What can we improve on?
That was the question one of the cabin crew asked me towards the end of my overnight flight.
Route: Stockholm - Hong Kong
Airline: SAS
Date of departure: 7th July 2018
Aircraft: Airbus A330-343
Flight duration: 9 hours 43 minutes
Flight distance: 8,220 km
I had a three-hour wait between flights at Stockholm Arlanda airport which I spent in the SAS Gold Lounge in terminal 5. It was reasonably busy the whole time, and for a good while I was subjected to live "entertainment" at around 115 decibels kindly provided by a group of Norwegian-speakers who were exchanging holiday plans with each other. And with the rest of the lounge simultaneously. After a while I decided I preferred my own entertainment, so I attached my ears to my headphones and left them to it.
The lounge is often described on other blogs as being influenced by IKEA. It is certainly Scandinavian in design, from the furniture to the toilets which are not one section for males and one for females, but can be used by any sex. That used to be either sex, but thankfully the modern world is more inclusive. There are plenty of seating groups with easy chairs and lounge tables, and a basic buffet salad spread. There was also an Indian curry soup which I didn't try. You can help yourself to both non-alcoholic drinks and alcohol. Not a bad lounge to spend a couple of hours before queuing for passport control, which I also have to say was an efficient and polite affair, despite the large numbers of people waiting (Oslo Airport - I hope you heard that comment).
Unfortunately I didn't get any useable pictures from the cabin of the aircraft. There was the usual Scandinavian queue (something roughly resembling the Calgary stampede), so by the time I boarded, there were so many people in the cabin that it was impossible to get any pics not showing other people. And in respect of privacy, I can't therefore publish them here. But if you want to look inside the cabin, SAS have good pictures on their website. The seats are very comfortable and roomy, maybe not as wide as you get on some of the US airlines and certainly nowhere near Singapore Airlines, which feels like sitting in a sofa for two on your own. But I am 6' 1", and I certainly had plenty of room in seat 4A. A good tip is to check seat maps on for example seatguru.com before travelling, because there is a difference in seats. The cabin has a 1-2-1 layout, and the even-numbered window seats are placed nearest to the window, whilst the odd-numbered are placed close to the aisle. That makes the even-numbered ones far more private if you can get them. Which I did. And have on the way home too.
Service starts when you get on board with a welcome drink -champagne, juice or water. You can guess what I chose. Shortly after takeoff, the crew served another round of drinks and warm nuts. SAS have cocktails made with spirits produced in Scandinavia. I chose one called Ginger Forest, made with Swedish whisky, ginger ale and lime. Delicioso!
Dinner service started shortly afterwards. There was a choice of starter between fish, salad and ham. I went for the latter, with some salad and carrot bread. Accompanied by a glass of sauvignon blanc.
There were four choices of main course. Since the cabin attendant working my side of the aisle looked particularly contented with life, I asked her what she would recommend. It fell to a choice between cod or turkey, and I chose the turkey which was delicious. Thanks for the recommendation! There was also a beef dish and a vegetarian option available. The turkey was served with, amongst other things, lentils which were perfectly cooked. The sauvignon blanc made another appearance.
For dessert I chose cheese and a piece of rhubarb pie which crumbled perfectly, and went very well with a glass of port.
When I flew to Miami with SAS last December, the only thing I found slightly negative was the limited selection available on the in-flight entertainment. This time, there were plenty of films that appealed. My choice was "I, Tonya" which turned out to be 120 minutes of good entertainment. After the film, I put the seat into the flat position, turning it into a 6' long bed. SAS uses Hastens bedding (I know there should be an umlaut over the a in Hastens, but my current Chinese keyboard refuses to find it). They provide a mattress pad, a duvet and a pillow. I must have found the bedding, bed and cabin temperature comfortable because I woke up 4 hours later when we hit some turbulence caused by rain clouds below us.
Breakfast was served around 90 minutes before landing. Again, there was a choice between a warm quiche and ham/cheese, plus extras which you were free to add on. My final breakfast selection looked like this - minus the croissant which I devoured before I remembered to take the picture:
Just for general interest, I took a picture of the control panel for the seat. The firmness can be adjusted, there is a massage function, and you can put it into any position you like between 180° flat and sitting straight up.
We landed a few minutes ahead of schedule to sunshine and 31° celcius.
How would I summarise the flight? Not much to think about there. It was a great start to this trip. Great service from dedicate cabin attendants, good food and a comfortable bed. Before SAS upgraded to their new cabins, I avoided intercontinental flights with them. Now there is no reason at all to do so. And the icing on the cake: I really appreciated being recognised as a frequent traveller and thanked for my patronage. Kudos, SAS!
