SAS EuroBonus - No OSL domestic lounge?

*A says no lounge in OSL for domestic flights. Is this right?

If so, any reason to take SK rather than Norwegian?

That is correct.
I am presuming you are * Allaince Gold? This means you are entited to an extra check-in baaggage. You have excess to dedicated check-in tables. If your flight is before 09:01, you will get breakfast and finally a newspaper. Some flights also have internet onboard for free with the ability to use your mobile phone.

SB

Thanks, that does surprise me at such a major (for Sk) airport. Not checking bags and evening, so I guess I'll be deciding this one on price. (Now if they'll give me a 736...)

Thanks, that does surprise me at such a major (for Sk) airport. Not checking bags and evening, so I guess I'll be deciding this one on price. (Now if they'll give me a 736...)

Avinor/OSL management has so far not allowed a domestic lounge to be built in fear of the consequences it could have for competition on the domestic market. You may be aware that miles accrual are banned by law on all domestic segments in Norway for the same reason. There are signs that these things may be relaxed in the future.

As a *G you can select seats in advance on SK, in addition to what is previously mentioned. Norwegian doesn't offer OLCI, but when traveling domestically on DY without checked baggage you are not required to check in anyways. You might want to go to a machine at the airport anyways to select a seat though. You are far more likely to get a Wifi enabled aircraft on DY than on SK. SK is the only one operating the 736 though ;)
736 (in combination with 735) is the type usually used between TRD, BGO and SVG, although they often operate routes out of OSL as well :)

Avinor/OSL management has so far not allowed a domestic lounge to be built in fear of the consequences it could have for competition on the domestic market. You may be aware that miles accrual are banned by law on all domestic segments in Norway for the same reason. There are signs that these things may be relaxed in the future. Thanks, that's really interesting. I can still earn on UA though (at least there's no excludion on the chart) - not that 500 miles makes much difference.

I'd definitely jump on a -600 (it's BGO), but alas it's too early... now if they'd like to swap...

Thanks, that's really interesting. I can still earn on UA though (at least there's no excludion on the chart) - not that 500 miles makes much difference.

I'd definitely jump on a -600 (it's BGO), but alas it's too early... now if they'd like to swap...

Actually, the UA website (http://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/marketing/custcomm/promotions/Pages/AirlinePartnerDetails.aspx?ItemId=317) makes the following mention just above the accrual chart:

"Mileage Accrual Chart
SAS-operated flights excluding domestic Norwegian routes (effective May 1, 2012)"

D'oh! Thanks.

Just for the record: there used to be domestic lounges at OSL, until the ban against earning miles on domestic flights was introduced some ten years ago to ease the build-up of Norwegian after the SK-BU merger. Both SAS and Braathens had lounges. The SAS lounge was in the present location, but was accessed by stairs before the former boarding pass checkpoint, just after central security. The Braathens lounge (on the opposite side, in the general area where Monolitten Bar now is located) was for both DOM and INT passengers. I never visited the Braathens lounge, as I never had Gold status on Braathens, Neither lounge was accessible on full-fare DOM tickets, just for international business class passengers, and for FF Gold members on both DOM and INT itineraries.

The former Braathens lounge was used for some years afterwards as a lounge for BA. Quite illlogical, as this was technically in the domestic (joint) part of airside, and a very long walk from the BA gates in the non-Schengen part of the airport. Interestingly enough, this supposedly offered the only way of getting legal domestic lounge access at OSL. BA Gold EC-members had (has?) lounge access irrespective of airline flown. Thus BA gold members also coud access the BA lounge on a domestic WF/ DY/ SK ticket...

Just for the record: there used to be domestic lounges at OSL, until the ban against earning miles on domestic flights was introduced some ten years ago to ease the build-up of Norwegian after the SK-BU merger. Both SAS and Braathens had lounges. The SAS lounge was in the present location, but was accessed by stairs before the former boarding pass checkpoint, just after central security. The Braathens lounge (on the opposite side, in the general area where Monolitten Bar now is located) was for both DOM and INT passengers. I never visited the Braathens lounge, as I never had Gold status on Braathens, Neither lounge was accessible on full-fare DOM tickets, just for international business class passengers, and for FF Gold members on both DOM and INT itineraries.

The former Braathens lounge was used for some years afterwards as a lounge for BA. Quite illlogical, as this was technically in the domestic (joint) part of airside, and a very long walk from the BA gates in the non-Schengen part of the airport. Interestingly enough, this supposedly offered the only way of getting legal domestic lounge access at OSL. BA Gold EC-members had (has?) lounge access irrespective of airline flown. Thus BA gold members also coud access the BA lounge on a domestic WF/ DY/ SK ticket...

