SAS Puts Free eSIM Data Inside the Flight Experience
Scandinavian Airlines has made one of the most practical travel tech moves an airline can make in 2026: it has put mobile data inside the passenger journey.
Through a partnership with Amsterdam-based Hubby eSIM, SAS is introducing the SAS Travel eSIM directly inside the SAS app. Eligible bookings include two days of complimentary mobile data, with coverage in more than 190 countries. Travellers install the eSIM before departure, activate it when they arrive, and skip airport Wi-Fi, local SIM counters, roaming panic, or awkward taxi-payment moments.
The initial rollout is especially focused on tickets outside the European Union, which makes sense. Inside the EU, roaming rules have softened the pain for many European travellers. Outside the EU, a simple map search, ride-hailing app, hotel message or WhatsApp call can quickly turn into an expensive mistake if roaming is still active.
Inside the SAS app
The important detail is not just that SAS is giving away an eSIM. It is that the whole experience sits inside the SAS app.
Passengers need a EuroBonus account, then go into their upcoming trip, find the eSIM, install it on stable Wi-Fi and manage usage from the same environment. SAS says users can track data, top up when needed, and soon earn EuroBonus points on purchases.
That is different from clicking out to an eSIM store. The eSIM is powered by Hubby as a white-label service, but the brand relationship remains with SAS. For travellers, fewer steps. For SAS, it means the airline keeps the passenger inside its own digital ecosystem after the flight has landed.
“Connectivity is no longer an add-on to travel, it is an expectation. By integrating the SAS Travel eSIM directly into our app, we remove friction for our passengers and ensure they are connected from the moment they land, without any extra steps. It allows us to extend the SAS experience beyond the flight and provide more relevant services and a more convenient travel experience for our customers”,
said Michaela Hermans, VP e-Commerce at SAS.
Your customers will buy connectivity. The question is: from you, or from someone else?
We help airlines, banks, and travel platforms turn that demand into a built-in product — not a missed opportunity.
More than free data
This is where the move becomes more interesting than a simple perk.
An airline that knows passengers are connected after landing can do more than send boarding reminders. It can share disruption updates, destination tips, transport suggestions, local offers, baggage information and loyalty prompts when they are actually useful. That is why travel eSIMs are becoming less about cheap data and more about ownership of the in-destination relationship.
READ MORE: SAS Brings Free Starlink WiFi to European Flights
Hubby’s role is also worth watching. The company is not trying to make the passenger leave SAS and become a Hubby customer. It is operating in the background, providing the connectivity layer while SAS owns the app, the branding and the customer touchpoint.
“For SAS, this partnership is about more than a free eSIM. An airline that knows its passengers are connected on the ground can engage with them in ways that simply were not possible before. That changes what an airline can offer in-destination. We are proud that the whole experience, the app, the branding, the service, is entirely SAS. Hubby makes it work. SAS owns the relationship”,
said Boris Bijlstra, Co-Founder of Hubby eSIM.
The market signal
SAS is not moving in isolation. Airlines, OTAs, hotels, fintech apps and travel platforms are all looking at eSIM as the next embedded service. eSIM Go, 1GLOBAL, Celitech and other infrastructure players are pushing similar white-label or API-led models, while consumer-facing brands such as Airalo, Holafly, Ubigi or Nomad eSIM have already trained travellers to expect instant mobile data before they land.
The difference is in distribution. A standalone eSIM app has to win the traveller before the trip. An airline already has the traveller at booking, check-in, boarding pass, flight status and loyalty moments. That is a powerful advantage.
READ MORE: SAS Expands hoppaGo Partnership to Add Global Rail Bookings Across 70+ Countries
I ATA’s passenger research has shown how central smartphones have become to the journey, from booking and payment to check-in and baggage. GSMA Intelligence, meanwhile, expects consumer eSIM penetration to keep rising sharply in 2026 and beyond. Put those trends together and the airline app becomes one of the most logical places for travel connectivity to live.
Still, the SAS offer will not replace every travel eSIM use case. Two days of included data is a smart landing buffer, not necessarily a full solution for remote workers, heavy hotspot users, families sharing data, or travellers spending weeks outside Europe. The next improvement should be clarity: how much data is included, which destinations have exceptions, what top-ups cost, and how support works when activation fails abroad.
The real conclusion
SAS has understood something many travel brands still miss: connectivity is not just an ancillary product. It is the switch that keeps the digital journey alive after arrival.
For airlines, this is the shift from selling extras to controlling experience. For eSIM providers, it is a reminder that the next growth battle may not be fought only in app stores or Google search, but inside trusted travel platforms that already own the customer relationship.
The best version of this model will not feel like another upsell. It will feel like the airline quietly removed one more annoying travel problem. If SAS and Hubby can keep the experience simple, transparent and reliable, this could become a benchmark for how airline eSIMs should work.
