The SAS | EuroBonus Forum Kafé
#6826
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: UME 🇸🇪 / NWI🇬🇧
Programs: SJ, SAS, DL
Posts: 1,700
You can go anywhere, as long as it's Stockholm. Typical departure board at UME some time earlier this year.
Rather than a third airline feeding ARN alongside SK and DY, I hold thumbs and hope to see another network airline feeding another European hub. It’s depressing as anything to start all of my trips from UME where the departure board lists nothing but three airlines to Stockholm ARN and BMA.
If it weren’t for the capacity constraints at AMS, I’d love to see KL CityHopper night stopping at more secondary Swedish airports to feed their network at Schiphol.
For that matter, I reckon that LH could profitably fill a CRJ with connections from UME-FRA twice a day.
Last edited by jamesbrownontheroad; Oct 10, 2022 at 1:26 am
#6827
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
Double hub may work - the biggest issue to get to ARN to fly AY long haul, for domestic Sweden AY can start domestic flights within Sweden to feed its network and to make a stop at ARN for routes like CPH-ARN-HEL. That's the reason why we didn't do their status match - having to get an extra leg just to get to ARN is just troublesome.
#6828
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CPH
Programs: UAMP S, TK M&S E (*G), Marriott LTP, IHG P, SK EBG
Posts: 11,095
I don't know if SAS can even run properly with one hub.
#6829
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tokyo
Programs: JAL Metal Card (OWE), SAS Eurobonus Gold (*G), Marriott Titanium (LTP), Tokyu Hotels Platinum
Posts: 21,169
Plus the point that probably Lufthansa has more widebody planes in each hub than AY and SK has combined. Fleet sizes matters here.
#6830
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: MUC
Programs: LH SEN
Posts: 48,184
Actually they have 5 hubs: VIE/MUC/FRA/ZRH/BRU. And GVA is a mini hub for LX. OS/VIE and SN/BRU have some niche markets that just about justify the expense of running a hub. AFKL has CDG & AMS; IAG has MAD/LHR with some hub type activity in LGW & BCN too.
#6831
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Join Date: Jul 2001
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SK is too late to the game to make a hub into a DXB/DOH/IST or SIN. And it's also too late to the game to make a hub into what AY did with HEL. And ARN is the wrong place to try to do it anyway -- and even more the wrong place to do it now than before.
Last edited by GUWonder; Oct 10, 2022 at 7:21 am
#6832
Join Date: Oct 2011
Programs: EuroBonus Diamond, Delta Skymiles 360, BAEC LTG, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 2,827
I'm not invested in AY at all, SK already has long haul operations, a short haul network and their main issue is the timing of the flights, they are to early. They could easily support West Coast routes with the infrastructure and demand there is today.
#6833
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
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Posts: 102,095
Given what Ive seen of the economy class fares for some of the US West Coast-ARN/CPH flights, not sure SAS can do worse even if they cater to any of our desired schedules. That said, it wouldnt surprise me if SAS would do itself better longer term by cutting back on its own West Coast service.
#6834
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CPH
Programs: UAMP S, TK M&S E (*G), Marriott LTP, IHG P, SK EBG
Posts: 11,095
While I would love to have all my SK Scandinavia-US flights scheduled for post-5pm departures and all my SK flights in the other direction able to get me into CPH and ARN by 6:30am , SK seems to think its better for their fleet utilization and revenue maximization to not cater to my schedule.
Given what Ive seen of the economy class fares for some of the US West Coast-ARN/CPH flights, not sure SAS can do worse even if they cater to any of our desired schedules. That said, it wouldnt surprise me if SAS would do itself better longer term by cutting back on its own West Coast service.
Given what Ive seen of the economy class fares for some of the US West Coast-ARN/CPH flights, not sure SAS can do worse even if they cater to any of our desired schedules. That said, it wouldnt surprise me if SAS would do itself better longer term by cutting back on its own West Coast service.
#6835
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
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Posts: 102,095
While the vast majority indeed leave before 5pm, there are some scheduled 5pm and later Europe-US departures from LHR, AMS and CDG — with BOS, JFK and IAD as the destinations where I’ve benefited from these 5+ pm options to get me back to the US.
I would really love it if the CPH-ORD schedule was moved just one hour later to 4:40pm departures, but I doubt that SAS wants to have to pick up the tab to make that happen.
