Scandinavian carrier SAS expects to have completed its switch from Star Alliance to SkyTeam in record time by September 1.

Speaking at a SkyTeam media briefing at last week’s IATA AGM Anko van der Werff, SAS president and chief executive, said the airline was a proud founding member of Star Alliance.

But he said the possibility of exploring new joint ventures with Star members offers a bigger opportunity in the future.

Van der Werff added that the fact that this is the first time a founding airline member has switched alliance “shows the magnitude of what we are doing”.

“I want to thank everyone at Star Alliance, it has been a good relationship for all those years.

“We think what we can build at SkyTeam will be bigger and more important than what we are leaving behind. The future opportunity is what binds SkyTeam and, of course, SAS.”

Van der Werff said its eight million loyal customer will benefit from SkyTeam’s global presence including lounges and the routes network.

He said: “The strategic focus for SkyTeam and also for us is in building a deeper form of relationship. For sure, all SkyTeam members are important.

“For us it’s not just about the big ones, it’s about the global presence of SkyTeam and building that bilateral relationship with each and every one of them.”

SAS’s transition to SkyTeam will take place at record speed. The normal time is 18 months but SAS expects to complete the move in six to nine months.

Van der Werff said the initial focus will be on Air France KLM, Delta and Virgin Atlantic before moving on to the smaller members.

“I have see from up close how partnerships are being treated and certainly joint-ventures are being developed within SkyTeam.

“We would really like to see a path towards that, I have to choose my words carefully, I think to understand what are common interests within our SkyTeam family for that.”

SAS has had its Chapter 11 administration in the US approved by the courts on the condition that the carrier completes its restructuring in Sweden.

Van der Werff said this work is 5% complete and should be completed in July or August. The second condition is regulatory approval for a £1.2 billion investment of 20% by a consortium led by Air France-KLM.

The SAS chief said he expects to get approval from the European Commission in their timeline because the deal involves private equity and has been “market tested”.

He added that SAS is making it clear that despite the interest from Air France-KLM the airlines will still be competitors. “We are emphasising that with our employees because we will still be arms length,” he said.

“We do believe we have run a very competitive process and that will be factored in to the Commission’s decision.”

Ven der Werff said the switch to SkyTeam had thrown up no surprises. “I have worked with airlines and alliances for quite a while.

“What I think the biggest challenge is is there are not a lot of things you can do in parallel, it’s really sequential, for instance code share aligning.

“The second is from an IT perspective. IT is frequently the bottleneck here and it make it hard to work faster.

“That’s why we have to prioritise certain airlines from the beginning. We will work our way through the others but the first batch are the ones that have most potential.”

Patrick Roux, SkyTeam chief executive said: “We understand that this is a big move [for SAS] having been a founding member of Star Alliance.

“No doubt it will be a great fit for SkyTeam and our members. When SAS joins SkyTeam we will serve the northern-most and southern-most airports in the world. We are delighted to welcome SAS into our family.”