As a BA Gold, I used that lounge at OSL a lot. I miss it tremendously because I am now relegated to a lot of connections via OSL when traveling internationally to places in Norway beyond OSL.

In some ways OSL is a horrible airport, and the lounge situation is just part of it.

As a *G you can select seats in advance on SK

Is this for all *G, or specifically for EBG?

Just for clarification: A domestic lounge is allowed in Norway. But SAS decided to shut it down when the simplified the whole business. SAS and OSL are in discussions of establishing a domestic lounge again, since also OSL sees that they are losing transfer passengers today. I prefer flying via CPH back to TRD instead of via OSL, in CPH I can relax in the lounge.

Just for clarification: A domestic lounge is allowed in Norway. But SAS decided to shut it down when the simplified the whole business. SAS and OSL are in discussions of establishing a domestic lounge again, since also OSL sees that they are losing transfer passengers today. I prefer flying via CPH back to TRD instead of via OSL, in CPH I can relax in the lounge.

To/from Norway, I too prefer flying via CPH instead of OSL.

OSL is a lousy airport for transfers, yet reintroducing a business class lounge on the domestic side of the terminal won't remedy the reasons why OSL/Norway is a rather place for transfers. The things OSL/NO must fix if to resolve my reasons for not liking OSL for international Schengen transfers include the following: the hassle of clearing customs at OSL even for intra-Schengen transfers. Another problem for OSL/NO transfers may also include the frequent disallowance of checking in bags from Norway to even the Schengen EU without having to claim them at OSL when having a sub-12-hour overnight international connection. The relative lack of adequate seating airside and the fact that OSL makes the plurality of its money from airport retailers/retail sale customers (where the retailers in turn jack up the sales prices) hasn't made it an ideal airport for international transits. And then there is often the litter at OSL airside -- a lot of abandoned water bottles -- in a way that is rarely as frequently observed at CPH or ARN.

[It doesn't help my opinion of OSL that both of the "at-airport" hotels are from the same hotel family (namely Carlson Rezidor's Radisson and Park Inn) -- a little competition would have helped with the prices (not that price sways me as I have my ways of getting both at-airport hotels on the cheap). But this isn't an issue hitting most international transit passengers at OSL.]

To/from Norway, I too prefer flying via CPH instead of OSL.

OSL is a lousy airport for transfers, yet reintroducing a business class lounge on the domestic side of the terminal won't remedy the reasons why OSL/Norway is a rather place for transfers. The things OSL/NO must fix if to resolve my reasons for not liking OSL for international Schengen transfers include the following: the hassle of clearing customs at OSL even for intra-Schengen transfers. Another problem for OSL/NO transfers may also include the frequent disallowance of checking in bags from Norway to even the Schengen EU without having to claim them at OSL when having a sub-12-hour overnight international connection. The relative lack of adequate seating airside and the fact that OSL makes the plurality of its money from airport retailers/retail sale customers (where the retailers in turn jack up the sales prices) hasn't made it an ideal airport for international transits. And then there is often the litter at OSL airside -- a lot of abandoned water bottles -- in a way that is rarely as frequently observed at CPH or ARN.

[It doesn't help my opinion of OSL that both of the "at-airport" hotels are from the same hotel family (namely Carlson Rezidor's Radisson and Park Inn) -- a little competition would have helped with the prices (not that price sways me as I have my ways of getting both at-airport hotels on the cheap). But this isn't an issue hitting most international transit passengers at OSL.]

+1

I totally agree. I try to avoid OSL as much as possible. As KRS is my final destination I sometimes pay extra to go through CPH instead. That even means that I have to fly with Widerøe on a turboprop.

The things OSL/NO must fix if to resolve my reasons for not liking OSL for international Schengen transfers include the following: the hassle of clearing customs at OSL even for intra-Schengen transfers.


You only have to clear customs if you enter the country, that is international to domestic transfer. International to international transfer should not have to pick up checked bags. OSL has security-free transfer if you arrive at international gates with uneven numbers up to 49. (Schengen has nothing to do with customs, Schengen is only passport-related) Besides that, yes, transfer intl-dom is a pain at OSL.

You only have to clear customs if you enter the country, that is international to domestic transfer. International to international transfer should not have to pick up checked bags. OSL has security-free transfer if you arrive at international gates with uneven numbers up to 49. (Schengen has nothing to do with customs, Schengen is only passport-related) Besides that, yes, transfer intl-dom is a pain at OSL.

Thanks for being more precise than I was above, even as Schengen (at least the convention) has some elements that are about customs -- for example, with regard to narcotics and medicines with narcotic elements.