I would really love it if the CPH-ORD schedule was moved just one hour later to 4:40pm departures, but I doubt that SAS wants to have to pick up the tab to make that happen.
#6836
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
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Swedish passport applications are taking a long time to turn around. Quite amazed how bad it has gotten, but it may be good for award space.
Apparently, the government wants to blame equipment issues in Finland. If they only had increased Swedish passport validity periods by 2-5 years, the turnaround times would never have gotten to be this bad.
The backlog for even getting a Swedish passport in the UK must be truly eye-watering for some when it’s this bad even for applications inside Sweden.
Apparently, the government wants to blame equipment issues in Finland. If they only had increased Swedish passport validity periods by 2-5 years, the turnaround times would never have gotten to be this bad.
The backlog for even getting a Swedish passport in the UK must be truly eye-watering for some when it’s this bad even for applications inside Sweden.
#6837
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: AGH
Posts: 5,979
Well, as a German renewing my passport in the German embassy in Stockholm is a pretty messed up procedure. You have to book an appointment about 4 - 6 months in the future. But not to get your passport... Oh no! You have to send in paperwork by post until that day. On the given day, they will look at the application and then call you up to make an appointment in person a couple of months later. So it is something between 8 and 12 months now, to renew my passport.
They introduced this madness together with their Covid19 lockdown. Before that, it was about a 6 weeks wait to get an appointment in person where you could fix all in one go.
Oh, and if you don't have a residence in Germany.... it is not even an option to fly to Berlin or Hamburg anymore and get the passport done there. Only in real emergencies and then the process is similar messed up. They will call the embassy of the country you reside in to get "permission" to issue a passport. And if they can't reach the person responsible in the embassy... come back tomorrow and try again.
They introduced this madness together with their Covid19 lockdown. Before that, it was about a 6 weeks wait to get an appointment in person where you could fix all in one go.
Oh, and if you don't have a residence in Germany.... it is not even an option to fly to Berlin or Hamburg anymore and get the passport done there. Only in real emergencies and then the process is similar messed up. They will call the embassy of the country you reside in to get "permission" to issue a passport. And if they can't reach the person responsible in the embassy... come back tomorrow and try again.
#6838
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tokyo
Programs: JAL Metal Card (OWE), SAS Eurobonus Gold (*G), Marriott Titanium (LTP), Tokyu Hotels Platinum
Posts: 21,169
Well, as a German renewing my passport in the German embassy in Stockholm is a pretty messed up procedure. You have to book an appointment about 4 - 6 months in the future. But not to get your passport... Oh no! You have to send in paperwork by post until that day. On the given day, they will look at the application and then call you up to make an appointment in person a couple of months later. So it is something between 8 and 12 months now, to renew my passport.
They introduced this madness together with their Covid19 lockdown. Before that, it was about a 6 weeks wait to get an appointment in person where you could fix all in one go.
Oh, and if you don't have a residence in Germany.... it is not even an option to fly to Berlin or Hamburg anymore and get the passport done there. Only in real emergencies and then the process is similar messed up. They will call the embassy of the country you reside in to get "permission" to issue a passport. And if they can't reach the person responsible in the embassy... come back tomorrow and try again.
They introduced this madness together with their Covid19 lockdown. Before that, it was about a 6 weeks wait to get an appointment in person where you could fix all in one go.
Oh, and if you don't have a residence in Germany.... it is not even an option to fly to Berlin or Hamburg anymore and get the passport done there. Only in real emergencies and then the process is similar messed up. They will call the embassy of the country you reside in to get "permission" to issue a passport. And if they can't reach the person responsible in the embassy... come back tomorrow and try again.
#6839
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: MUC
Programs: LH SEN
Posts: 48,184
The main problem for the Swedes is that the plant that actually prints and manufactures the passport is/was down due to a fire. Then the biomentric kiosk that captures the data for the passport is also unique to Sweden and Finland, others do it differently.
#6840
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
US passports for in-person applications at the US embassies in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden are typically turned around with new passports available for pickup by applicants within less than 16 calendar days of showing up at the embassies for the application. Appointments can be a challenge to land at times, but nothing like the crazy appointment problems Sweden has been having this year.
Last edited by GUWonder; Oct 17, 2022 at 11:22 am