Scandinavian Airlines expands at Stockholm Arlanda and strengthens connectivity to North America
With new non-stop service to Toronto. Scandinavian Airlines is expanding its route network in North America and will start a new direct route to Toronto from Stockholm in June 2022. The route will be served four times weekly from Stockholm with a brand-new Airbus 321LR aircraft.
This summer, it will for the first time be possible to fly non-stop between Sweden and Canada. Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is expanding at Stockholm Arlanda Airport and strengthening accessibility to North America with a route to Canada’s largest city, Toronto. The new service will operate four weekly departures and complements Arlanda’s existing range of destinations.
– Scandinavian Airlines new service to Toronto is long awaited. It improves connectivity to North America and is an important addition to Arlanda’s route offering – and further proof of Stockholm’s strong position. North America is one of Sweden’s largest trading partners and there’s a large exchange with Canada. This connection is good news for both business and the hospitality industry throughout Sweden, says Elizabeth Axtelius, Director Aviation Business at Swedavia.
There are strong connections between Sweden and Canada. More than 200 Swedish companies have offices in Canada, where the majority are in Toronto. Swedes and Canadians also share a common interest in hockey and several Swedish stars have played, and play, in Canadian teams.
The majority of the passengers between Stockholm and Toronto travel for leisure purposes, of which half visit relatives and friends, while the rest travel for business purposes. Nearly half of the travellers are Swedes and the others primarily Canadians.
Starting in June, Scandinavian Airlines service Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN) – Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) four times weekly with the brand-new Airbus 321LR aircraft. The Stockholm-Toronto route will be operated on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays and Toronto-Stockholm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
The A321LR is part of SAS’s ongoing renewal of the aircraft fleet and will reduce climate-impacting emissions compared to previous generations of similar aircraft.
SAS is part of Star Alliance. Through connecting flights within the alliance, Swedish passengers will have access from Air Canada’s hub on Toronto Pearson to the carrier’s other range of destinations and easily reach further out into other parts of North America.
Toronto will be the fifth destination in North America with non-stop service from Stockhom Arlanda. SAS already flies to Miami (MIA), New York (EWR) and Chicago (ORD). Finnair flies directly to Miami (MIA), New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX). Ahead of the summer season, Delta Airlines will resume its route to New York (JFK) and United Airlines to New York (EWR).
Swedavia has carried out ambitious sustainability work for many years. All ten of its airports achieved the goal of zero fossil carbon dioxide emissions from their own operations by year-end 2020. Swedavia also works actively to promote the switch to biofuel and has the goal that five per cent of all fuel used for refuelling at Swedish airports shall be fossil-free by 2025. Swedavia’s climate transition work and pioneering work to operate climate-smart airports have won international awards, and in 2021 the trade organisation Airports Council International (ACI) named Stockholm Arlanda Airport “Eco-Innovation Airport of the Year”.