Our ride, looking sleek in red and blue – Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
SAS Scandinavian Airlines has a lot of history under its belt — over 70 years’ worth, in fact. It was first to offer a regularly scheduled transpolar flight way back in 1954. More recently, it was a founding member of the Star Alliance. It continues to make big moves, expanding its US route network into Miami and Los Angeles to solidify its status as the airline with the most flights between the US and Scandinavia.
But as of a few years ago, SAS’ business class on its long-haul A340 and A330 fleet was stuck in the past, with a 2-2-2-across layout and only angle-flat seats. The airline ordered a few A350s but deliveries aren’t expected until late next year. In the meantime SAS needed to do something to keep its existing fleet from aging out of relevance. So starting last year it launched a massive effort to reinvent its flagship premium cabins.
We got a chance to experience SAS’ reimagined business class for ourselves and we found a lot to like — all documented in this trip report. And as suckers for aviation nostalgia, we’re glad that travelers will have the chance to fly the classic A340-300 for a while longer, and won’t have to sacrifice on style or comfort to do it.
Read on and join us on a Scandinavian adventure for the ages!
The 5400 mile journey from SFO to CPH – Image: GCMap.com
After a zippy check in, quick pass through the fast track at security, and a short trip to United’s placeholder lounge (while the main one is closed for its Polaris transformation), I arrived at the gate and saw the Airbus A340-300 that would be taking me to Copenhagen. I’m a big fan of liveries with colored engine nacelles, so SAS’ look didn’t disappoint — especially on the four engine A340.
Boarding
The 40 business class seats on SAS are divided between a larger forward cabin and a smaller mini-cabin in the rear. The staggered 1-2-1 across configuration gives all passengers direct aisle access. For the outside seats, half of them are more distant from the aisle, providing amazing privacy, while the other half abut the aisle and are a bit less private.
The forward business class cabin – Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
It’s a truly gorgeous cabin. The color palette uses a lot of dark charcoal colors, with bright storage nooks to add a dash of color. The curvilinear edges of the seat shells give the cabin’s appearance an undulating geometry. Scandinavians take design seriously, so I suppose it’s no surprise that SAS went all-out on the cabin appearance.
I had assigned myself seat 8H, which was closer to the window than the aisle.
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- Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
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- Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
The seat was wide and comfortable, with a massage function I could really feel. The seat enclosure only gave me use of part of the very wide ledge beside my seat, but there was still plenty of space, though there were no real bins that you could put stuff in during takeoff and landing. The seat went fully flat and provided one of the longest beds I’ve seen — a full 6’5″. Scandinavians are known for being tall so I guess long beds are more a necessity than a luxury when you’re Scandinavia’s leading airline.
Seat-side nook – Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
Design-wise, I really liked the storage nook. It featured storage for headphones, a bottle of water, power outlets, a USB charging port, intuitive seat controls, and a reading light.
Boarding bubbly – Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
SAS makes it easy to upgrade with money or points before boarding. So while the cabin had appeared only half full on the seat selection map at check-in, it ended up flying full.
BONUS: SAS’ Old All-Business-Class 737 Route to Houston
Taking Flight
True to its reputation, the A340-300 took its sweet time getting off the ground. Travelers departing SFO to Europe get a beautiful view of San Francisco on departure from the right side of the plane.
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First Meal Service
Flight attendants distributed service menus with beautiful winter-themed cover art.
Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
The service began with a hot towel. Interestingly there was no snack or nuts provided, so we went straight to starters. SAS runs its meal service using carts, which might come across as less-than-luxe to picky flyers. It definitely doesn’t feel as formal as cart-less, tray-less meal service. However carts do allow you to take a look at the options before deciding, which I appreciate since I always seem to choose badly when I order sight unseen.
In this case, I made a switch on the fly to the halibut and conch ceviche with jalapeà±o, cilantro, and olive oil, which was nicely seasoned and delicious. Another advantage of the cart was that the flight attendants plated your salad right in front of you.
Starter cart, with freshly plated salads – Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
Halibut & conch ceviche – Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
BONUS: Flying Aer Lingus Business Class on an Airbus A330
I really enjoyed SAS’ drinks list, which showcased Scandinavian options like Harahorn Norwegian gin, Mackmyra Swedish whisky, and a few Danish beers. I was intrigued by the “Mikkeler spirits ginger & lime beer cocktail,” a mix of small-batch vodka, Berliner Weisse beer, lime, passion fruit, and a healthy dose of ginger. It was seriously amazing — one of the best cocktails I’ve had in the sky.
Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
The cart made a second pass, this time with choices of main course.
Sizing up the entree choices – Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
I wanted to try the most Scandinavian thing on the menu, so I went with the venison. The taste was … well it’s hard to describe. But not bad. Pretty good, actually, once I got used to the new flavor! The surrounding veggies were cooked well, and the bread pudding was delicious.
Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
Throughout the meal flight attendants operated efficiently but always with a smile, seeming genuinely pleased to be able to answer passengers’ questions about the meal. I took advantage of their generosity and asked for *all* of the options off the dessert cart. No regrets.
Pineapple and almond tart with toffee sauce, ice cream, fruit, and Tomino & Vermont verano cheese – Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
SAS boasts a robust list of after-dinner drinks, including sauterne, port, calvados, cognac, cointreau, and Bailey’s.
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- Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
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- Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
Inflight Entertainment
The video screen in business class is enormous, bright, and high-res, with a slick interface. Scrolling and touch-selection is as responsive as on an iPad, which is more than I can say for a lot of other IFE systems I’ve tried recently. SAS deserves credit for offering solid noise-canceling headphones.
Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
AvGeeks rejoice! There are downward and forward-facing external camera views.
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- Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
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- Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
The library of movies and TV shows was solid but not spectacular. There were about five movies that I was interested in watching. It was enough to keep me entertained on my round-trip itinerary, but that’s about it.
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- Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
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- Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
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- Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
One HUGE plus when flying SAS is that all passengers in business and economy plus get free WiFi. I had some trouble connecting during the first part of the flight, but once I was online I was generally able to load websites and send email. Most airlines with inflight WiFi charge business class passengers, so free functional WiFi is a major differentiating factor for SAS. And the airline is making big investments in high-bandwidth systems that could conceivably allow music and video streaming in the future.
BONUS: A Farewell to the Airbus A340
Freshening Up
Stuffed to the gills from that dinner and in need for some sleep, I decided to freshen up. SAS offers a pretty basic amenity kit. It contains the necessities — a dental kit, sleep mask, moisturizer, lip balm, ear plugs, and soft socks — but nothing else. It met my needs inflight (with the exception of a conspicuously absent comb), but isn’t much of a prestige item.
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- Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
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- Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
The rear right business class lavatory was spacious enough to make changing easy, and even had a window!
Pano taken on a bumpy ride, so pardon the wavy lines – Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
For those feeling hungry mid-flight, the redesigned cabin includes a self-serve snack nook. Just like cart-style meal service, this self-serve snack concept fit SAS’ less formal, more practical style.
Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
This was an overnight flight, so flight attendants didn’t make passes through the cabin but were just seconds away when I hit the call button.
While the pillow and bedding on this flight were soft and substantial, I didn’t use them much because the cabin was kept a little too warm. Still, despite some monster turbulence over northern Canada, I still got six hours of solid sleep. I woke up 90 minutes before landing to a clear sunny sky west of Norway, just as the pre-landing meal service was getting started.
Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
Breakfast, Euro-Style
During boarding, flight attendants had come around to ask passengers whether they wanted to be woken up for breakfast. I’m glad they asked and I think this should be a universal practice for overnight flights. There’s nothing more annoying than not being woken up and landing hungry after shelling out major $$$ (or points) for business class, or alternatively being woken up early against your wishes for a meal you don’t want. One downside of cart-based meals is the increased noise in the cabin, which must have been annoying for the passengers trying to sleep through the service.
SAS’ breakfasts don’t feature large warm centerpiece entrees. Instead, you mix-and-match smaller hot and cold items off the cart. It was a tasty smorgasbord, though cucumbers aren’t a usual fixture of my breakfasts at home.
Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
SAS is equipped to prepare espresso beverages in business class, and the cappuccino I ordered with breakfast was excellent. Our flight attendant also recommended a Scandinavian-style apple juice called “apple must.” It was great — a real must-try (yes I’m ashamed of my bad puns…).
Soon enough the tray tables were clear and we started a smooth descent into Copenhagen Airport. We coasted down the entire length of the runway after landing.