Route: Stockholm - Hong Kong
Airline: SAS
Date of departure: 7th July 2018
Aircraft: Airbus A330-343
Flight duration: 9 hours 43 minutes
Flight distance: 8,220 km
I had a three-hour wait between flights at Stockholm Arlanda airport which I spent in the SAS Gold Lounge in terminal 5. It was reasonably busy the whole time, and for a good while I was subjected to live "entertainment" at around 115 decibels kindly provided by a group of Norwegian-speakers who were exchanging holiday plans with each other. And with the rest of the lounge simultaneously. After a while I decided I preferred my own entertainment, so I attached my ears to my headphones and left them to it.
The lounge is often described on other blogs as being influenced by IKEA. It is certainly Scandinavian in design, from the furniture to the toilets which are not one section for males and one for females, but can be used by any sex. That used to be either sex, but thankfully the modern world is more inclusive. There are plenty of seating groups with easy chairs and lounge tables, and a basic buffet salad spread. There was also an Indian curry soup which I didn't try. You can help yourself to both non-alcoholic drinks and alcohol. Not a bad lounge to spend a couple of hours before queuing for passport control, which I also have to say was an efficient and polite affair, despite the large numbers of people waiting (Oslo Airport - I hope you heard that comment).
Unfortunately I didn't get any useable pictures from the cabin of the aircraft. There was the usual Scandinavian queue (something roughly resembling the Calgary stampede), so by the time I boarded, there were so many people in the cabin that it was impossible to get any pics not showing other people. And in respect of privacy, I can't therefore publish them here. But if you want to look inside the cabin, SAS have good pictures on their website. The seats are very comfortable and roomy, maybe not as wide as you get on some of the US airlines and certainly nowhere near Singapore Airlines, which feels like sitting in a sofa for two on your own. But I am 6' 1", and I certainly had plenty of room in seat 4A. A good tip is to check seat maps on for example seatguru.com before travelling, because there is a difference in seats. The cabin has a 1-2-1 layout, and the even-numbered window seats are placed nearest to the window, whilst the odd-numbered are placed close to the aisle. That makes the even-numbered ones far more private if you can get them. Which I did. And have on the way home too.
Service starts when you get on board with a welcome drink -champagne, juice or water. You can guess what I chose. Shortly after takeoff, the crew served another round of drinks and warm nuts. SAS have cocktails made with spirits produced in Scandinavia. I chose one called Ginger Forest, made with Swedish whisky, ginger ale and lime. Delicioso!
There were four choices of main course. Since the cabin attendant working my side of the aisle looked particularly contented with life, I asked her what she would recommend. It fell to a choice between cod or turkey, and I chose the turkey which was delicious. Thanks for the recommendation! There was also a beef dish and a vegetarian option available. The turkey was served with, amongst other things, lentils which were perfectly cooked. The sauvignon blanc made another appearance.
For dessert I chose cheese and a piece of rhubarb pie which crumbled perfectly, and went very well with a glass of port.
When I flew to Miami with SAS last December, the only thing I found slightly negative was the limited selection available on the in-flight entertainment. This time, there were plenty of films that appealed. My choice was "I, Tonya" which turned out to be 120 minutes of good entertainment. After the film, I put the seat into the flat position, turning it into a 6' long bed. SAS uses Hastens bedding (I know there should be an umlaut over the a in Hastens, but my current Chinese keyboard refuses to find it). They provide a mattress pad, a duvet and a pillow. I must have found the bedding, bed and cabin temperature comfortable because I woke up 4 hours later when we hit some turbulence caused by rain clouds below us.
Breakfast was served around 90 minutes before landing. Again, there was a choice between a warm quiche and ham/cheese, plus extras which you were free to add on. My final breakfast selection looked like this - minus the croissant which I devoured before I remembered to take the picture:
Just for general interest, I took a picture of the control panel for the seat. The firmness can be adjusted, there is a massage function, and you can put it into any position you like between 180° flat and sitting straight up.
We landed a few minutes ahead of schedule to sunshine and 31° celcius.
How would I summarise the flight? Not much to think about there. It was a great start to this trip. Great service from dedicate cabin attendants, good food and a comfortable bed. Before SAS upgraded to their new cabins, I avoided intercontinental flights with them. Now there is no reason at all to do so. And the icing on the cake: I really appreciated being recognised as a frequent traveller and thanked for my patronage. Kudos, SAS!
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