CPH-Flyer

All planes except the back up plane LN-RKP has the new cabin. Being a back up plane, there is no fixed routes it flies.

meanie.me

Its correct, most long haul SAS flights have new business cabin, which is actually quite nice.
SAS is introducing new business class service (food and drinks). They sorta claim serving caviar, but its red caviar with some dill and sour cream topping already in it. Nothing like black one

Bottom line, cabin is very nice, service will be stone cold from tired of life SAS 80 years old flight attendants. But if you can fly without an extra smile, they will bring you anything you want

studentCPH

My experience from Plus (HKG,NRT,LAX, not SFO) is that they'd rather have you pick up your own drinks from the back than bring them to you. And sometimes it feels like if you could just not disturb them, that would be even better.

On my most recent flight they said that you should order all drinks for your meal (including liqours) with the first drink service which was hour before it would actually be served (turned out to be 'only' about 30 minutes). In the end they were happy to provide an extra bottle of wine with the meal, and liqours while serving coffee, unlike in go.
There were a couple of rounds with water/juice/coke later on, but not that many.

I like the seat in PLUS, especially for day flights, but IMHO the service is often not far from being worse than regular economy on many other airlines. I tend to not be very happy with especially the 'more experienced' Swedish stewardesses, but once in a while there are a couple nice cabin crew that can make for a great flight :-)

meanie.me

The issue with SAS, its those 10000 years old FA.
When I moved to Sweden 6 years ago, I was shocked the first time I took SAS how they talk to you.
They are not there to serve you (in a good, customer service way).
They are there so you dont annoy them!

All those issues come from socialistic swedish employment rules, and its just in 2017 SAS started to hire young cabin crew, which is actually interested in doing a good job and hasn't been serving chicken or fish since 1960.

Hopefully, if they move part of the operations to UK and Spain, they will be able to get rid of labour unions and start doing like most normal airlines, having FA being 20-25 YO student, who wants to see the world and has some spark about the job.

If you think SAS longhaul service is bad, try taking domestic flight
You will call it a great experience, if you dont get a boiling towel thrown in your face!

Actually, SAS management is well aware of it, but given the regulations, there isnt much they can do about it now!

FT Guest xyzpdq

I am fairly regular traveller on SAS Plus (IAD, EWR, SFO and recently MIA).
In short:
- The hard product is great (seat, leg room, recline, pillow, blanket, etc)
- The IFE system is great - but content is lacking
- Drinks are good (esecpially I like the new Plane Ale from Mikkeler)
- Food is horrible - and on night flights I usually eat at the airport prior to boarding
- Service takes forwever to start and complete
- Smiles and attitue can vary. On most recent flight I have had good crews - but have certainly also had the opposite
- You usually have to get your own drinks between meals - but they do come around with snacks, water and candy every once in a while

Mr. Burns

I've flown 3 segments in SAS plus to/from SFO in the last year. I think it's a great hard product and it removes almost all of the pain points from flying economy. If you can get it for a reasonable premium ($200-400 round trip), it's a no-brainer.

FlyerTalker01565

I very much agree it's a good product. If I fly SAS on my own dime, I don't pay for Business westbound. I simply don't think the added perks justify the costs when Plus is that good.

Going the other way, the flat bed is obviously a huge perk. I'll happily mix Plus outbound and Business homebound, keeping the combined ticket under DKK 20,000 if booked in advance. On EWR-CPH I've flown Plus both ways (r/t was DKK 6,200 in Plus) once and I survived just fine.

ScandiGB

Last time I flew it was PVG-CPH.
You have >90% chance of new cabin.
It is a very good economy plus product.
Much better seat than economy. Not flat but comparably to us domestic first class.
Food and drinks is a small upgrade from economy but there is no restriction on amount they will serve.
The service provided by the cabin crew can be anywhere from stellar to terrible.
Hard product imho best economy plus product I know with the exception of Thai which is actually a declassified business product on old planes.

FlyingMoose

Agree wholeheartedly outside of the Mikkeller. Their last addition in the new drinks menu is their Belgian white. I personally consider it blasphemy when people refer to their brews as Belgian and then serve something that doesn't even remotely resemble beer from a country that by a very far margin makes the best in the world. I would rather drink from the Ganges than take one sip of Mikkeller.

Same here, needing 2 hours of a 7,5 hour flight to serve meals cuts to much sleeping hours. Dinner service in Business should be concluded no more than 45 minutes into any Eastbound flight. By the time sleeping-aids kick in, I need to be done eating.