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BONUS: Amazing Video – Airbus A340 Lands in the Fog
The Verdict
SAS has a lot riding on its new flagship business class, which it’s depending on to stay competitive for at least the next few years. Overall it’s a product they’re right to be proud of. My flight was a fantastic experience and I’d be thrilled to fly SAS again.
Winning factors:
- A truly beautiful cabin
- A seat that’s spacious, comfortable, and well-designed, with universal direct aisle access
- A good sleep experience, with an unbeatably long fully-flat bed and soft bedding
- The IFE screen can go toe-to-toe with the best business class screens out there
- Free WiFi that worked well for most of the flight
- Espresso drinks, for the coffee lovers out there
- Delicious meals that featured Scandinavian specialties
- Friendly service
A few hiccups:
- The amenity kit is very basic
- The cabin was kept too warm overnight
Cart-style service and self-serve mid-flight snacks are plus/minus, depending on your preferences.
One thing to keep in mind if you’re considering connecting on SAS: their premium product for intra-Europe flights is relatively spartan. It’s pretty much just an economy seat with meal service, lounge access, and a few other perks. Still, given how good the long-haul product is, I wouldn’t avoid SAS because of this.
Here’s to the A340-300! – Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
Practical Tips If You’re Flying SAS In Business Class
- Seat selection: Definitely go for window seats in even-numbered rows, which offer the most privacy and are closest to the window. If you can’t snag one of those, try for one of the 50% of seats that are more offset from the aisle. The forward cabin is a better pick than the rear mini-cabin, as the rear cabin is behind the boarding door and gets a lot of traffic during boarding. While the mini-cabin may appear emptier on the seat maps, SAS upgrades people aggressively so there’s no guarantee that it will be a quieter experience.
- Bidding for upgrades: SAS offers upgrades to business class with either miles or points, even at the gate. It may be worth asking about the price, if you’re flying economy or economy plus. However we’ve heard that certain fare classes of partner awards (such as with United miles) aren’t eligible for upgrades.
- WiFi: If you’re having trouble connecting in-flight, try rapidly entering various URLs or clicking bookmarks in quick succession. It’s what ultimately got the system to connect me.
- Lounge access on arrival: I didn’t stop by the lounge after I landed, but if you decided to sleep through the inflight breakfast, it’s not a bad place to fill up the tank before heading into town.
- The new SAS app and mobile site: I found both very useful for getting boarding passes and changing seats. The mobile site in particular is very eye-catching.
We’ll be back soon with reviews of SAS’ new “next-generation” lounge in Oslo and their updated premium economy product.
Now it’s time for us to hear from you! What do you think about the new business class product? Do you have experience flying with SAS? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for live updates from trips like these.
Photo: Manu Venkat | AirlineReporter
NOTE: SAS Scandinavian Airlines covered my flight for this story. All opinions are my own.
Manu, SAS has EIGHT 359s on order; according to Airbus’ chart:
http://www.airbus.com/content/dam/corporate-topics/publications/backgrounders/Backgrounder-Airbus-Commercial-Aircraft-A350-XWB-Customers-list-EN.pdf
So, all of these 343 gas-guzzlers will soon be history.
I’ve flown in Business Class just ONCE, several years ago – on United: from ORD>LHR. The gate agent was a fellow aviation enthusiast and when he learned I was … he gave me a free upgrade. However, United’s “product” was unremarkable – NOTHING like what you report herein! I’ve NEVER paid to fly in UA’s Business Class. Maybe their Polaris product is better?
We can realize from your Trip Report (and others) that many – if not most – international airlines treat their guests far better than the typically mediocre US carries!
Plane-Crazy, I think you need to increase you sample to more than one Business Class flight before throwing out a statement like that. I have had mediocre service in First Class on Cathay Pacific on a flight from HKG-SFO before. I have outstanding service on flights in Business/First Class on many airlines US and international but my sample size is 50+ flights.
DK, I’d happily do just that – IF YOU’LL send me the funds for me to do so! I’m not independently wealthy – as, apparently, you are.
Btw, I’ve found that EVERY the international airlines I’ve flown – there are several – have a better product in Economy Class than all US carriers I’ve flown! Especially Emirates and Singapore!
Correction: I meant to write international AIRLINE…