studentCPH

Definetely not 3A if you like the privacy and extra length of the even rows. I was in 2H, although it was on the A330, but I didn't notice the lack of space compared to row 4 which I've had on my previous trips.
Personally I'd stick to row 2 to be sure to get my first choice of food, if they've bothered to cater what is in the menu that is.

oliver2002

Good point. Considering it takes off at 18:35, it will be dinner time and I wont bank on getting anything edible in Plus on the feeder and in the CPH lounge So I will have to eat and sleep a bit.

oliver2002

I was really impressed by SAS C this week. The same wow feeling and impression I had when they introduced the A343/330 fleet after kicking out the B763. The cabin looks great, the service and food ex CPH was really good. (no cling film on my food!) The crew was responsive and interested, the concept presented made sense. A number of Scandic brands have been added and present themselves well, although I fail to see what Hästens had to do with the bedding provided (OK, it was a bed and it had the check pattern).

Service took ages, the desert cart and coffee passed at T+150min, lights were dimmed only at T+180min. Row 2 was perfect for getting food early and as per my choice.

I hope SK is getting the revenue they need to keep this up. I got my ticket for 1865€ rt (return on LX) and a number of Germans and Swiss on my flight were bragging among themselves rather loudly how their tickets were purchased at 'half price'. If they are filling their cabin at ~2000€ this will not end well.

FlyingMoose

You must have gotten lucky as that is not the typical SK experience. Any insights in what you got to eat and where the crew where from?

The Hästens thing is largely a gimmick, its a big deal specifically in Sweden. If you tell the average Swede that they get to sleep under a Hästens blanket, they will need clean underwear.

They do the same on 8hour US->EU flights, it is really annoying. I don't care if the service is 2 hours on an 11 hour night flight but they should really ensure people have at least the opportunity to get a meal and 7 hours of sleep. Specifically having the lights on at full brightness so long is terrible, combined with the high levels of noise from the galley, completely ignoring the passenger's desire to sleep. They are also not providing expedited meal service, ie. get everything at once because they "heat" all meals at the same time (poor excuse for FA not wanting to work harder).

oliver2002

I had the deer cheek. Crew was largely Danish (2-3 Chinese), the catering lady was very engaged and very nice, which I know/think is unusual.

I always thought Haestens was horse hair matresses, but now discovered on the website that the checked pattern can be bought as bed covers, blankets etc.

GUWonder

For the bedding company, it's marketing. I don't know what SAS gets paid for it or saves because of it. Nor do I know if any involved SAS figures got any FT-style benefits from the bedding company. But I do know that at least it's Scandinavian. However, who knows where some or all of it was made. It's taken as usually being made in Sweden, not China.

FlyerTalker01565

This is incredibly annoying. You can have Economy and Plus all tucked in for the night while Business is half way through the meal. I don't know what takes so long, really.

EWRFlyerAL

Flew EWR-OSL in business. I have to say, it was one of the most lackluster experiences that I have had across *A carriers (or any carrier). Let's start in EWR. The SAS lounge is a terrible joke. The LH Senator lounge across the hall is 100x better. Boarding started with watching a group of gate agents chat with each other and ignore passengers looking for assistance. Boarding consisted of barely a grunt from the cabin crew.

Service was slow and unfriendly. Between meals the crew sat and chatted in the galley. The food was awful. It makes UA's food look like fine dining (when in reality it's closer to doggy chow). Asking the crew working the flight for anything was near torture as they almost hissed at any request.

Wi-Fi did not work for 90% of the flight.

The seat is nice and the entertainment is good. The touchscreen is very responsive. There is no point to the thin mattress pad/cover.

Unfortunately, the seat does not make up for the rest of it. I'm not looking forward to my return flight at all and am disappointed that I paid for biz here.

FlyingMoose

I appreciate how your post summarises everything that's wrong with SK so accurately and captures that the problem isn't the hard product but instead the food and staff. Lounge improvements are also needed but the least of their problems, as passengers can just go to other *A lounges.

FlyerTalker01565

I don't mean to be polemic, but what ratio is the soft product for you? 50%? For me, the hard product is 98% of the value.

fassy

For me about 25%

25% timing schedule since I'm rather flexible
50% pricing where SK usually is not in the top 5.
25% hard product - why only 25%? Since most carriers have their updated J cabins nowadays the difference is not that huge. I prefer SK or OS over LX or LH but a J flight with LH is perfectly fine even without all aisle access.
25% softproduct - good service and a smile makes a difference for me, as well as decent catering. As said, if the hard product is pretty much the same, the soft product makes a difference.

Given a choice between OS and SK at same pricing an comparable timetable I would choose OS every time. Why? The vastly superior soft product.

FlyingMoose

As hopefully evident by my posts on here, food plays a big role. Staff not being service-minded can easily ruin the ratio of how much I value the hard-product if I can get the same product on 5 other airlines with better service. The inability to sleep 20% of a US->EU flight being a good example. The business seat is preferred but I might as well be hogtied to the wing if the only experience I'm getting is negative.

In a perfect world my ratio's wouldn't differ that much from you but we're talking SK here. You mentioned in another thread that it is a matter of either being in the airline business or not, customer service is everything. It appears SK is slowly picking up on that, but the process is way to slow and hasn't gotten to reeducating FAs yet.

GreatDane

I know I have been quite negative lately about SK's intra-european product - especially the Plus product (which I continue to think is lacking in so many ways compared to the competion from the likes of LH/OS/LX who have a real C_class product of sorts). And the new webpage is still a disaster.

BUT flying a few Longhauls on SK in C I must say that this product continues to excel and far surpasses LH (with 6across seating) and BA (with 8 across ).
SK with 1-2-1 configuration has very decent leg space (up to 2m in some seats) and the seats a very comfortable and private.

Swedish 'caviar' (Lögrom) service is very tasty even compared to TG's F which serves mushy real caviar of very questionable origin and taste.
Food quality on the lastest runs absolutely top notch - wine selection also good with interesting guest wines - and table service as good as any F-class with not a tray in sight. Sauternes desert wine still unique for SK in C and very welcome.

Inflight entertainment is an excellent hard-product and easy to navigate - only the content is somwehat dated and could use a much greater volume of choice. In flight snack and wine bar still has very nice variety and choice and is a nice distraction to walk up to chat with fellow passengers.
Service friendly and personal in all flights - not a tired old hag in sight
Sleep quality on the Hästens mattress duvet very good - Pillows just too thin.

Just one small final note - if you choose not to have flowers any more in the bathrooms - then get rid of the empty vases - it looks poor.

But overall ^^^^ This product rocks.

salty749

I just booked ORD-CPH in Business for April - any particular seat you prefer on the 340? Any other tips? Thanks!

H.J.Simpson

I totally agree. I enjoy SK longhaul. The seats are amongst the best in C going to the US. The service is fine. As you are dealing with humans, you can have one which is negative/having a bad day/dislike the job. I have had a stewardess on CX First HKG-LHR which truly hated her job (remember F class). I survived - and will probably also do it, next time I get a one-off at SAS - or QR, UA, CX or LH...
I don't know why so many are against the service on SAS? This also applies to the Plus service in Europe. I find it acceptable. I get safe from A to B, usually on time which is the most important!

Already look forward to next flight to IAD.