Lauda 777

Even when the inflatable cushion actually works it's really uncomfortable. I really hope that Sas will replace them with a standard cusion. At least they are aware of the problem considering the A350 doesn't have it.

dodgeflyer

Things are then already looking up!

MrCharming

I don't particularly disagree with anything you say OP, but I still rate SAS business hard product pretty high up on the list.

The soft product needs work and I've tried everything from great(1 out of maybe 10 C flights I've been on) to terrible. Unfortunately more often than not it's quite poor.

Food isn't bad but not good either.

Never had anyone looking at me for asking for more wine though . I get the annoyance. Not exactly 2k/bottle wines they serve.

dodgeflyer

Not that I expect anything else from a scandi customer service culture where you should be lucky to be in their company, let alone get any service.

The hard product is not bad, it is just I had expected something more, ie better than the super diamond.

JR67

Well, Scandi cs 2020 is light years ahead of what it was 1990. And the sad thing is that most of us measure current service against the non-existent service it used to be, and are happy with it. Well, except for @FlyingMoose... ;-)

GUWonder

I can’t speak of it in 1990, but it’s better than in 1999 and has been improving.

There are factors involved in why it has improved, but going into them here will probably rock the boat bad enough that some may want to drown me in the canal between Hollviken and Ljunghusen, toss me out of a low-flying prop plane flying over Denmark, or disappear me in the area where Norway and Finland are neighbors. Or maybe all of the above.

I think the criticism and recognition of what was different around the world has helped a lot in terms of improving the service culture that retail consumers get in Scandinavia. FlyingMooses can be useful, even for those who have a thing for flying reindeer.

I am not thrilled by everything SAS does — especially not thrilled with what it has been doing with the economy class offering — but its service in long-haul business class strikes me as being at least as good or better now than it was in 1999 and 2009. But for some strange reasons, my sleep even on those 2009--era (and even 1999-era) business class seats on SAS long-haul worked more consistently for my sleep than what SAS has given me in more recent times.

highupinthesky

I had the same view, but then I got a couple of F flights with APAC operators, and here I had the same problem with sleeping. Since I normally can sleep everywhere, I kind of worries that my problem with sleeping on planes is down to me becoming old and not handling jetlag and travel in general as good anymore.

GUWonder

For kicks this month, I decided to fly SAS again for the same route and had my luck with the poor person’s version of in-flight flatbeds: 4 seats together in economy class. Slept much better on SK’s 4 seats together in economy class this month than I did on the same SAS plane in business class one and two weeks earlier. Unfortunately, it’s not all that easy to always end up with 4 seats to one’s self in SK economy class,. This 4-seats-together-in-SK-economy works better for the non-portly, as there is more of the seat-belt issue for those on the wide side.

JR67

If there is one thing good to say about LN-RKP is is that I found her j seats the best in the fleet then and now for sleeping. The new seats work fine for me for sleeping - my grudge is that they are not very good for westbound flights. Plus in recline is way more comfortable than J in recline, since you have either sitting straight up or various versions of lying down. I really want an option to merely recline the backrest without moving into bed mode. I still take J, since I need the space for work, but I hate it when work is done and it is time to watch me some Avengers.

fassy

That’s true. The J seats really have no good lounging position.

But are pretty good for sleeping... just slept 7 hours straight

GUWonder

I usually want to sleep for a good part of the SAS ARN/CPH/OSL-US flights and more on the SAS US-ARN/CPH/OSL flights, so the weird quasi-upright lounging positions tend to be a somewhat lesser concern than how the seat assignment works for my sleep. I usually try to avoid paying for premium economy on my long-haul flights because I don’t find them so useful for my sleep that I would be willing to pay a substantial premium for them; and the price premium over economy class is often high enough for my travels that a discounted business class ticket may work better for me.

fassy

Actually, I sleep better in the LH F seat in lounging position than as any full flatbed. It is just soooo comfy, usually I don’t even bother to fully convert it into the bed-mode.

yurtripper

That's the strategy that worked for Sam Chui when he did his "How to survive Economy class on Emirates" video. He was on an A380, as you might expect. Nothing wrong with kipping on the 4-seat section on an A380. Done that flying SQ on more than one occasion.

Helps to check the seat map about an hour prior to boarding so you know where to head for once the seatbelt signs are switched off.

fassy

Just had my first trip on SK long haul this year. Upgraded both legs ARN-ORD and ORD-ARN to J using points via PlusGrade.

On the outbound, catering was terrible. I had the reindeer starter with salad (nothing wrong with the salad ) which was edible, but not really great. Pretty dry and not particular enjoyable. For the main I had the wild turkey with mashed potato and some slimy sauce. That was truly terrible. Actually skipped most of it after a few sampling bites.

The red wines... well... let’s say I wouldn’t buy them. The Portuguese red wasn’t too bad... the Australian one I didn’t like. But the I admit my standards when it comes to red wine are probably a bit higher. Being addicted to Napa Cabernets, I rather pay $50+ for a great wine once a month which I really enjoy than $15 each weekend.

Crew on the outbound was Swedish, quite ok but typical Nordic. Distant and short in words but delivered a flawless service. That’s ok for me.

Had an early start, a long week behind and an even longer trip and week ahead I tried to sleep after dinner and surprisingly sleep almost 7 hours straight. Was just woke by the FA 20 minutes before landing in ORD.

Overall, decent experience but far from great.

On the return I had the Veal tonnato and salad as starters. And I have to admit, that was pretty good! Juicy veal, pink in the middle, tasty tonnato sauce and nice presentation.

For the main, I opted for the pasta which was also - against all my expectations - very nice.

Wines, see outbound.

The crew was again ARN based and again, ok. Not outstanding, but ok.

Also managed to sleep after dinner almost until touchdown.

So overall, a good experience. For sure not LH or LX F and behind LX or OS J, but quite good.

Have my first UA Polaris next week, let’s see how that compares

CPH-Flyer

I actually don't understand why people rave about the Polaris seats. The Vantage XL is better in my opinion. Looking forward to hearing some comments.