A huge subset of intra-Schengen transfers via OSL are international to domestic transfers, and such itineraries include the hassle of claiming bags to clear customs at OSL and then having to re-clear security. For most intra-Schengen international trips (be it international-international or international-domestic) that don't involve Scandinavian countries, customs clearance at airports aren't generally applicable on a permanent basis for travel within the Schengen zone. I wish the same could be said for intra-Schengen trips via OSL.

I know this is a bit of topic, but how is it at ARN and CPH when you are doing an international-domestic transfer? Do you not have to carry your bags trough custom?

I know this is a bit of topic, but how is it at ARN and CPH when you are doing an international-domestic transfer? Do you not have to carry your bags trough custom?

No, your luggage is checked right through if you are connecting in CPH to a domestic destination . You will clear customs at your final destination.

I know this is a bit of topic, but how is it at ARN and CPH when you are doing an international-domestic transfer? Do you not have to carry your bags trough custom?

For LHR-ARN-GOT, had to claim bags at ARN.

For OSL-CPH-elsewhere in Denmark, no such transfer hassle at CPH.

For LHR-ARN-GOT, had to claim bags at ARN.

For OSL-CPH-elsewhere in Denmark, no such transfer hassle at CPH.
Denmark has fewer airports with domestic service than either Norway or Sweden, and I would guess that a larger percentage of passengers on domestic Danish flights are connecting to/from international flights. Norway har more than forty airports with daily commercial servce, and even though many technically are international airports with possibility of customs clearance, only a handful are staffed with customs officer on a permanent basis. To staff all Norwegian airports with customs officers would be prohibitively expensive. Probably a similar reasoning is the reason for the simliar setup in the US:


The reason that domestic air travel is much more important in Sweden and especially in Norway than in Denmark might be that the respective physical size of the country and the availablity and convenience of alternative surface transport (OSL-BOO is either 90 minutes by plane or 20 hours by train)

Denmark has fewer airports with domestic service than either Norway or Sweden, and I would guess that a larger percentage of passengers on domestic Danish flights are connecting to/from international flights. Norway har more than forty airports with daily commercial servce, and even though many technically are international airports with possibility of customs clearance, only a handful are staffed with customs officer on a permanent basis. To staff all Norwegian airports with customs officers would be prohibitively expensive. Probably a similar reasoning is the reason for the simliar setup in the US:


The reason that domestic air travel is much more important in Sweden and especially in Norway than in Denmark might be that the respective physical size of the country and the availablity and convenience of alternative surface transport (OSL-BOO is either 90 minutes by plane or 20 hours by train)

Physical size, other physical geographical features (with Norway being more of a geographical beast than Sweden or Finland and certainly more than Denmark) and population distribution/density may explain much of the support rationale for Norway doing things differently in this regard than even other Schengen zone countries, non-EU or EU. That however still leaves some questions, such as: would NYC-OSL-ARN involve claiming bags at the international transit point (OSL) while NYC-KEF-ARN does not involve claiming bags at the international transit point (KEF)? And how about ARN-OSL-NYC vs ARN-KEF-NYC? Or ARN-OSL-CDG vs ARN-KEF-CDG? International transits via KEF or via most of the Schengen zone generally don't involve claiming bags at the international transit point -- and that's even more true for international intra-Schengen trips.

Of Avinor-operated Norwegian airports with at least one international (commercial or charter tour) passenger flight a year, what proportion of them had no customs control resources assigned to them at all last year? In the US, every airport with an international (commercial or charter tour) passenger flight last year had customs control resources assigned to them at some point last year -- permanent basis or not, resources got assigned to every last one of them. Not sure why it would be more affordable for the US to do so than for Norway to do so when the US government is financially broke in a way that Norway's government is not. [It's not like the Norwegian government is opposed to creating more government-funded jobs. :D ]

Not sure why control of movement of goods by people on intra-Schengen trips should be a bigger concern for Norway than for most other Schengen zone countries, and yet Norway does what Norway does when it comes to OSL, its primary international transit airport, to make things less convenient than they could be.

... at least Avinor is a fan of free internet at airports (for those who are willing to hand over a number capable of receiving SMS). :D That is one of the few ways -- if not the only way -- that OSL is better than CPH or even ARN for international transit passengers with checked bags.

