Cityjet is taking over SAS subsidiary Blue1 and is to collaborate with the Scandinavian carrier on regional jet services.
SAS will also wet lease eight new 90-seat Cityjet Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft to add to the 12 operated through its subsidiary, Cimber.
The new aircraft, painted in SAS colours, will be put into service from March 2016 on routes and at times when there is a need for smaller aircraft.
The wet lease agreement is for three years and includes an option on a further six aircraft.
The sale of Blue1, which operates a fleet of five aircraft from Copenhagen, will lead to a marginal impact on SAS’s income before tax, cash and net debt, the airline said.
Income after tax during the fourth quarter of the 2014/15 financial year will be negatively impacted of around MSEK 90, primarily due to write down of capitalised loss carry forwards.
The sale and the new wet lease agreement are expected to increase cost efficiency and flexibility, SAS added.
The airline’s president and chief executive, Rickard Gustafson, said: “We are looking forward to working with Cityjet to further expand our regional route network and thereby strengthen SAS’s offering to frequent travelers.
“The eight brand new CRJ900s from Cityjet will provide us with efficient and flexible production of regional flights that will complement SAS’s production on the larger traffic flows.”
Patrick Byrne, chairman of Dublin-based Cityjet, added: “This is a fantastic opportunity for Cityjet to work with a leading airline such as SAS.
“We are looking forward to a long-term co-operation, where we will deliver a high level of quality in terms of efficiency and customer service for SAS passengers.
“We are also keen to benefit from the experience and knowledge of the Nordic airline industry that the acquisition of Blue1 will give us.”