MORE Scandinavians than ever are flying to Hong Kong, and much of the increase is attributable to the introduction of non-stop flights by Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) two years ago. ''We began our non-stop flights to Copenhagen in Denmark in June 1992 with two flights a week,'' said Soren Jespersen, SAS general manager for Hong Kong.
''A third was added in September that year, and a fourth weekly frequency was introduced in November last year. Yet we believe there is still room for more.'' According to Hong Kong Tourist Association figures, more than 45,500 Scandinavians flew into the territory last year, a 13 per cent rise over 1992. Almost half of them were Swedes. ''We have excellent connections from all over our extensive European network to our main hub at Copenhagen Airport,'' said Mr Jespersen, ''and especially from places in our three home countries - Denmark, Norway and Sweden.'' The same is true in the other direction, with SAS having the fastest flying time to a number of major destinations, including Brussels, Hamburg and Munich. The fast times are achieved by flying a more direct route to Europe than other airlines, over China and Russia. SAS was the first - and remains the only - airline to fly scheduled flights on this route to western Europe. Another advantage of flying with SAS is that all flights from Hong Kong depart in the morning and arrive in Europe in the early evening the same day.
Said Mr Jespersen: ''This means our passengers can have breakfast in Hong Kong and enjoy dinner with friends or family in Scandinavia. ''Our passenger mix from Hong Kong is split equally between Chinese and European passengers and includes businessmen and travellers from China, Taiwan and the Philippines.'' With the take-off in the business and holiday market to Scandinavia, SAS is itself taking off, moving to a larger office in Wan Chai. ''The hotel arm of the SAS Group, SAS International Hotels, has had an office in Hong Kong for some years and we've decided that it is time to share the same premises.
''It is a rationalisation move that makes economic sense and serves to demonstrate the wide variety of travel services we have to offer,'' said Mr Jespersen. These services are, indeed, extensive with SAS International Hotels owning more than 30 hotels worldwide. In addition, SAS has specially selected top-class business hotels at major destinations around the globe and all offer at least 10 per cent off the normal rate when booked through the SAS reservations system. Most provide a full range of business centre facilities. ''The integration of these services is part of our efforts to maintain our position as 'The Businessman's Airline','' said Mr Jespersen.
The concept began in the 1980s with the bold step of phasing out first class. ''SAS recognised that as most business travellers were barred from flying first class by their companies, it made sense to phase out a separate first class cabin,'' said Mr Jespersen, who added that many other airlines had since followed SAS's lead. He said the airline would continue to introduce other new services in the future to maintain its position as a leader in business class innovation. Naturally, the needs of tourist class passengers are not ignored. Unlike some frequent-flyer programmes, for instance, SAS's EuroBonus allows passengers to earn points no matter what class they travel in.
Since being introduced to Asia at the beginning of last year, EuroBonus had taken off in the region in a big way, said Mr Jespersen. ''New members in Hong Kong, Taipei and Manila have swollen the ranks of EuroBonus members worldwide to 350,000 and the figure continues to rise,'' he said.
