SAS Scandinavian

CPH-BKK 24th March 2014. Aircraft pulled away from the airport on time. However when everything was set for takeoff the aircraft stopped. The pilot announced that they had been informed of traffic in the way so they had to abort the takeoff. The aircraft was an old 4 engined Airbus which is outdated and inefficient. The interior was very worn. The entertainment system is a parody they struggled to get it going and once it is going it is hardly worth bothering with. The selection is small and there is no way to navigate to the start of features such as films. If you select a film you simply get to wherever the system is at the time which could be near the end of the feature. The screens are poor small and lo res. Service was limited. At service time the attendant simply gave me my meal and did not ask what I wanted. The food was as basic as it gets. I will avoid it in the future.

My wife and I flew NY-CPH in Dec 13 and return in Jan 14 and were very satisfied with SAS. Flights were on time (actually early). Cabin service was very professional and pleasant. Aircraft were standard Airbus but clean. We were in "economy" class so we didn't expect much. Food was ok with a nice beer/wine with dinner. I like the entertainment system especially the flight data.

Flew from Narita/Tokyo to Copenhagen. The aircraft was old and everything was outdated. Blankets are filthy (lot of hair on the blanket) and entertainment screen resolution is horrible.. I didn't know it still exists but SAS entertainment isn't on-demand so you hope for the best and catch a movie that has just started. For a long haul like Asia-Europe (11.5 hours) it's just unbelievable. Cabin crews didn't even check who ordered special meals and they handed over meals to the wrong people. You have to pay for alcohol beverages (not that I care but again it is an intercontinental flight!) and each meal is very minimal. I compare SAS to other European airlines that operate between Asia and Europe and I definitely think SAS tickets are overpriced. Although Finnair isn't the best their flights are shorter and service is better and there isn't much difference in price.

SK525 March 17 departing Stockholm Arlanda Airport at 07.55 with destination London Heathrow. On this occasion the flight was slightly late upon arrival but not caused by SAS. I was impressed that no further delays occurred due to the fact that approximately 10 centimetres of snow had fallen during the night. SAS handled this fact in a very swift and professional way and the delay was mainly caused by the traffic in the London area since the flight by ATC was ordered to join a holding pattern before given clearance for the final approach into Heathrow. During the approach we were given good and relevant information from the cockpit crew. During this flight I was travelling in SAS Go at seat 19F. Fortunately enough my row was probably the only one in the aircraft that had a free middle seat. On this particular flight serviced by a Boeing 737-700W new seats were installed. The seats were the same type of seats that you will find on intra-European flights with other Star Alliance partners i.e. Recaro. I however found the seats installed on this particular aircraft slightly more comfortable than the equivalent seats found on other partner airlines. First time I have seen these seats on a SAS Scandinavian Airlines aircraft.

Yesterday I flew back from Beijing to Hannover via Copenhagen in business class. The long distance flight had one of the business class toilets not working. Answer on complaint was that there were not so many passengers in economy and so enough toilets were available. There were toilets but - the economy ones in front of the business toilet where there were always several people waiting. We were seated in the almost the last business class row economy passengers got their food served earlier than we did. Not all dishes were available for our row. A problem with the electric's caused a delay of approx. 40 min but was handled properly. Entertainment system was quite old-fashioned compared to other airlines only a small selection of movies was offered. The overview-map did not work at all. Headsets were not really noise-reduction ones. Seat was slide-version. Food I found satisfying. Personnel very nice and supportive. Flight from Copenhagen to Hannover was not what I expected from business class. On other airlines I am used to have a free seat beside me on the small plane this time almost all business seats were occupied no difference to economy. The only difference was in some food for business not for economy. I was happy that I fell asleep.

STO-HEL on March 7th. Was on codeshare with Blue1. Crisp clean Boeing 717 with nice cream white leather seating. Short flight with pleasant staff and a clean and quiet cabin. Generous legroom. Would definitely recommend.

SK1606 from Zurich to Stockholm in SAS Plus on March 13 with departure at 20.25 and arrival at 22.55. The equipment used on this service was a Boeing 737-700W and I had selected seat 5A via the Internet check-in service. Lucky to have a whole seat row for myself appreciated since a free middle seat is no longer guaranteed as opposed to the previous service concept in SAS Business Class. The pitch was relatively ok. But be aware if you select seats in SAS Plus from row 5 (or so) backwards the seat pitch may be less longer back according to my experience. On the other hand the chance for a free middle seat is generally higher if selecting a seat at the last rows in SAS Plus according to my experience. As normally the flight departed and arrived on time and the cabin crew were nice friendly and service minded. SAS normally outperforms other full-service airlines in those aspects on Intra- European flights. The cabin and seat comfort was ok since the service was operated by a fairly new aircraft. However there were no in-flight entertainment system installed nor any Internet access. The variety of cold and hot drinks offered were good but served out of plastic/paper mugs. The food offered was a cold meal or a sandwich. On this particular flight the food was quite tasteful a salmon tartare with pickled vegetables and green salad. Still hoping for an upgraded cabin interior and in-flight entertainment system. Let us just hope that SAS do not select the very uncomfortable slim seats chosen by its other affiliates but instead opt for comfort and prioritise passenger satisfaction comfort and experience.

BRU-ARN SK1590 departing 18.00 with arrival 20.10 on March 5 2014. Aircraft for this service was a Boeing 737-700W and I was seated on 9A in SAS Plus. There is no longer any free middle seat as opposed to the previous Business Class but I was fortunate enough that the flight was not fully booked so I had a whole seat row for myself and the legroom was typical standard intra European economy class but not Business Class standard. No in- flight entertainment system are installed on SAS Boeing 737s but the in-flight SAS magazine is however worth reading but should to my opinion be published more often. As a frequent traveller you keep reading the same magazine over and over again since there is no other in-flight entertainment system available. On this particular flight the cabin looked quite new tidy and clean. The comfort of the seats are slightly better than offered by other Star Alliance partners (except Austrian Airlines upgraded Fokker 70/100 seats and interior) on intra European flights but can not be compared to the very comfortable and cosy seats in the just retired SAS MD-80s. Upgrade of the cabins of the SAS 737s are generally soon needed. I do hope that SAS do its best to find comfortable seats and not just slim cheap and lightweight seats as the rest of the tar Alliance partners unfortunately have done. The right selection of new seats can make a huge change in travelling experience. The food and how it was presented is very far from the previous Business Class. A cold chicken salad was offered served out of a paper box. No bread was served with the meal but relatively good wine was offered and quiet some variety of cold and hot drinks. To my opinion the standard of food and how it is presented are much lower compared to intra European services by other full-service airlines independent of airline alliance affiliation. As always there were good attention from the flight attendants during the whole flight and the staff made you feel welcome.

Weekly HUY-CPH-HUY commute. Bearing in mind that there have been some weather issues over the last month or two the reliability of these SAS flights is extremely poor. I'm not exaggerating when I estimate it at 25% failure to fly for one reason or another. When we do fly the experience is good. But for business use I am shortly going to have to abandon SAS for the much more reliable EasyJet options from STN or MAN.

BRU-CPH return. Flight to CPH was good on a refurbished Canadair Jet 900. Smooth check-in and on time departure/arrival. In flight service was good for a short flight. Coffee tea and water were free of charge however anything else had to be bought at a high price. The return was also good and serviced on a newer A320. The crew on both flights seemed very pleasant and happy to assist passengers.