There's no better time to book flights to Europe than during a Scandinavian Airlines sale.
Scandinavian Airlines, or SAS, is famous for offering cheap flights to Europe connecting through its main hub in Copenhagen (CPH) and its secondary hubs in Oslo (OSL) and Stockholm (ARN) to destinations all over Northern Europe. These sales, which pop up several times a year, routinely offer roundtrip economy flights in the $300s and even roundtrip premium economy fares in the $600s – which is about the same price as main cabin fares on other airlines!
Right now through Monday, Oct. 21, SAS is offering one of its famous sales, so you should act quickly if you want to get the most bang for your buck on flights to Europe this year.
We've been beating the drum that SAS is one of the best ways to travel to Europe for a while now. I think SAS Plus (the airline's premium economy product) is the single best value in transatlantic travel. And SAS's economy flight prices are nearly unbeatable to the destinations it services. But flying SAS just got a lot better for many U.S. flyers – especially Delta loyalists.
That's because SAS has joined SkyTeam, Delta's airline alliance. This means travelers can earn Delta SkyMiles when they fly SAS and even book SAS flights with SkyMiles, although it's not always the best deal to do so. What's more is that travelers with Delta Medallion status can use their benefits when flying SAS and travelers can earn toward status by earning MQDs on SAS flights, too.
It's a match made in heaven that's led to several new routes from places like Atlanta (ATL) and Seattle (SEA) to Scandinavia to connect Delta flyers to this incredible network of cheap flights.
SAS Winter Sale
The sale is simple, really.
If you book by Monday, Oct. 21 for travel between Dec. 1 and Mar. 29, 2025, you can get in on huge savings flying SAS Economy. Plus, all SAS fares fall under the 24-hour rule, which means you can book and have 24 hours to decide if you want to cancel for a full refund – no questions asked.
But the best part about SAS sales is that the airline often sells itself way short on how good these deals really are. Up above, you saw they're advertising roundtrip fares to Europe from $399…but when we did some digging into the sale for our Thrifty Traveler Premium members, we found fares like this…
Read our review of SAS Economy!
This fare from Newark (EWR) to Brussels (BRU) is much cheaper than that. And the rate from Chicago (ORD) is the same, too.
That's why we don't take SAS's word for it, and we search every single one of its routes to make sure we find the best deals for our members. This week, we did.
Only SAS's newest airport – SEA– didn't make the cut for these stellar low fares for this winter. Most of these include some early December availability during the Christmas market season and through March, where you're most likely to not encounter big peak season crowds and you have a chance at seeing some of these winter wonderlands in peak northern lights season, too!
Read our guide to Copenhagen!
Need more proof of how great this sale is? Here's a search for flights to all three of SAS's major hubs from Chicago (ORD). You can currently snag all of these roundtrips under $398!
Even more rare are these rates from the West Coast, which doesn't always benefit from cheap flights to Scandinavia. Los Angeles (LAX) is clocking in under $498 on all of these routes this winter, too!
Leave it to SAS to sell themselves even shorter, too. While this sale is supposedly for winter travel, we found good availability next summer, too, for just slightly more! If you aim for August, you can find some of these promotional rates in the last few weeks of the summer months.
Maybe that was supposed to be a secret, but we've outed SAS on this one!
The key to saving on flights to Europe is to book the cheapest flight you can to the continent, then book a separate connecting flight (or train ride) onward to your final destination. This SAS sale is perfect for that!
SAS Premium Economy, Too
Slightly farther forward in the cabin is SAS Premium Economy – which closely resembles products like Delta Premium Select and other domestic first class seats, too.
What's unique about SAS Premium Economy (dubbed SAS Plus) is that it comes with features typically designated for business class seats on other airlines. Looking at this SAS Plus deal we recently sent to our Thrifty Traveler Premium subscribers, for example, you can see that these fares include lounge access! That's nearly unheard of for a premium economy seat.
You also get a higher-end meal service than the economy seats, including real glasses and silverware. Best yet…you can get it for the price of main cabin on other airlines.
This JFK-CPH flight is just the tip of the iceberg. Take a look at all these destinations you can book for under $1,000 roundtrip flying SAS Plus!
Just like the economy deal earlier, you can see fares close to these creeping into the late summer, too. If you want to book an August trip to Northern Europe, you'll be hard pressed to find a comfier and cheaper journey than this.
Bottom Line
The best time to book your flights to Europe – in economy or in premium economy – is when SAS is having a sale. And that's right now!
From its main hub in Copenhagen to nearly everywhere else in northern Europe, SAS is offering some of the best prices we've seen on Europe flights during its current sale.
Don't wait, though! This sale ends Monday, Oct. 21.
