Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) loyalty members have taken off from Copenhagen on the airline’s first “Destination Unknown” journey – a mystery location exclusive to its EuroBonus members. The destination was revealed through social media to be Athens, Greece. The scheme was announced earlier this year and attracted over 6000 adventurous members signing up for the spontaneous trip. In the end, the flight took off on April 5 with 180 passengers and crew onboard.
Tickets could only be purchased using EuroBonus points. Additionally, SAS reserved six seats on the flight for competition winners, attracting over 20,000 entrants.
“The launch of ‘Destination Unknown’ underscores SAS’ commitment to innovation and customer-centric offerings in the post-pandemic era,” said SAS chief commercial officer EVP Paul Verhagen. “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.”
The airline wishes to tap into the “adventurous spirit of modern travellers yearning for fresh experiences” and to also gift its loyal members with innovative and unique services.
Verhagen added: “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. To many travellers it’s not just the destination, but also the journey that matters.”
A DJ welcomed guests at the gate as they boarded before Captain Markus Fenger announced to guests that “I’ve just been told yesterday where we are going.” He jokingly remarked that it was important for at least the crew to know the destination. Fenger only gave a small hint that the flight time was somewhere between an hour and a half and five and a half hours. The destination was only revealed to guests as they touched down in Athens.
Passengers will return from Greece on April 8.