Atlanta renewed an old international connection late Monday afternoon with the inaugural Scandinavian Airlines flight between the world’s busiest airport and the capital of Denmark.
The jet, an Airbus A330-300, was greeted with a water cannon bath upon arrival at Hartsfield-Jackson International and officials hailed the flight between Atlanta and Copenhagen as a boost for trade and tourism.
But for Tanja Hansen of Augusta, who was born and raised in Copenhagen and moved to the United States about eight years ago, the flight was even more special.
“I think it’s gonna be life-changing, honestly,” she said. “For my family, it’s going to be really good. I think I’m gonna see them a lot more, for sure.”
Up until now, to get home to Denmark, Hansen has flown Delta Air Lines and KLM from Augusta to Atlanta, then Atlanta to Amsterdam, then Amsterdam to Copenhagen.
“So that was like a good 18, 20 hours,” Hansen said. “My mom is not very good at flying,” and doesn’t like making long international trips with connections.
But a nonstop flight in about half that time? That makes it much more likely her mother will make the trans-Atlantic trip to visit.
There haven’t been nonstop Atlanta-Copenhagen flights since Delta last flew summer service on the route in August 2011.
Hansen bought a ticket for what turned out to be the first Scandinavian Airlines flight from Atlanta to Copenhagen. She drove from Augusta to Hartsfield-Jackson looking forward to her Monday flight scheduled to last just about nine hours. Hansen turns 29 on Thursday, and will celebrate her birthday back in Denmark for the first time in years.
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Scandinavian Airlines, also known as SAS, is now flying the Atlanta-Copenhagen route daily for the summer, with plans to operate five flights a week during the winter. The route launch on an Airbus A330-300 jet with 262 seats makes Atlanta the ninth destination in North America for SAS, which has hubs in Copenhagen; Oslo, Norway; and Stockholm, Sweden.
Jesper Møller Sørensen, ambassador of Denmark to the United States, said the new nonstop service will boost tourism and “make business collaboration even smoother.”
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Among the Danish companies with a major presence in Georgia are logistics firm DSV, radar systems company Terma, exhaust and emissions systems company Dinex, dump truck manufacturer Hydrema, water meter maker Kamstrup, along with software companies and other logistics firms, according to Christopher Smith, a Macon attorney and honorary consul of Denmark.
“It’s a big asset to have a direct flight,” said Smith. “When you have a direct flight, you become a neighbor.”
Scandinavian Airlines is launching its first flights to Atlanta as it prepares to join Delta’s SkyTeam global airline alliance effective Sept. 1. The alliance allows airlines to offer their frequent fliers more benefits when they are flying on other carriers in the group.
“We’re very happy to be tapping into our newfound partnership with Delta Air Lines,” said SAS CEO Anko van der Werff. Landing at Hartsfield-Jackson, he said, “you can see the power of Delta,” he said.
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SAS has gone through bankruptcy restructuring. As part of that reorganization, Delta joint venture partners Air France-KLM last fall announced plans to invest in the airline with a stake up to 19.9%. As part of this change, SAS is leaving the United Airlines-anchored Star Alliance network.
Van der Werff said even before joining SkyTeam, sales have been strong, with the initial flight 88% full from Copenhagen to Atlanta, and 91% full on the way back. SAS has an interline agreement with Delta, allowing SAS customers to connect to Delta flights in Atlanta.
And across the pond, “It’s not just about Copenhagen. It’s not just about Denmark,” Van der Werff said, emphasizing the connections passengers can make at Copenhagen’s Kastrup airport. “You should come and visit the fjords in Norway, the beauty of the capital of Stockholm in Sweden, the countryside in all three countries,” he said.
Van der Werff told the gathering in Atlanta that Scandinavia has something they do not. “We actually have a real nice climate in the summer season,” he said.
