FlyingMoose

Food in FRA SEN lounge is 1000x better than in ARN SK lounge. There is a shower in the ARN lounge but it is disgusting and not comparable to FRA SEN amenities. There is no place to nap in the ARN lounge.

The ARN wifi is 1000x better than in FRA if you're looking for a pro.

klmml

I've used those ARN showers quite a few times (in the gold side, not sure if there are any others), most recently about a month ago, and they've always been spotless. And the food is still better than CPH.

Jainzar

Yes, that matches also my experiences.

There is no shower in the C lounge, but I got last year complimentary access to the showers when flying SK C without having *G.

tarmosan

As an airline I will always choose Lufthansa before SAS. If any trouble with the flight, Lufthansa has always shown far better service than SAS.

CPH-Flyer

That really depends. Lufthansa's irrops handling in Frankfurt and Munich is very good. Their handling in a reasonable sized out station like Copenhagen is quite appalling in my experience.

RedChili

It's the handling agent which takes care of IRROPS. So, if SAS Ground Handling is the handling agent of LH in CPH, it's SAS which takes care of IRROPS handling, too. Most airlines would probably handle IRROPS better in their own hubs, where they have their own staff and lots of them, than in an outstation where the handling is outsourced. And this is one reason why it's very difficult to compare which airline handles IRROPS in a good way or a bad way.

CPH-Flyer

Admittedly true, and SK does very well in Copenhagen for their own flights.

My stumbling block has never been the agents in Copenhagen, it has always been Lufthansa in Germany denying the Copenhagen agents to take any action. Wait until the passenger is in Frankfurt or Munich seems to be the mantra. Even if that creates longer delays than fixing the issue from Copenhagen.

studentCPH

I luckily haven't had much need for IRROPS handling with SK, only a missed connection or two that were completely painless with rebookings. However I have had troubles with LH especially in MUC and a bit in FRA... So I can't agree with the picture of LH doing a better job than SK in IRROPS, at hubs.

Bobdh13

For my upcoming long-haul trip from PEK-Europe and I have a choice between SK (a340) and LH (a340/a380) in Y+ and quite unsure what to do; that means time to reach out to the Flyertalk community Any advice from the road-warriors who try both frequently? So far I have:

LH
+ Relatively better connectivity within Europe
+ Access to Senator lounges when transferring in Germany as *G
- 2-4-2 layout on the A380

SK
+ Many more A3 miles but normal with other *A (200%)
+ Free Wifi
+ Mikkeler craft beer served onboard
- CPH lounge is quite disappointing as *G

In many ways the hard product are similar (TV screen size, seat pitch, seat width) so it will come down to many of the soft factors

Havent seen any consolidated thread comparing LH vs SK so decided to start one in the hopes of getting advice and to be useful for future flyers! If I put this in the wrong thread my apologies

Daner

Having flown both of them in the A330/340 my feeling is that there is not enough difference in the hard product to motivate choosing one over the other. The Senator lounges are clearly superior to the CPH lounge, and I do find the A380 in Y to be quieter and more comfortable than the A330/340, but I have not yet tried it in Y+. With those factors in mind, for me it would come down to getting the best routing, timing, and price for the trip in question.

Double Trouble

SAS Plus has way better food in my opinion. But that's about the only only thing I can think of that's better. Lufthansa has a slightly more comfortable seat and better service. I don't really remember the toilet situation on Lufthansa. Do you share toilets with economy passengers?

Jainzar

Should be since they have configurations where you can find Y in front of and behind of Y+.

CPH-Flyer

Only on the low J count 747-8. But a strange confirmation it is indeed.

But also on other configurations, lavatories shared with Y for LH. The only airlines I can think of where that is not the case is JAL on 77W, BA on the 747-400 where WTP is between F and J, and I guess Norwegian as there is no J. But there may be a few others

flyswiss88

Not knowing if this is still relevant but as having flown SK on Longhaul the first time (in SAS Plus) to Austin and back I would like to share my thoughts having used Y+ on BA (77W), SQ (A388) and LH (343/346/748/380) where my ranking would be: LH, SQ, SK, BA, NZ:

• I've heard similar stories about CPH but I find transit in ARN a bit of a pain, I think I've never seen any airport within EU where they take that long to scan the passports and as I was lucky to be quick also surprised to see that here is only one security checkpoint for transit (really?) which filled up quickly
• I actually quite liked the SK Gold Lounge, don't really know what the rave about the SEN Lounge food quality is - it is the same that you would in any German Cantine but guess if you are used to things the grass is always greener on the other side.
• Boarding I guess is a bit hard to compare: ARN to AUS wasn't standard due to some speeches etc... and AUS was a complete mess and super slow but this was the second SK flight they handled so that would most likely happen to any carrier
• Getting settled on the plane: A bit of a lackluster affair on the way out, way-back crew offered directions etc....
• Pre-Departure: no drinks, no menus etc... and an ancient FA that yelled at anyone who had blankets on the seat. I've travelled on 60+ Airlines and I've never had anyone making a fuss about it - on the other hand she wouldn't care if seats were reclined, Devices inside the USB Ports and the footrests down - maybe some of the SK pro's can explain the blanket-mania to me
• Hardware: I actually would rate the overall seat/IFE/comfort slightly above LH and definitively the other airlines (my NZ 789 trip been a while but there I liked the cabin as well), so far I found it the most comfortable seat to sit in, however it is in the end still Eco plus and not Business light
• Food/Beverage: I was really shocked that it took almost 3 hours to get lunch service done and that they ran out of booze (no kidding - and I don't drink on flights) half way through the flight. Found it cool that they offered a mid-flight snack (found it disgusting but that might be personal taste ) and I generally the catering was quite ok. Way back was somewhat quicker and breakfast decent enought for TATL.
• WLAN: Absolute joke - I'd rather pay but get a bit more speed and no I am not expecting to stream netflix in full HD, but at least to send a pic through via whats-app which failed for the duration of the flight.
• Crew: Didn't really like the crew on the way out, distant (and no not the nordic distant but "i couldn't care" distant) and as said very slow. Way back was pleasantly different (and no its not an age thing, they were mostly 50+ on the way back as well) - lots of smiles, good interaction and proactive.

Overall i found the product good but not really exiting, I personally do like the service on LH more as it is more streamlined. SK (like OS/LX) seem to be a bit hit & Miss when it comes to crew which I really don't experience in a same way on LH (and SQ). Also the cabin was rather large with 56 seats on an A333 (similar count as LH on their 380) and there I do prefer the layout on the LH 380 much more (front of plane, separated cabin, quick service).

If I could fly at the same price my preference would go to LH, if SK would be cheaper I would be more than willing to give them another try. Personally I find anything more than EUR 1200-EUR 1500 (depending on routing) anyway to expensive for any PE product but I guess that's once again a matter of choice. More than interested to try out SAS Business later that year.

FlyingMoose

The problem at ARN when going through passport control is that they scan all the passports and not for safety or security reasons but to catch people with outstanding unpaid taxes because that is a worse crime in Sweden than terrorism.

• Quote:

  I actually quite liked the SK Gold Lounge, don't really know what the rave about the SEN Lounge food quality is - it is the same that you would in any German Cantine but guess if you are used to things the grass is always greener on the other side.

The SK lounge food is of terrible quality, often only a cold salad bar (occasional pizza/wrap being the exception) and without standard international food options. LH does this a lot better, few people expect outstanding food in a lounge but you could at least serve something that appeals to more than the local population.

• Quote:

  Pre-Departure: no drinks, no menus etc... and an ancient FA that yelled at anyone who had blankets on the seat. I've travelled on 60+ Airlines and I've never had anyone making a fuss about it - on the other hand she wouldn't care if seats were reclined, Devices inside the USB Ports and the footrests down - maybe some of the SK pro's can explain the blanket-mania to me

Welcome to SAS, ancient FAs that put in 200% effort to provide as close to zero effort as possible. Their younger, attractive and service minded FAs are flying CRJ-based short-haul routes for some reason.

• Quote:

  Food/Beverage: I was really shocked that it took almost 3 hours to get lunch service done and that they ran out of booze (no kidding - and I don't drink on flights) half way through the flight. Found it cool that they offered a mid-flight snack (found it disgusting but that might be personal taste ) and I generally the catering was quite ok. Way back was somewhat quicker and breakfast decent enought for TATL.

This is the standard SK treatment, inedible and to little food and a service that takes long enough to ensure you get no sleep.

• Quote:

  Crew: Didn't really like the crew on the way out, distant (and no not the nordic distant but "i couldn't care" distant) and as said very slow. Way back was pleasantly different (and no its not an age thing, they were mostly 50+ on the way back as well) - lots of smiles, good interaction and proactive.

A total hit and miss as is the standard on SK, offering a consistent product and ensuring FAs are service minded and polite aren't considered.