I'm considering FlyNordic for ARN-BGN and Sterling for OSL-CPH on an upcoming trip, simply because they seem to be the cheapest way to get between these cities. Is there anything I should be aware of before I fly either of them? I have a pretty tight itinerary, so reliability is important to me. In-flight service isn't a big deal...I just need to make sure the flight actually gets there on time (roughly) with me on it.
Do a search on the SAS Forum; as they are the main competition to SK, they are mentioned there. I live in a town only served by SKBU so I have little personal experience. They appear reliable enough, but count on early check in and crowded planes. Sterling is well established and reliable, don't think there are any problems with FlyNordic either. A peculiarity with Sterling is that they explicitly prohibit consumation of food or drink brought on board by passengers. Only food actually purchased from the airline is allowed. Officially for hygienical reasons (!); but probably to ensure income from onboard sales. Should be no problems on the short OSL-CPH-flight, but would disqualify them for me for flights to southern Europe. Sterling codeshares with DY so check prices on www.norwegian.no as well!
And BTW Bergen is BGO, not BGN
Should be OK, though. Reliability has been more of an issue with SK lately...
Should be OK, though. Reliability has been more of an issue with SK lately...
Just did a flawless CAT IIIa 0' decision height landing with SK, Alesund-Gardermoen. The reliability [of SK's cockpit computers] seemed pretty good to me though it scared the living crap out of my seatmate to not see the runway [or anything else for that matter] until about a 1/2 second before touchdown.
If on the other hand you were referring to their dispatch and on-time performance I guess that's another matter but it's hard to argue with their $50 or so] from anywhere-to-anywhere afternoon fares [mornings and evenings a bit more of course]
7 segments in 20 days [CDG-OSL, OSL-BGO, AES-OSL, OSL-ARN, ARN-ZRH, ZRH-OSL, OSL-CDG] makes me wonder if I should have joined their FF program. Wonder if those segments would have amounted to anything.
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I'm considering FlyNordic for ARN-BGN and Sterling for OSL-CPH on an upcoming trip, simply because they seem to be the cheapest way to get between these cities. Is there anything I should be aware of before I fly either of them? I have a pretty tight itinerary, so reliability is important to me. In-flight service isn't a big deal...I just need to make sure the flight actually gets there on time (roughly) with me on it.
FlyNordic has been pretty good to me for CPH-ARN and OSL-CPH. I would not hesitate to use them except that they do no me good from a frequent flyer program perspective.
Sterling I do not like as much, but the performance of FlyNordic, Norwegian and Sterling are about as good as SAS has been for me this summer.
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Just did a flawless CAT IIIa 0' decision height landing with SK, Alesund-Gardermoen. The reliability [of SK's cockpit computers] seemed pretty good to me though it scared the living crap out of my seatmate to not see the runway [or anything else for that matter] until about a 1/2 second before touchdown.
If on the other hand you were referring to their dispatch and on-time performance I guess that's another matter but it's hard to argue with their $50 or so] from anywhere-to-anywhere afternoon fares [mornings and evenings a bit more of course]
7 segments in 20 days [CDG-OSL, OSL-BGO, AES-OSL, OSL-ARN, ARN-ZRH, ZRH-OSL, OSL-CDG] makes me wonder if I should have joined their FF program. Wonder if those segments would have amounted to anything.
Using KSU as my home airport (with MOL as the usual alternate) I have full respect and faith in the professional competence of the SKBU 737 and F50 pilots. Domestic Norwegian operations must be some of the toughest scheduled flying there is.
I have less respect for their (and other airline unions') tendency to more or less wild cat strikes (e.g. the sudden flu epidemic earlier this year which only hit ex-SK SKBU pilots, not ex-BU SKBU pilots). Mechanical reliability is also acceptable.
But the problem for me this year has been crew scheduling (waiting for an incoming crew) and airport operations; usually at OSL (KSU is so small that it's more or less flawless). But it must be said that DY has had its share of that type of problems as well.
As for joining the SK FF program: OSL-BGO//AES-OSL would give you nothing, the rest would probably give you 25% of the miles you flew. They are better credited to the FF program of an *A partner you fly more often on. And segments only count for EBG if they are full fare/business.
Just wondered if anyone had recent experience of FlyNordic? I'm thinking of using them around NewYear to get from Stockholm up to the IceHotel (Kiruna).
How is reliability? And how long do I need to get between Terminals 2 (BA) and 4 (FlyNordic) at ARN? And what is the legroom like? I assume since most of their customers are Vikings that it can't be too tight (I am 6'3" myself, which is why I ask).
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Quote:
Originally Posted by christep
Just wondered if anyone had recent experience of FlyNordic? I'm thinking of using them around NewYear to get from Stockholm up to the IceHotel (Kiruna).
How is reliability? And how long do I need to get between Terminals 2 (BA) and 4 (FlyNordic) at ARN? And what is the legroom like? I assume since most of their customers are Vikings that it can't be too tight (I am 6'3" myself, which is why I ask).
I used them recently up to Kiruna and was quite pleased. I honestly don't recall the legroom, but we're tall and were quite comfortable. The return we were on left within 15 minutes of an SAS flight so all the passengers pretty much overwhelmed the little Kiruna airport, but I was happy to be on FlyNordic as they had a much better system for handling check-in (evidenced by the lack of a line but full plane) than did SAS, which had a very long and chaotic check-in line.
Just wondered if anyone had recent experience of FlyNordic? I'm thinking of using them around NewYear to get from Stockholm up to the IceHotel (Kiruna).
How is reliability? And how long do I need to get between Terminals 2 (BA) and 4 (FlyNordic) at ARN? And what is the legroom like? I assume since most of their customers are Vikings that it can't be too tight (I am 6'3" myself, which is why I ask).
I often use FlyNordic on ARN-OSL and ARN-CPH and I am quite satisfied with it. I really appreciate their cabin crew: always smiling and helpful.
Legroom is ok for me and I have not seen any difference with a "normal" Economy seat.
Transfer from Terminal 2 to Terminal 4 is very easy, there is a long corridor connecting both terminals.
As you mention BA, I assume you will be coming from LHR. Remember that you have to clear customs upon arrival in ARN, i.e. you have to claim your bag in ARN even if it had been labelled through to KRN.
1. FlyNordic Friendly and helpful cabin crew; decent legroom; I love flying with the MD80 (but when seating at the front...) Not many destinations; no seat assignment.
2. Norwegian Extensive network; cheap fares available even at short notice; they sometimes land closer to a city than established airlines (e.g. DY uses ORY instead of CDG); change fee is low (150NOK). Legroom is quite tight. You don't get a seat number on every flight. ARN-ORY: free seating. ORY-ARN: seat number. ???
3. Sterling Extensive network; seat assignment; domestic flights in Sweden ARN-GOT and ARN-MMX. The legroom is a pure torture!
Friendly and helpful cabin crew; decent legroom; I love flying with the MD80 (but when seating at the front...)
Not many destinations; no seat assignment.
You don't get a seat number on every flight. ARN-ORY: free seating. ORY-ARN: seat number. ???
