KLM plans to lift its stake in Scandinavian airline SAS AB to a controlling holding, as it looks to extend consolidation in European aviation and better compete with rivals Deutsche Lufthansa AG and IAG SA.

Air France-KLM plans to increase its stake in Scandinavian airline SAS to 60.5%, the latest step towards consolidating Europe's fragmented airline sector as carriers seek to strengthen their position against rivals.

The Air France-KLM group on Friday said that it would initiate proceedings to buy a majority stake in Stockholm-based SAS. "Following their successful restructuring, SAS has delivered impressive performance,