights per week will be available while in the summer time that number goes down to three.
Interestingly, the exact same aircraft type used for the Copenhagen to Shanghai flights will be operating the service to Seoul on flight number SK987, the Airbus A350-900. This is by far the most modern and long-range capable plane present in the SAS fleet. Its set up to welcome up to:
- 40 Business Class passengers in a 1-2-1 layout
- 32 Premium Economy passengers in a 2-4-2 layout
- 242 Economy Class passengers in a 3-3-3 layout
SK987 Another Strategic SkyTeam Route for Scandinavian
Exactly as was the case with Scandinavian Airlines’ new flight to Atlanta, this flight to Seoul too is a strategic route for the SkyTeam alliance. SAS, the newest SkyTeam member, will be linking its home and base of Copenhagen to Korean Air’s hub in Seoul Incheon. Korean Air is among the largest and airlines in east Asia and in SkyTeam. Therefore, the Scandinavian carrier is just aligning and integrating operations more and more with its new partners.
SK987 Copenhagen to Seoul Incheon flight’s timings will change through the year. During the winter months, when the airline will operate 4 services per week the timings for SK987 will be as follows:
| Flight | From | To | Departs | Arrives | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | SK987 | Copenhagen (CPH) | Seoul Incheon (ICN) | 23:40 | 18:15+1 |
| SK988 | Seoul Incheon (ICN) | Copenhagen (CPH) | 23:45 | 06:05+1 |
While during the summer months they will shift to:
| Flight | From | To | Departs | Arrives | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SK987 | Copenhagen (CPH) | Seoul Incheon (ICN) | 23:10 | 18:45+1 |
| SK988 | Seoul Incheon (ICN) | Copenhagen (CPH) | 23:45 | 05:25+1 |
With SAS now part of the SkyTeam alliance its flights will operate out of Terminal 2 at Seoul Incheon international airport. In my opinion this is the nicest of the two terminals, offering the most modern and pleasant experience. It also is the terminal exclusively dedicated to Korean Air and SkyTeam airline operations.
Aviation News You Want To Know In Your Inbox
Get the most important aviation news in your inbox once a week.
"*" indicates required fields