SAS Scandinavian

Flew Athens to Copenhagen in Business but was overwhelmed by the number of tourists on board. The Crew did nothing to keep them out of the Business Class area. Did not get any work done. Flight was freezing and when I was given a blanket I discovered it was covered with Hair from a previous Passenger. Food was only fish and was certainly not interesting. Flight itself was smooth but the airline is loosing its touch as it has failed to Upgrade like other regular Airlines. SAS is more a Low Cost airline.

Last week BRU-OSL-SVG-CPH-BRU in economy first two sectors on ageing B737s return on a crammed CRJ and finally the last sector on a very old MD-81. Flights on time as mentioned by staff after each sector. All planes looked old but were clean. Coffee/tea/water for free and newspapers available at the gates. SAS seems to be saving money by not connecting the planes (outside BRU) to the tubes and making the pax to walk on tarmac before boarding the planes. Luckily it did not rain. Not recommended for the physically challenged.

Monday July 10th onboard ARN to Chicago. Upgraded from Economy Extra to Business with Eurobonus points (no more free upgrades any more). Took of on time 10.20 am. Service with drinks and food was excellent. Food choice good. Sat in my seat 1H. Second serving was good too with choice of cold meat and cheese. We landed 30 minutes before schedule which means everyone made his/her connections.

Return flight July 17th Chicago-ARN. This time I got upgraded to business. After some drinks in Gold Lounge we boarded on time. Took of 20 min late and then we had to wait for drinks for about 1hr 40 min due to heavy turbulence. This meant first food serving ended almost 3 hrs from ARN. The choice of movies were too bad so I went to sleep. Tried to sleep but we had two infants onboard who just did not want to be still. So we had a very bad 2.5 h sleep. Breakfast was cereals yoghurt cheese and 1 slice of ham - terrible. 2 weeks ago we got egg and bacon on SAS into Beijing. Landed 20 min late which was okay.

ORD-CPH-VNO. I find food and service improved on the transatlantic route since the last time I flew with them. Meals were as much filling and tasteful as they could be on board the airplane and served with a smile. A small bottle of mineral water in every seat upon boarding was a pleasant surprise. The In-flight entertainment (AVOD) consisted of 4-5 boring movies and games and is in need of improvement. The European leg was another story. There were nothing offered during the 90 min. flight not even soda or a snack - just tea or coffee. Felt like flying a low-cost airline except the price. Their competitors do much better. I may recommend them for the intercontinental flights but avoid them if flying in Europe.

CPH-VIL I had heard wonderful things about SAS but was very disappointed. The CPH airport is organised well with self check in and bag ticket printers etc but the flight terrible. I paid $AUD165 per person to fly 2 hours and was not provided with complimentary drinks (only tea and coffee)! Not even some crackers. This isn't a low cost carrier that requires you to purchase meals. I flew Aegean from ATH to LHR (4 hours) and had a full meal alcoholic beverages etc and it only cost me $AUD120!

The trip was Dublin to Stockholm return. Online check in was easy and good with seat selection. The outbound was on an older 737 which seemed clean the seats where ok but a bit too hard but with good recline legroom was fine. Cabin staff came out with free tea or coffee after takeoff. On the flight back it was an even older MD-81 with ashtrays in the seats. Seats and legroom was more comfortable with a better seat arrangement. All flights on time. SAS is a good choice if the price is right because they are reliable but they seem to be going more towards low cost and not worth paying extra for.

Was on the economy return trip from MUC-IAD on an A340 from CPH-IAD. Used 30000 United Star Alliance partner miles for this leg which I thought was good. Both flights appeared full but take-offs and landings were punctual. Economy seats were the usual cramped version and for a tall person as myself acceptable for the short flight and uncomfortable on the long flight especially when the person in front reclined the seat back. Seats on the A340 were a bit hard on the bottom but acceptable. From check-in to FAs all were helpful and with a positive attitude. On the A340 no dinner choice was offered; but the heated pork offered was decent. I have flown for years and I do not expect gourmet food. Limited complimentary drinks were offered during the meal and water coffee or tea was offered a couple of times outside the meal. The so- called second serving about an hour before landing at IAD was a thick-dough cold sort-of pizza which was terrible. Most people I observed either did not eat it or finish it. Unfortunately one cannot expect much more in economy travel so I would say the overall trip was acceptable.

OSL-FCO-OSL in mid June - old 737 on outbound and more comfy 737-800 return. Unnecessarily chaotic check- in procedure at OSL since SAS mixes charter holiday travelers check-in with scheduled flights such as their daily Rome service. Endless and disorganized queues at OSL for bag drop due to holiday groups. Flight on time both ways. So happy we didn't opt for the premium or business product on this sector. One row is "business" (marked by a cardboard sign on the seat back) and a couple of premium economy rows follows. In all honesty we would nearly have felt silly sitting in business class on this flight. Cabin staff did their job nothing remarkable. In economy you have to purchase everything you want to eat or drink (save coffee/tea). Thus it would be nice if SAS actually offered something one would like to enjoy during the three hour flight. The products offered now resembles what you may find at a petrol station or a newspaper kiosk. Check-in at FCO for the return was a breeze. On time departure. Brought own food from airport restaurants on board (highly recommended). Uneventful flight on 737-800 with the older comfortable seats. Good legroom in cabin forward of wing. Cabin staff made no impression in any direction.

Having lived in Copenhagen and Stockholm I have been flying many times SAS within the last two years only on European routes. Last flight was yesterday CPH-LIN. In my opinion they are too expensive for what you get which is basically nothing: they have recently started serving again tea and coffee free of charge but still not enough. Flight attendants are in general quite old: have recently dealt with some rude ones as well. On the other side they have been awarded as the most punctual airline which is true. Many of my flights with them took off late but at the end they caught up and landed before schedule. One final note: I am not a big fan of their soft seats: being part of Star Alliance they should replace them with the new Recaro seats Lufthansa and Austrian have been installing on their planes.