Scandinavian Airlines System (abbreviated as SAS) is the flag carrier airline of Denmark, Norway and Sweden and one of five founding members of the Star Alliance. It was founded in 1946 when Danish Air Lines, Norwegian Air Lines and Swedish Intercontinental Airlines merged.
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| 19??–1983 | 1983–1998 | 1998–2016 | 2016–present |
19??–1983[]
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SAS has used a typeface like the one above since at least the late 1940s. The design varied somewhat in the early years.
From its foundation in the 1940s until the 1980s, SAS has used mostly white liveries with a blue and pink stripe on the side, made to look like a viking ship with a dragon head in the front. The initials were soon added to the tailfin and the jet engines. On the top of the fuselage was the full name of the airline, although this was shortened at some points by removing "System" and "Airlines". On the back of the fuselage was the SAS emblem, which was made up of three shields with the Scandinavian flags.
The print logo was somewhat inconsequential. In the early 1950s it was common for the logo to be in a shield and in the 1960s the SAS emblem was often put on top of the initials. At the end of the 1970s, the dragon head from the livery had the honor of being part of the company logo for a few years.
1983–1998[]
In April 1983, SAS revealed new corporate identity. It meant that the viking ship was removed from the livery and replaced by stripes in the colours of the Scandinavian flag. The stripes became a permanent part of the logo when used in print. The new look was designed by Landor Associates.
1998–2016[]
In September 1998, a year after it co-founded the Star Alliance with four other airlines, SAS introduced a new corporate identity with a new livery and updated logo. The livery would now feature red engines and a blue tail. The logo would usually be presented in a blue square. The new logo was created by Stockholm Lab.
2016–present[]
In 2016, SAS introduced a highly simplified logo, removing the blue square and the words 'Scandinavian Airlines'. This identity was created by Bold Scandinavia.
The previous silver livery from 1998, with the blue tail and the words 'Scandinavian Airlines' written on the aft fuselage, remained unchanged until 19 September 2019, when a new livery was introduced that features a large 'SAS' wordmark at the front of the fuselage, replacing the 'Scandinavian Airlines' text. Some other minor changes to the livery were made, and the fuselage is now in a lighter shade of grey. SAS remains the only Star Alliance member not to have a white livery.
