Larger lounges and more long-haul routes - We meet Eivind Roald, Vice President of SAS

Less than a year has passed since we last met Eivind Roald, in Oslo. He had a lot planned and revealed a lot, ranging from news regarding EuroBonus, to plans for a whole new business class. We booked a new meeting to follow up on what has happened, how it happened, and what the plans are going forward. The interview took place, appropriately, on board a Boeing 737 aircraft, that three hours later, would make its premiere flight from Stavanger to Houston, on the new ‘oil route’, which Eivind Roald is a huge influence behind. As a little surprise, colleagues at SAS secretly named the aircraft after the pioneer himself, which was unveiled in the morning, before the inaugural flight. In the true spirit of SAS, the aircraft was named, "Eivind Viking", something he was very amused by.

During the year, the new fast-track channels opened in Stavanger, Bergen and Trondheim, which means that passengers with gold and diamond cards, as well as passengers in SAS Plus, get a quicker passage through the necessary security formalities. In May, the new domestic lounge at Oslo Gardermoen also opened, a long-awaited development for many. Eivind Roald says that they will continue to invest in on-land services, not least in Scandinavia, where there are many who commute. They had to start somewhere, and that place was to be Norway. He goes on to say that they are working on expanding some of the existing lounges to reduce congestion, especially lounges in Stockholm and Oslo. Primarily, it is about expanding the spaces that SAS already has available, and he points out that this does not involve reallocating areas between SAS lounges (for travellers in SAS Plus) and SAS Gold Lounges (for Gold Card travellers), but to find other solutions. - We see that more and more people are choosing to fly with SAS Plus, therefore SAS has to adapt their product to the need, he explains. Moving lounges, however, is not an option at this time. In Oslo, there is no potential for a new lounge until 2017, when the new terminal pier at Gardermoen will be in use, but highly unlikely before then. Eivind Roald is otherwise, both interested and willing to open lounges and fast tracks at more airports. In Norway there is already a good dialogue with Avinor (

), but the problem is the lack of available space at many airports, there is simply no where to build a lounge. Regarding the fast track for domestic passengers at Stockholm Arlanda Airport, terminal 4, this is something he was working on but could not give any significant information about the current situation.

Much has also happened in SAS’s EuroBonus frequent flyer program this spring. For example, the launch of a new Diamond level, and more benefits for silver members. SAS has also set a target of five million members before the end of 2015. Has this so far gone as planned? - I am super happy with the results so far, says Eivind Roald. We are ahead of schedule in everything, from the number of members and points accrued on airfare, to the number of purchases of products from partners. His vision for EuroBonus is to develop what he calls an, "airline membership concept”, where members will feel that they are being taken care of by SAS. He also wants to develop various membership levels and include more products in each level.

We also asked about his vision for the new level, EuroBonus Diamond, and what he wants to do with this. He did not go into much detail, but did say that the entire program is about building up more advantages than they have today, as well as a combination of benefits from SAS as well as their different partners. The number of EuroBonus members has recently passed 3.5 million, and Eivind Roald thinks that reaching 5 million before the end of 2015 is possible. However, it hangs a lot on SAS being in a position to implement some of the strategic deals and collaborations that are underway.

When SAS’s interim report was presented in June, there was an interesting comment at the end of the report by SAS CEO Rickard Gustafson, "We are planning new direct routes from Oslo and Stockholm, to North America and Asia, starting in autumn 2015." We did, of course, take the chance to ask Eivind Roald about these plans. - I can not say anything more about it right now, other than that it is very concrete, a decision will be taken shortly and we hope to be able to tell you about the new destinations in September. He generally sees great potential in the American market, but also notes a rather impressive development in the Norwegian market. Europe in general is a difficult market where there is already overcapacity.  

Work on the SAS’s new business class is going according to plan and the goal is to launch the first flight, with the new seats, in the middle of January 2015. It looks like the premiere aircraft will be an Airbus A340, but SAS are unable to confirm the premier destination at this point in time. Eivind Roald did point out that it is worth waiting for, “It will be a fantastic experience for the customer," as he put it. He wants to create the best business product in Europe possible, including a new seat, new in-flight entertainment, comfort and onboard Internet. We asked if this also means we may see changes in the service concept on board, such as food, drink and service structure. He replied with a strong indication that this may be the case. - We will review our service concept. In September, I will actually get full responsiblilty for our on-board products through a reorganisation that SAS will undertake, I will then begin working on this this, he says.

New business class with bedding from Hästens It is not just the interior that will be replaced, SAS has an outstanding order for a new Airbus A350 aircraft, which is scheduled to be delivered from Airbus in 2018. In June, however, it became official that Emirates had decided to cancel an order of 70 aircraft of the same type, which could possible mean earlier delivery for SAS? - We have a good dialogue with Airbus regarding deliveries and time will tell what happens, he says. However, we have expressed a desire for an early delivery if possible, as there is no intrinsic value for SAS to wait until 2018.

Today was also the launch of the new route between Stavanger and Houston, a route created primarily for the energy and oil industries, with only business class on board. Extensive market research was presented at the press conference, in Stavanger, last spring. Was it as expected? - The booking statistics are entirely as expected and we are on plan with regards to load factor. We had no expectation of flying with a full aircraft from the beginning, he says. It is a very special route and we must keep this in mind. The agreement with PrivatAir is for three years. In a few days, there will be an oil exhibition in Stavanger, and we will actually have several full flights departing, which is promising. Eivind Roald also says that Widerøe (

October 26th, adjust its schedule on the route between Stavanger and Aberdeen, which will create an almost perfect connection between Aberdeen and Houston. The aircraft park next to each other in Stavanger, where there is a lounge to wait in. Scotland has a significant oil industry itself, that SAS are keen to attract with their new route.

Just over a year ago, SAS scrapped business class within Europe and instead replaced this (and the previous ‘Flex-class’) with a brand new concept - SAS Plus. Has it gone as they thought it would, and how has the response been from the customers? - We are very satisfied with the development in terms of number of passengers, says Eivind Roald. It has been very good and I think it turned out well because we have built so much into the product. What we now need to take a look at is the food concept, review it again and see if we should adjust anything more. He points out, however, that this does not necessarily mean an altered or greater range on the on-board food cart, only a review of the current set-up is planned. SAS takes regular feedback from customers, and revising the concept is a continuous process.

The new evening meal in SAS Plus Introducing a seat block, for the middle seat, is not an issue in SAS Plus, at least not in Scandinavia. Possibly, it might be more relevant in the traditional business routes, such as London and Frankfurt, but no decision was taken on the issue. The reintroduction of business class in Europe is not even something to be considered. - The economy in Scandinavia has made ​​it clear that they do not see value in business class on short flights. No one is willing to pay for it. There really is no market for business class in the Nordic region, says Eivind Roald.

Competition in the airline industry is tougher than ever, we asked Eivind Roald how he sees the tough situation and SAS’s ability to remain competitive. - SAS is definitely a company to be reckoned with, not least because we have a differentiated product that customers are willing to pay for. We are also part of one of the major alliances, which is important to customers, especially on long trips. He sees competition from both from low-cost airlines and traditional network carriers, but it is not something he thinks about every day, "We are living well with it," as he puts it. He believes that many people choose the product based on experience, and that many frequent travellers choose SAS as they feel they are getting a service which one can put a price on, something you might not feel the same about with other airlines. This is also SAS's own goal. - If you travel a lot, you will feel that this is only applicable to SAS, he concludes.

Eivind Roald in SAS’s new aircraft used between Stavanger and Houston