Athens Shines as the ‘Unknown Destination’ of SAS Campaign

Scandinavian passengers at the welcome event at AIA. Photo © Greek Travel Pages

Scandinavian travelers recently explored the concept of flying to an unknown destination and joined a unique adventure curated by SAS-Scandinavian Airlines.

The airline is February invited its EuroBonus members to sign up for its “Destination Unknown” flight experience, which would see them sign up to travel to a city kept secret until the time of arrival.

Touching down at an airport runway on April 5, SAS passengers were informed that the Greek city of Athens was in fact the secret destination they traveled to.

“What better destination than Athens, Greece?” said Paul Verhagen, EVP and Chief Commercial Officer at SAS, speaking at a welcome event at the Athens International Airport on the day of arrival.

Verhagen also highlighted that when it was revealed that the destination was Athens, the biggest upload and cheering were heard over the aircraft.

Dimitris Fragakis, secretary general of the GNTO, Paul Verhagen, chief commercial officer of SAS, Ioanna Papadopoulou, director of communication & marketing of AIA, and Alexandros Averkiadis, commercial representative of SAS in Greece. Photo source: AIA

According to the airline’s announcement, the concept generated massive interest, and more than 1000 EuroBonus members joined within minutes of hearing about it. In the end, 6,070 members signed up before it closed.

Seats on this unique flight, which departed on April 5 at 09.25 a.m. from Copenhagen and returned on April 8, were sold exclusively to EuroBonus members, with bookings made using points only. Additionally, SAS reserved six seats for a competition, attracting over 20,000 entries.

SAS shakes up travel by exploring the unknown

Photo source: AIA

With this initiative, the Scandinavian carrier aimed to shake up travel by exploring the unknown, appealing to the adventurous spirit of modern travelers, while presenting its loyal members with innovative avenues for embarking on memorable journeys.

On his part, Verhagen stressed that the campaign underscores SAS’ commitment to innovation and customer-centric offerings in the post-pandemic era.

“With ‘Destination Unknown’ we’re offering our members an opportunity to embark on a journey of discovery, forging new trends, and setting a new travel standard,” he added.

Scandinavian passengers at the welcome event at AIA. Photo © Greek Travel Pages

As the flight progressed towards its mystery destination, SAS invited travelers to join the conversation and follow the journey on social media using the hashtag #flysas.

The “Destination Unknown” tickets were all biofuel tickets, called Go Smart Bio and Plus Pro Bio, where the cost of approximately 50 percent biofuel is included in the ticket price.

“The big interest in this concept has inspired us to consider integrating it into future travel offerings, highlighting the importance of innovation in today’s travel landscape,” the CCO highlighted.