ung1

Putting SK aside, I do quite like BA's CE product much better than for example Lufthansa's European business class. You still get decent food, champagne, much nicer service on average and a nicer hub lounge with status (GF vs. SEN). And at least at LHR proper Group 1 boarding and not the mess when half the plane is Star Gold. But BA is also always more expensive, and much more hassle if flying between two Schengen countries.

AverageHighFlyer

Just to put some further light on SAS Plus not being a business class product - until 2013 or so, SAS used to operate three cabins/classes on short haul: Economy, Economy Extra and Business. Economy Extra was a premium economy product aimed at corporate travellers not allowed to book business, and as such it gave the “real” benefits that most corporate travellers care about (in particular, fast track security). In 2013 or so, SAS then did away with Business entirely and renamed Economy and Economy Extra to Go and Plus, respectively.

And yes, usually the chances are pretty good of getting an empty middle seat; Golds and Diamonds have a soft block, and they will move the non-existing curtain as far down as possible, “squeezing” Go together. On one memorable flight, I was the only passenger in Plus, with the divider going down to row 15 or so. Behind row 15, the Go passengers were squeezed together 6 in a row.

When I fly SAS Plus, I personally don’t care so much for the food cube, but I make full use of being able to get things from the cart for free - I find that a really nice perk, and I wish BA would do something similar for BoB (or at the very least, when they fail to load a meal for a paid CE customer!).

ermis177

GF is not SEN with LH but HON which is a much better experience than GF if you fly via one of the main hubs. You get a meet and greet service and in FRA Lufthansa has its own First class terminal. You even get driven to the plane! Much better experience than the First Wing and the usual overcrowded BA F lounges.
Regarding SAS their food was never a strong field... The good thing is that you can get anything from the menu for free and as many times as you want. To be honest when my choice of meal is not available with BA i would rather if they offer that ( i have read that sometimes they do offer something from the menu for free for CE passengers but thats not the norm).
Regarding the lounges. You only dont get lounge access if its a third party lounge. You do get access to any Star alliance lounge.

scottishpoet

Lufthansa is usually just as much hassle flying between 2 schengen countries unless one if the two is germany.

And going from krk to lhr or gla i do not find that ba is always more expensive

scottishpoet

I suspect that SAS has programmed ALTEA's theoretical seating to try to block middle seats for those on the 'premium' tickets.

BA could have done the same in FLY for those on domestic economy tickets no matter their status if they had not introduced CE on domestic.

NickB

Not quite: not having to go through security at the hub make LH somewhat less hassle than connecting at LHR with BA (plus there is on many routes less of a detour flying via FRA/MUC compared to flying via LHR).

scottishpoet

I agree no security helps, but much more likelihood of a bus gate at FRA and the possibility of a term a to schegen b connection which is worse than an a to b at lhr.

MUC is a better transit experience but less routes/flights.

Tafflyer

Changing flights at ANY airport in Europe is better than changing at LHR if you are flying between 2 Schengen countries. This because the UK is non-Schengen and because of the unnecesary additional security check at LHR flight connections.

ung1

Not at all. HON is equivalent to having a CCR card. HON requires for example at least 6x a year paid F trips. BA Gold, which gives access to GF, requires much less travel. It is equivalent to SEN - not a lounge for travelers in F, but not available to regular business passengers.

ung1

Flying BA vs LH on an intra-Schengen itinerary requires 2 extra passport controls plus an extra security control. There is no comparison. Being in Germany makes no difference - it is exactly the same flying FRA-TXL as FRA-MAD/OSL/ATH.

ermis177

Disagree. Very simple. BA has blue, bronze, silver and gold. LH has exactly the same. Miles and more member, frequent flyer, senator and Hon. CCR is just a card its not a seperate level. I do agree with you that hons requires much more travel but thats why LH decided to have a more exclusive top tier. SEN is exactly like silver on BA. You get exactly the same benefits when it comes to lounges, check in counters etc.

DFB_london

Its mixed. Often on Arn-lhr sas plus is more expensive than BA can sell club at, so clearly most Swedish travellers don’t think much of BA. The biggest issue with SAS is their carry on policy of 8kg stuck in 1985 and their useless Heathrow contract gate staff who combine arrogance stupidity and self importance in a way you’d never see at BA

ung1

My comparison was between the Galleries First Lounge and the Senator Lounge, which are both mid tier lounges of their respective airline.

And Silver and SEN are not the same. Silver gets you business lounge access, whereas SEN gets you Senator lounge access (a step up from the business lounge). With LH, FTL gets business lounge access (at LH operated lounges).

Both have a more exclusive lounge (CCR and HON respectively) only available to passengers in First or top-tier customers. The fact that it is not a different color on the card, is not really relevant. To access CCR you need 5000 TP, to access HON lounge you need 600k miles in 2 years.

mec72

Precisely. I even remember some press coverage when they ditch it, mentioning they were the first airline in Europe to actually introduce business class on short haul.

In the times when SAS had business class, that was my choice for LHR-ARN.

tuonopepper

But realistically do they police this 8kg... Yes they have guages and scales all over the airport but I've never seen the used at the gate at all. My laptop bag weighs more than 8kg, never mind the carry on.