As revealed by Irish Travel Trade News on 25th March, SAS has today confirmed that on 1stJune 2013 the existing SAS Ireland organisation will move to a GSA managed by Alan Sparling, the current Country Manager for Scandinavian Airlines.
Nothing changes in terms of the flight schedule that SAS operates at present from Dublin and it will be ‘business as usual’, with Alan representing SAS in the Irish market.
From a trade perspective, agents will still use the following contact details for agent support and group sales. You are always welcome to also contact Alan by email at [email protected] or on his mobile, 087 2533141. SAS Travel Agent Helpline: 01 844 5888; SAS Group Sales: 01 844 5037; Email: [email protected]
Part of the new GSA arrangement means that two of Alan’s colleagues, Valerie Murphy and Frank McCaffery, will leave SAS in search of new career opportunities.
Alan said: “It is hard to believe that Valerie joined SAS over 23 years ago when she started her career in reservations, qualified as a flight dispatcher, and then got the bug for sales. Over the years, Valerie built up a great trust and relationship with our travel agents, which exists to this very day. Valerie is a great colleague and friend to many of us in the trade and I thank her for her commitment and professionalism. I know that the trade join me in wishing Valerie every success and happiness in the future.
“Frank joined SAS in 2006 and he quickly became our leisure expert, taking responsibility for our group sales and working closely with agents to ensure a great co-operation – the results Frank brought in weren’t bad either! At the same time, Frank worked tirelessly with tour operators convincing them to feature Scandinavia as a ski, cruise and Northern Lights destination in their brochures. Thanks Frank for the enthusiasm, commitment and energy you brought and I wish you every success in the future.”
