Scandinavian Airlines Goes Local With Farm-to-Tray-Table Menus


Skift Take

For long-haul flights SAS lacks the size and scale to compete with its much larger European competitors. On short-haul routes the airline can't compete with the cost structure of the continent's strongest low-cost-carriers. But there's one place it probably does have an edge: its onboard food.

In 2017 SAS unveiled its New Nordic by SAS concept, introducing passengers on some 80,000 short-haul Scandinavian and European flights to seasonal dishes made with ingredients sourced from regional farmers. New Nordic by SAS this month expands its vision of healthy, sustainable eating with the addition of two regularly featured vegetarian or vegan dishes on the airline’s 10 different menus in rotation. Customers can now choose from such imaginative plant-based creations as Camelina-roasted cauliflower with a Gotland lentil, black bean, and beet-flavored wheat salad, or dill- and horseradish-cured Hällestads mushrooms with a rutabaga, Slätte Gård field pea, radish, and Persula Gårds roasted turnip-rapeseed salad. Spreads of golden beet and Vreta yellow pea, as well as nigella seed pickled onions and Fagra slätt quinoa are also incorporated into the dishes. Skift spoke with Alexander Lund, product manager, food and beverage, who oversees menu development and design, and Linnea Malmberg, head of onbo