Airbus is in advanced negotiations with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) on a widebody aircraft order, Bloomberg reported, in a move that would mark the Nordic carrier's first direct long-haul purchase from the European manufacturer since emerging from US Chapter 11 restructuring.

The Bloomberg brief did not specify the aircraft type, the number of frames, the engine selection, the delivery schedule, or the contract value. Airbus offers two widebody families — the A330neo and the A350 — and SAS already operates examples of both.

What does SAS fly on long-haul today?

SAS's widebody fleet is currently composed entirely of leased aircraft. The carrier operates Airbus A350-900s and A330-300s sourced from lessors, a configuration put in place during and after the Chapter 11 filing in the United States in mid-2022. The carrier exited court protection in 2024 under a new ownership consortium led by Air France-KLM, Danish investor Lind Invest, and US credit specialist Castlelake. SAS's mainline short-haul fleet has been simplified to an all-Airbus A320neo family operation, with Boeing 737s removed from the network.

The shift to a leased long-haul fleet allowed SAS to retire older owned equipment — including its last A340-600s and earlier A330-300s — and preserve liquidity through the bankruptcy process.

Why would SAS buy direct now?

Three factors make the timing plausible:

• Heavy-check horizon: the leased A330-300s and A350-900s are approaching the maintenance cycles that drive lessor remarketing decisions, forcing a fleet plan.
• Commonality: an A330neo or A350 order would slot into an existing type-rated pilot base and spares pool.
• Post-restructuring balance sheet: the 2024 emergence cleared the way for capital-intensive fleet commitments that the bankruptcy shell could not have supported.

What did Bloomberg not say?

The report left several items unresolved on the public record:

• Aircraft family in question
• Number of firm orders versus options or letters of intent
• Engine choice (Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 on the A330neo; Rolls-Royce Trent XWB on the A350)
• Anticipated delivery window
• Whether any lessor counterparty is being displaced or supplemented

Without those details, the financial weight of the deal — and its place in Airbus's wider widebody backlog — cannot yet be calibrated against delivery slots in Toulouse.

What changes if the order is signed?

A confirmed SAS commitment would add a European flag carrier to Airbus's widebody order book at a moment when Boeing is pitching the 787-9 and 777-9 into the same customer set. It would also signal that the post-restructuring SAS is willing to commit balance-sheet financing to long-haul capacity, reversing the all-lease posture adopted during bankruptcy.

Confirmation is likely to come first from SAS, Airbus, or — if a lessor is involved — from the relevant counterparty. Until that point, the only data on the public record is Bloomberg's report that the talks have advanced to a near-signing stage.