Physical size, other physical geographical features (with Norway being more of a geographical beast than Sweden or Finland and certainly more than Denmark) and population distribution/density may explain much of the support rationale for Norway doing things differently in this regard than even other Schengen zone countries, non-EU or EU. That however still leaves some questions, such as: would NYC-OSL-ARN involve claiming bags at the international transit point (OSL) while NYC-KEF-ARN does not involve claiming bags at the international transit point (KEF)? And how about ARN-OSL-NYC vs ARN-KEF-NYC? Or ARN-OSL-CDG vs ARN-KEF-CDG?

if you do international transfers in OSL you won't need to claim baggage and clear customs, this will still happen at your final destination. Typically you can transfer directly to the departure gate in transit area (still have a security check there) but it's short way and you don't even get to the baggage claim area. Baggage claim and customs is only when you do domestic transfer.

International transits via KEF or via most of the Schengen zone generally don't involve claiming bags at the international transit point -- and that's even more true for international intra-Schengen trips.

Not sure why control of movement of goods by people on intra-Schengen trips should be a bigger concern for Norway than for most other Schengen zone countries, and yet Norway does what Norway does when it comes to OSL, its primary international transit airport, to make things less convenient than they could be.

you should not mix Schengen-borders and customs borders - while you can move goods almost with no limitations throughout the EU, Norway (and Switzerland for that matter) are not member of EU thus you cross a customs border travelling to either of these countries, even all of them are part of the Schengen treaty. Opposite case would be UK - it's part of the EU though not part of Schengen area, hence you can transfer goods but need to do immigration for UK.

if you do international transfers in OSL you won't need to claim baggage and clear customs, this will still happen at your final destination.

Only if the international transfer at OSL doesn't involve heading to a destination in Norway.

The irony is that most of these hassles of international transiting via OSL to another airport in Norway involves heading to airports where Norway does have some customs resources allocated. For example, CPH-AES/SVG/BGO/TRD allows for clearing bags at AES/SVG/BGO/TRD; however, CPH-OSL-AES/SVG/BGO/TRD involve having to clear bags at OSL.

If Norway can manage customs "control" for all those international package charter tour passengers flying into airports without even a lot of scheduled international passenger carrier service, then not sure I buy into the "customs" excuse for keeping things this way when it comes to transiting via OSL on scheduled passenger carrier service from within the Schengen zone to a Norwegian destination other than OSL.

If the idea behind a Schengen zone was to get to creating a single "internal" market, then customs checks -- much as with passport checks -- get in the way of that.

... come on, who doesn't want to bring in lots of "cheap" booze into Norway? :D

would NYC-OSL-ARN involve claiming bags at the international transit point (OSL) while NYC-KEF-ARN does not involve claiming bags at the international transit point (KEF)?
No, International/International, thus no claiming of bags if interlining. But arriving Schengen passport control is performed using the same procedure at KEF and OSL.

Of Avinor-operated Norwegian airports with at least one international (commercial or charter tour) passenger flight a year, what proportion of them had no customs control resources assigned to them at all last year?
Why would this be important?

In the US, every airport with an international (commercial or charter tour) passenger flight last year had customs control resources assigned to them at some point last year -- permanent basis or not, resources got assigned to every last one of them. Not sure why it would be more affordable for the US to do so than for Norway to do so when the US government is financially broke in a way that Norway's government is not. [It's not like the Norwegian government is opposed to creating more government-funded jobs. :D ]

Well: if arriving at a US airport, connecting on a US domestic flight, you still have to clear US immigration and customs at first point of entry. If you arrive at ORD and connect to SFO, you still are cleared at ORD, even though SFO has permanently assigned customs control resources. And unlike Norway, if you connect directly from one international flight to another international flight at a US airport, you still have to go through full US immigration and customs clearance.

Norwegian "international" airports will have customs officials, and, if necessary, passport controllers for planned international arrivals/ departures. But it would be very expensive to staff all airports for all domestic arrivals as well. To use my local airport as an example: KSU has two or three arriving charter flights per week. Immigration is staffed by the local police station if the flight comes from outside the Schengen area, customs officers come from AES AFAIK. This means that the aiport is staffed as an international airport about three hours a week. If the airport should be staffed for all domestic arrivals as well, the airport would have to be staffed continiously from 08.30 - 23.00 M-F, 11.00 - 17.00 Sa and 13.30 -23.00 Su. This will make a huge increase in cost considering the number of airports in question.

Not sure why control of movement of goods by people on intra-Schengen trips should be a bigger concern for Norway than for most other Schengen zone countries, and yet Norway does what Norway does when it comes to OSL, its primary international transit airport, to make things less convenient than they could be.

Movement of goods has nothing to do with Schengen. Norway, like Iceland, is not in the EU, but in Schengen. Norway is a separate customs entity. That's the reason you still can buy duty free traveling to and from Norway.

And for its size: transit INT/INT is not very important in OSL, compared to CPH for instance.