OAG Travel News

by Laura Jackson

Last week I traveled to Europe.  It was a whirlwind trip – three cities in three days – and I barely had time to get adjusted to the time zone before returning back home.  The air service of two of the airports I visited – London/Heathrow and Frankfurt – were reviewed in comparison with their peers in my column last week.  This week I thought I would look at the air service offered by the third city I visited – Stockholm – and provide a comparison to its Nordic peers.

Copenhagen, Denmark (CPH)
Copenhagen ranks first in many of the air service categories when compared to the other four Nordic capitals.  Not only does Copenhagen have more air service in terms of both flights and capacity (as measured by seat departures), but in total, Copenhagen accounts for nearly 30 percent of both flights and capacity from the Nordic capitals.  More nonstop destinations are served nonstop from Copenhagen than any other Nordic capital – 90 in total – and Copenhagen also serves the most unique destinations – 22 in total.  In addition to numerous cities in Europe, these unique destinations include Damascus, Lahore, Singapore and Washington, DC.  Finally, Copenhagen has more airlines – 50 –  than any of the other four capitals.

Scandinavian Airlines System – also known as SAS – is the mutli-national airline for Denmark, Sweden and Norway.  Copenhagen is the largest SAS airport in terms of flight operations, but Stockholm claims the distinction of serving as the company’s headquarters.  

Helsinki, Finland (HEL)
Of the Nordic capitals, Helsinki ranks second to Copenhagen in terms of total nonstop destinations served.  In examining these destinations in detail, it becomes clear that Helsinki is unique among the Nordic capitals for its extensive long-haul service into India and Asia.  Destinations including Bombay, Delhi, Phuket, Seoul, Hong Kong, Nagoya, Osaka and Shanghai are served nonstop from Helsinki but not from any of the other Nordic capitals.  This is primarily a result of the strategy of Finnish-flag carrier, Finnair, to serve as a connect point between Europe and Asia.  Helsinki serves as the primary hub airport for Finnair.

In terms of capital-to-capital service, the only nonstop service by SAS in Helsinki is to Copenhagen and Stockholm; to get to Oslo passenger must take Finnair, and those traveling to Reykjavik nonstop must fly on Icelandiar.

Oslo, Norway (OSL)
Oslo ranks second among the Nordic capitals in terms of both total flights (24 percent) and capacity (26 percent).  Oslo also ranks second to Copenhagen in the SAS system in terms of flight activity.  There are several unique destinations served from Oslo not served from the other four Nordic capitals, including Islamabad, Bilbao and Palermo.  Oslo’s unique airlines include Air Norway and Danish Air Transport.

Reykjavik, Iceland (KEF)
Reykjavik is served by the airport in nearby Keflavik, the home of Icelandair.  Icelandair has built its service in Keflavik over time as a convenient connect point for transit between northern North America and Europe.  And this strategy pays off in the fact that Reykjavik ranks first among the Nordic capitals in one important category – destinations served in North America.  Travelers can reach the following seven destinations nonstop in North America from Reykjavik: Boston, Minneapolis, New York, Orlando and Seattle in the U.S., and Halifax and Toronto in Canada.

Icelandair is the only carrier to provide nonstop service from its capital to all of the other Nordic capitals.

Stockholm, Sweden (ARN)
Of all the Nordic capitals, Stockholm serves the most destinations in the five Nordic countries – 42.  This is not surprising given Stockholm’s location as the most centrally located Nordic capital.  Unique non-Nordic destinations served from Stockholm include Doha, Kuala Lumpur, Beirut and Aleppo.

Despite serving as the headquarters for SAS, Stockholm ranks behind both Copenhagen and Oslo in terms of total service from Nordic capitals, accounting for 23 percent of both total flights and capacity.  But Stockholm ties Copenhagen for the number of unique airlines with 11.  Stockholm’s unique airlines – those that do not service any of the other Nordic capitals – include Air China, Ethiopian Airlines and my favorite – Viking Airlines.

Final Thoughts
Five countries.  Three hub airlines.  Over 100 nonstop destinations.  The Nordic countries are linked by geography and culture, but as this profile shows, their air service profiles are all unique.  

Source: Official Airline Guide (OAG) Schedule Tapes for April 2009 only, unless otherwise noted; North American destinations mentioned have service seasonally and the time period between April and September 2009 was analyzed; destinations included are nonstop only.

Note: The Faroe Islands are under the control of Denmark and has Copenhagen as its capital; Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark but has home rule. 

Original article by Laura Jackson