The CEOs of Scandinavian Airlines and Singapore Airlines, Rickard Gustafson and Goh Choon Phong, today signed a joint venture agreement in Singapore. This follows the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed in January and covers routes between Scandinavia and Singapore.

With a signed joint venture agreement, the Star Alliance carriers can now move forward to plan further business opportunities within the partnership, such as the co-ordination of flight schedules and joint sales activities, all of which is subject to regulatory approval. Regulatory approval will now be sought from authorities in Singapore and Europe.

The partnership is expected to lead to growth in existing air services between Singapore and Scandinavia, and, subject to market conditions at the appropriate time, pave the way for a new route between Singapore and Stockholm. Singapore Airlines currently operates three weekly flights between Copenhagen and Singapore in a code-share partnership with SAS.

“We are pleased that the joint venture agreement is now signed and we can proceed with expanding our partnership and thereby also improve the service and benefits for Scandinavian travelers. Singapore Airlines will be a vital part of our Asian strategy and we look forward to jointly explore further growth opportunities in this exciting and important market,” said Rickard Gustafson, President and CEO, SAS.

“This agreement is a win-win for SIA and SAS, and benefits our customers by making air travel more convenient between Asia and Scandinavia. We look forward to co-ordinating schedules to enable more seamless connections to points in Northern Europe, as well as Asia and Southwest Pacific, through our respective hubs. When market conditions allow for it we also look forward to expanding frequency between Singapore and Copenhagen, and adding new destinations in Scandinavia,” said Goh Choon Phong, CEO, Singapore Airlines.