GUWonder

Award ticket space would be an even better idea than op-ups, at least in that it would suit me better.

Discus

The general problem from my point of view is not that ID-pax has the possibility to travel in C-class, off course they should have the possibility to try the product. The big problem is that ID-pax is treated better than the fully paying pax with the highest status. It should not be visible that there are ID-pax or "friends and family" in the cabin, they should be treated just as good (or bad) as everyone else with the same EB-status.

gnaget

Yes, but there is a fully legitimate C class ID ticket whether you like it or not. Your seatmate had saved a few thousand SEK by not buying the C class ID ticket. If M was full then his op-up is somewhat legitimate. But I think they then should upgrade a full fare Y passenger (if there are any) and put the employee in Y.

Back when I had SAS ID privileges more than 20 years ago then there was no C class ID ticket, but with M full then I sometimes got to fly C transatlantic -- I recall doing it in the smoking section once or twice.

For US 3 class airlines then F class is known as employee class often full of employees. I think it is common to have only ID and a few upgraders from C to F and a few award tickets in this cabin.

WorldtravellerExtraordinaire

Wow, gone for a few days and this happens. Let the quote-party begin!
ID90 tickets work great for vacations. you just need a lot of planning

OpUps are not an EBD privilige, if EBDs wish to fly business class they should either buy a business class seat in the first place or secondly upgrade with OptionTown in advance or with miles at the gate.

Since ID passengers usually are seated last, they get the last available seats - if thats i business class they may be seated there. That is probably why it is called and operational upgrade, and not a complimentary-elite-upgrade etc..

And just to make it clear for all, ID passengers actually pay to fly, you have seen a receipt with your own eyes...

SAS would be more than happy to sell these seats to their "loyal customers", are You suggesting an "ID quota"?

IMO spot on and I fully agree with you. ^

Absolutely. But those seats filled with ID passengers are definitely available for upgrades, just not free upgrades to "loyal customers".

Yup and yup.

[QUOTE=CKCPH;24093994I'd like to re-iterate that it isn't about flying cheap for me. I think, however, SAS could use spare Business seats a hell of a lot better than handing them out to friends at minimal cost - op-ups to loyal customers would be an idea.[/QUOTE]I think you mix up "complimentary upgrade" and "operational upgrade".

IMO spare business class seats should be left empty, if someone wish to fly at the pointy end one might as well pay for it. Complimentary upgrades remove some of the premium - why would you pay for business class if you are upgraded anyway?

Exactly. Revenue passengers should be served first, get the most attention and the best service etc.

sethb

YQ is supposedly "fuel surcharge" so given current market conditions, if it's a positive number I'd consider it fraudulent.

Blueblood

I have flown C on SK909/910 several times a year for 14 years. The cabin is always full and I always try to book as far in advance as possible to insure a seat. I did not realize that SK personnel (or family members) with the "ID" privilege were all around me!

SK can order its affairs as it likes. If they want to give ID flyers open seats in C over EBD/full fare Y/people upgrading for extra $$$ at the gate, that's fine with me, I suppose. If I ran the airline, I would probably do it differently, but then again, I've never run an airline.

I also think I've never experienced any worse treatment than any other passenger while flying C. I would expect nothing less as a fare-paying C passenger. Then again, I think the level of service in C on SK could be a little better, but it's not horrid.

LH4116

Good friend of mine works for Widerře and gets access to ID tickets on SAS. He recently flew to New York with his girlfriend and paid the same price as OP cited, e.g 1216 SEK each way for a Business Class ticket. Since SAS rarely fill the cabins these days the travel is more or less confirmed.

I don't mind there being ID pax as long as they blend in with the rest of the passengers. However on a recent trip to Tokyo in SAS Business, the woman seated in row 8 was clearly an ID pax as she followed the rest of the crew to the front galley, where some loud chatter was to be heard. I was seated in 2H on that flight.

On the return however I may have been the one suspected for an ID pax since I spent an hour in the main galley chatting to the steward, sampling the Mikkeller beers, cocktails and having a good time

I was however told that SAS are nowadays skimping on the meals as they now only load the same number of Business Class meals as there are passengers booked in the cabin. In those cases they're unable to upgrade people with points, even though there are empty seats available. I suppose the same thing must apply for ID passengers.

FlyerTalker01565

That can't be true. As you can see, the angry Swedes/Norwegians in here don't believe that. When you do exactly 50 - now 45 - legs of SAS Go tickets booked 7 months in advance a year for 249NOK, you know much more than those of us actually flying business.

