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Airbus wins $10 billion SAS order for up to 40 widebody jets

SAS says the deal is the biggest investment in the airline’s history

Last updated: June 30, 2026 | 13:40

Nivetha Dayanand, Assistant Business Editor

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Dubai: Airbus has secured an order worth more than $10 billion at list prices from SAS, giving the Scandinavian airline up to 40 widebody aircraft as it expands long-haul flying from Copenhagen.

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SAS said on Tuesday that it had selected the Airbus A330-300 and the longer-range A330-900neo, in what it described as the most significant investment in its history.

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SAS said the aircraft will support the development of its long-haul network and improve links between Scandinavia and key international markets.

“These investments will support the continued development of SAS’ long-haul network, enhancing the airline’s ability to connect Scandinavia with key international markets in the decades ahead,” SAS said in a statement.

The order also deepens SAS’ widebody relationship with Airbus. The airline already operates an all-Airbus long-haul fleet, including A350 aircraft and older A330 jets.

SAS had also been in talks with Boeing for the order, Chief Executive Officer Anko Van Der Werff said earlier this year.

Airbus gains another fleet win

The new order comes as SAS works through a wider fleet renewal programme. The airline has 138 aircraft and flies to more than 130 destinations.

Last year, SAS placed an order with Embraer for up to 55 E195 regional jets, adding to its short-haul and regional network plans.

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SAS has been rejigging its ownership and fleet strategy after a major restructuring.

Air France-KLM announced last year that it would increase its stake in SAS to 60.5%, up from about 20%, by acquiring holdings from Castlelake and Lind Invest.

The Franco-Dutch group first bought into SAS in 2023 after the Scandinavian carrier went through reorganisation and sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

EIB funding backs Airbus growth

The SAS order also comes a day after Airbus signed a first €1 billion loan with the European Investment Bank to support research and development in the European aerospace sector.

The financing is part of a wider €3 billion envelope, the largest corporate loan ever authorised by the EIB.

The funding will support Airbus investments through 2030 in advanced technologies and integrated systems for commercial aviation, security and defence systems. Projects will be located across France, Germany and Spain.

- With inputs from Bloomberg and WAM.

Nivetha DayanandAssistant Business Editor

Nivetha Dayanand is Assistant Business Editor at Gulf News, covering aviation, financial markets and commodities. A business and financial journalist with a strong interest in multimedia storytelling, she regularly takes complex financial and economic subjects beyond the written word, producing explainer videos that make them easier for a wider audience to understand. Nivetha has interviewed senior policymakers, business leaders and global financial figures both on and off camera. Her past guests include UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Khaled bin Alwaleed Al Saud, a member of the House of Saud and the founder and CEO of KBW Ventures, Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund and Indian ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and N. Chandrababu Naidu. She has also hosted and moderated panels, conferences and awards shows, bringing her newsroom experience to live conversations on business, finance and the economy. An Erasmus Mundus journalism alum, Nivetha is drawn to stories that affect people directly and to reporting that gives a platform to voices that might otherwise go unheard. She was among the first journalists to speak to Petrofac employees in the UAE about unpaid salaries, broke the news of the planned demolition of Dubai’s well-known “Toyota Building”, and helped set the record straight on widely circulated claims that a giant replica of the Moon was coming to Dubai. More recently, her exclusive interview with EDGE Group CEO Hamad Al Marar revealed how the UAE-based defence group deployed its systems along the country’s shore border and established a geofence around the UAE within 48 hours of the February 28 escalation. Prior to joining Gulf News, Nivetha worked at ITP Media, where she helped launch Finance Middle East, a new publication covering the region’s financial sector. Her role spanned reporting and editing, video production, interviews and events. Across print, digital, and video, she focuses on finding the people behind business stories and explaining why those stories matter to the audience reading or watching them.