Largely terrible crews. I will state that between all the airlines I regularly use, SK has the biggest gap in service, some are consistently great, others consistently terrible and with SAS it is a total hit or miss every single flight. I don't find there to be many average crews, they are either really good or just flat out awful.

Previously I found that depending on where the crews came from it made a difference, ranking the Swedish ones worst, I've had two recent great experiences with very service minded, young and attractive stewardesses which has forced me to adjust that opinion. I always find that airlines should have crews that match the expectations that new travelers who have never used them before have of the country or region they primarily serve. The Norwegian crews are still consistently terrible.

I find that if you ask for things when they make their rounds, they will bring it to you, even the Espresso coffee. However, you shouldn't have to ask and the rounds are to infrequent. I also don't feel like using the button just to get a drink, a quick round for drinks every 30 minutes by a stewardess is more than sufficient. Also please don't assume that I want water, orange juice or coke every time.

timrousbeastie

I've been flying SAS Plus or Business between Las Vegas and Copenhagen 4 times per year since 2011. I used to book the CPH-SFO route for the transatlantic leg until the ARN-LAX route started last spring. The Plus product is fine and I never had any complaints about service. However, the ARN-LAX route is often cheaper and, more importantly, you have far better odds at getting upgraded. I got upgraded from Plus 5 times out of 6 since the new auctions started last year and that makes a huge difference with the new cabins. The one thing, I miss about the SFO route, is that you have easy access to the AmEx Centurion lounge both ways if you use United for connecting flights.

FlyingMoose

If I'm not mistaken LAX is supposed to get an AMEX Centurion lounge sooner than later, it is definitely in the works. Just hoping it will be an actual lounge and not the "studio" stuff they pull in SEA, despite being a better option than the airline lounges. It gets very crowded.

Jespersm

Poor you, being treated this way. You certainly don't deserve that, so may I suggest Ryanair for your next flight; they have a very young crew.

ksu

Traditionally the rather elderly Danish CCs have been considered the least pleasurable, but that might be a result of the Danish habit of short unannounced strikes at CPH (also known as fagligt m�de). We also "like" our strikes in Norway, but our strikes - even though a nuisance - are well announced in advance, and usually come in May, so at least we natives are prepared.

I see that now the Norway-based crews have passed the Danish in the Grumpy Grannies stakes.

There are exceptions of course, but my experience of SAS CC is quite different. SAS certainly has its ratio of cute young part-time student FAs (of both genders), but the usually fly domestically or Intra-Europe. My experience of SAS flight crews, is that the attitude of the passengers reflects on the service. A veteran SAS flight attendant does not see herself as a humble servant of the customer, but rather as a qualified professional who is there to do her job professionally, friendly and competent. The same actually applies to Lufthansa. If one treats the flight attendants (YMMV!) as one would treat any other qualified professional one has dealings with one gets friendly service back.

FlyingMoose

I personally find the equivalent of scheduled strikes even more preposterous than unannounced strikes. While the average Danish strike is over more bs reasons than the Norwegian ones, the whole strike system needs to be changed. Especially if it leads to unreasonable wages causing companies to default due to global competition. The current system is far to favouring of the employee while the effects of a strike, specifically in the airline industry can have far stretching effects for the rest of society. In this day and age, those effects are simply outweighing the discomfort of glorified waitresses.

Calling FA's qualified professionals is where you will find disagreement, considering the only requirement being a high school diploma. While I don't disagree with your idea about treating others like you expect to be treated yourself, the serving party should start with the smile and good attitude. If my first interaction at a McDonalds or Starbucks where I typically spend < $10 is better then during a 8+ hour flight where I've paid multiple thousands of dollars for service, there is a very obvious issue. Specifically in the case of SK, their FA's are certainly compensated for having to give that friendliness and smile which are apparently completely alien emotions for them.

ksu

That is your opinion, to which you are entitled. But airline jobs would be difficult to excempt from the general principles on which Scandinavia and the other Nordic countries work. The eighty years old Nordic model might not be perfect, but it certainly has served the Nordic countries well. And workers' rights are an important part of this. The right to organize labour and the right to strike are considered essential human rights here.


Actually, I am not calling FAs qualified professionals, I am stating that they see themselves as being qualified professionals, and I suggest that it might be sensible to address them according to how they see themselves. But again: I do not find unfriendliness or lack of smiles to be common on SK, quite the opposite.

I also find it quite amusing that a significant part of the flying community apparently think that FAs are in a profession where lack of experience is desired.