Copenhagen route to launch

Struggling Scandinavian airline SAS is to re-link Newcastle to the Danish capital with a new daily route from next year.

Loss-making Scandinavian airline SAS yesterday announced plans to launch a direct Newcastle to Copenhagen route, despite being in the throes of a major cost-cutting exercise.

The airline will offering a daily flight to Copenhagen from Newcastle, from Monday to Friday using a 50 seater Cimber Sterling aircraft from February 2013.

“With 1.65 million people living within reach of the airport, Newcastle is an important northern hub and an area of development for SAS which already serves Copenhagen directly from London Heathrow, Birmingham, Manchester, Aberdeen and now Newcastle,” the company said in a statement.

Connections are available at Copenhagen to a number of onward points across Scandinavia as well as Eastern Europe and Russia.

Earlier this week it was reported that SAS, which made a 1.6 billion crown pretax loss in 2011, was planning a major cutback on costs and an assets sale to secure its future amid speculation that  it was in financial difficulties.

SAS, part-owned by Norway, Sweden and Denmark, reportedly said it was working on a plan that would cut costs, reduce complexity and ease the effect of a possible equity writedown due to pension accounting changes.