GUWonder

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Tango Alpha

Two new destinations. Not just new routes.

Nice!

SusanDK

I'm pleased with this announcement. I'd rather clear customs and immigration in MCO over MIA, but am happy to see any direct flight to Florida. MIA makes sense for the cruise traffic and connections to the Caribbean and South America.

UltraRant

Just read the news. Son, I am disappoint.

Although not unexpected that it's LAX (UA hub), why on earth via ARN and not CPH? Also, why on such an unearthly hour that it's almost impossible to make from CPH/OSL? And even worse, it's almost impossible to make a connection via LAX on the way to Scandinavia...

MIA is just plain stupidity. DY already flies there and it mainly attracts leisure traffic. Plus that it's not a UA hub anymore... I don't think they'll manage to fill the route with a few stubborn FT'ers while most other leisure travelers choose their wallet first.

I would have loved a bit more adventure. Time to explore new markets instead of competing on already extremely competitive markets. To me, from OSL, it doesn't really matter if I connect in CPH, ARN, FRA, VIA, ZRH or any other airport in West or Central Europe. It's a connection anyway and they cost time. As they announced more direct long haul from OSL I got excited, but I was a bit too early, as it seems.

Oh, and just to add some oil to the fire: I'll be on DY (or DU, as some refer to it) OSL-JFK in January. And yes, I basically got the flight for free. I'll let you know how it was, if I make it (back).

fassy

I can live with the choice of ARN over CPH but the timings both ex-ARN and on the way back ex-LAX suck big time. Like you say, very difficult to connect to

GUWonder

DY flies to FLL, not to MIA.

A++ joint-venture is what SK is counting upon getting. Then FRA/VIE/ZRH becomes way less of an issue.

UltraRant

Well, not to make a big fuzz, but if a pilot applies the brakes too late on FLL, he might find he ends up on MIA. It's not much of a difference, it's still the same metropolitan region.

I do recall SK also had (has) a partnership with some non *A partners on the other end of the Atlantic. Is that what you're aiming at?

FlyingMoose

Where do you plan on connecting from in LAX that you can't make by 14:00? You can literally connect in LAX coming from BOS and still make SK934.

You can safely connect from any domestic airport or CPH/HEL/OSL onto SK933.

I personally find the timing excellent, you get out to ARN before traffic congestion and do not arrive completely wasted in LAX. Returning you have plenty of time for a proper meal service, movie and enough hours for sleep followed by breakfast. Then landed just after congestion has slimmed down and able to get to the office/home.

fassy

Oh, read the time table wrong, thought it leaves LAX at 10am. Anyway ex-ARN is for sure reachable from the other airports in Scandinavia but not comfortable. An hour or so later would have been nice, than I would had even the option to connect from ZRH to ARN onto LAX.

UltraRant

Oh my, I did the same as fassy: misread the time table. all past noon is alright for all domestic things in LAX, maybe with the exception of flights ex-Hawaii.

Still leaves just 2 potential feeders from OSL to the ARN-LAX flight, which isn't very much...

FlyingMoose

If you are connecting from HNL you'll be on a redeye into LAX probably complaining about how late SK934 is departing.

oliver2002

The ARN-LAX flight basically excludes anyone outside of the nordics from connecting.

I don't think they want to be part of A++ (ie UA/LH/AC/etc) ATI, but its the only market that is left where they have competition that plays by the familiar rules of engagement SK management is comfortable with. Eastbound/Asia is pretty much a lost cause against the ME3. Africa is spotty, S.America may have been an option...

GUWonder

SAS wants to be part of A++. Not only heard it from his own mouth but also read it.

http://airlineweekly.com/nordic-natu...ues-speaks-aw/

"We realized that for our longhaul operation, we’re going to focus on the Northern hemisphere, so we’re going to fly to North America and northeast Asia, and we’re not going to deploy our metal to southeast Asia for a number of different...."

That pretty much summarizes where SK was going before this announcement and still is going.

Milkman

But unlike FLL, MIA offers tonnes of good connections to the Caribbean and Latin America. Especially the presence of *A partners Copa and Avianca opens an intirely new perspective to this route. I'm too lazy to check, but my best guess is that AV serves around 10 cities in Latin America from MIA - and many of these currently require at least 2 transits from CPH/OSL.

That said, I agree that SK could have been a bit more creative in finding new routes.

GUWonder

* carrier Avianca/TACA group indeed have MIA as a focus city, and have MIA service to/from around ten Latin American cities and cover no less than four or five Latin American countries from MIA. And then there is * Copa for Panama.

ADD-ARN-LAX should work well on some days.

Perhaps the ARN-LAX will work well for the Persian LA crowd with feed to/from Iran, while also getting feed from the Iraqi airports too?

What no one in this thread has mentioned is ARN and the US CBP Preclearance push and how that works with all of this.