UltraRant

Slightly off topic, but can you please tell me where I can find SAS tickets for 249NOK? That'd be an awesome opening for making some private trips and save me at least 50% on SAS tickets, as the minimum I pay nowadays is at least 499 for the cheapest economy tickets...

Furthermore, as we now have two different sources quoting a 1200 kroner price in C ofr ID pax, I'm actually more or less willing to believe that such a construction is 'normal' routine. As I also do fly SAS C, I do feel that I have the right to share my experiences on this topic, despite not flying SAS long haul in C exclusively.

I actually share the opinion that it wouldn't matter to me as long as I am unknowing of it happening: SK staff can be much more discreet and professional about this. What happens a bit too much at SAS is that ID pax get in some ways treated like preferred customers and that it's pointed out a bit too explicit that there are ID pax on board. As it's very un-Scandinavian to treat status passengers better than regular pax, it should certainly also be a no-no to treat non-paying non-status pax like what's happening now.
Furthermore, the current C class planning is indeed a bit of a disgrace. It's so typical for SAS that they're so pennywise (not too many expensive C meals on board) and pound foolish (having to refuse people who want to buy last-minute upgrades). Anyway, that subject is a bit off-topic here, I believe.

Nice to be viewed as 'angry' by default, though...

@blueblood: I fully agree that C service has good potential for improvement in comparison with other European airlines. However, as we all know, instead of having any self criticism or self motivation, SAS' staff rather turns to a Swedish union magazine to whine and sob about how customers are so mean to them.

gnaget

I still contend that the ID prices cited here are much lower than reality. And in the first example the passenger was allegedly upgraded from economy. I can easily find out the current price but this is not public information and I would not disclose it.

Also this ID passenger was an idiot and violated the rules for disclosing that he was ID and then showing a receipt -- if he actually did this. In the old days this could have been cause for suspending his ID privileges.

Regarding the meals, if this rumor is correct, then point upgraders should hope for C class ID passengers since if the are listed on a flight then they will provide extra catering.

FlyerTalker01565

Of course you do.

gnaget

Well, in your case it was first DKK 1200 round trip and then it became exactly SEK 1216. And my impression was that the guy was boasting that he had been upgraded. This seems plausible for one way in economy.

If the guy showed you the paper with the price then he should be suspended from ID travel. If you happened to see it then it is a different matter.

FYI, in 2003-2005 I was both 1K with United and had ID privileges with SAS, so was on both sides of the fence. One thing that I can tell you is that ID traveler behavior is a completely different kettle of fish on UA. Here they used to have quite large F class cabins with maybe 11 out of 12 passengers being ID pax. On one flight they literally had an ID passenger/ crew party, which I could observe from the first row of Business. United ID passengers will become quite upset if they have to fly Business.

view

This is the reason we will soon find that UA drops international F. Nothing announced yet, but the management said to be working on it. It makes total sense of course, since nobody seems to be paying for it. I must say my one experience in UA long haul F was pretty bad, the whole cabin was ID except for us (on award) and the product was poor all around except for the seat.

http://upgrd.com/matthew/united-airl...s-product.html

Anyway, getting off topic here. UA is even worse than SK for ID travel. But let us look to e.g. Asia. You would never notice an ID pax for SQ, except that they have the last pick of everything,

gnaget

Well, I think it is (or especially was) much better for the actual United ID passengers. But the F cabins are smaller now. The 777s used to have 12 seats. If United were smart then they would upgrade their elites with full fare business tickets to F and then accommodate the IDs. The issue with UA's business on the 3-class planes is that it is very cramped width-wise with 8 seats across.

I flew CO as ID in the 1980s and once I learned my lesson because I was nearly denied boarding because I did not wear suit and tie. Thereafter I found myself mostly in F class (in suit and tie) on CO and the cabins were often empty. They clearly did not have unlimited upgrades for elites like they do today. But times have changed....

LH4116

My friend works for Wideroe, so as an employee he gets access to the ID90 tickets. Nothing strange about that. The price for a return ticket in Business Class to New York on SAS is around 2500 SEK, and to Brazil with Lufthansa he paid around 5000 SEK for a Business Class return. There are different rates for friends and family, who usually pay around double the price that the employee pays.

I fly Business Class on a regular basis both on paid and award tickets, just like anybody else here, and yes I also take advantage of the discount SAS GO fares from time to time. I see nothing wrong with that.