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.

In August 2024, SAS exited chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S. as part of a company restructuring. This included restructuring more than $2 billion in debt and saw Air France-KLM, Castlelake, Lind Invest, and the Danish State invest to become the principal owners.