2015, SAS again made some significant changes to the EuroBonus program. These changes affect both the thresholds for reaching elite status and earning tables. Changes in thresholds The requirements for reaching both Gold and Diamond level were lowered by 10%. This means: Gold now requires 45 legs or 45,000 points instead of 50 legs or 50,000 points Diamond now requires 90 legs or 90,000 points instead of 100 legs or 100,000 points Changes in point earnings SAS carried out some major restructuring of its point earning tables. The most significant changes are: Strongly reduced point earnings on all flights, on average around 50% Booking classes became decisive in point earnings, instead of seating class: Economy is now divided between Economy Go and Go Flex, Plus is now divided between Plus Saver and Plus, Business is now divided between Business Saver and Business Europe is no longer divided into several point earning zones. Everything outside the Nordic and Baltic countries is now considered Europe. Norwegian ban on frequent flyer miles Frequent flyer mile accrual was banned on Norwegian domestic flights between August 2002 and May 2013. In 2002, SAS bought up the rival airline Braathens, giving the company a near monopoly on major domestic routes within Norway. After a few months, the airline Norwegian Air Shuttle started flying major routes in competition. To remove the edge SAS had over the new airline, the Norwegian Competition Authority then banned the award of EuroBonus points in Norway from August 1 that year. In 2005, Morten A. Meyer, the Modernization Minister asked the competition authority to consider extending the ban on frequent flyer miles to include all of Scandinavia. Norwegian Air Shuttle and Sterling Airlines had also complained about SAS's bonus program in Scandinavia. It was pointed out that the situation on these routes was different from the monopoly which had been present on the Norwegian domestic market. The authorities indicated in 2007 that the ban on frequent flyer points would continue, arguing that the ban on EuroBonus had reduced ticket prices by 30% and boosted competition. SAS Norge, the Norwegian affiliate of SAS, protested, arguing that the extent of the fare reduction was exaggerated (claiming 18.4% rather than 30%) and was due to more efficient spending, not the ban on EuroBonus. Following the development of the market, whereby Norwegian Air Shuttle has grown since its launch in 2002 to become equal in size