SAS Scandinavian Airlines is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Its fleet is made up primarily of Airbus aircraft. These days, SAS generally uses the A330-300 and A340-300 for long-haul flights. All of SAS’s A330-300s are equipped with the latest Vantage XL business class seats. On this trip, I flew SAS’s A330-300 business class from Los Angeles LAX to Stockholm ARN. The ticket was booked with United miles.
Contents [Hide]
Check-in
This flight was scheduled to depart at around 1 p.m. Pacific Time, so I arrived at Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) at around noon, hoping to leave myself a little time to relax in the lounge.
There was almost no one at the counters, whether for economy or business class. Maybe I really did arrive too early... The ground staff quickly printed my boarding pass, with the onward flight printed on it as well.
By contrast, Lufthansa next door had an A380 heading to Frankfurt. Even though that flight was departing more than an hour later, there was already a huge line.
TBIT’s security lines are notorious for being slow, even by U.S. standards, and the process can be pretty random. It’s entirely possible to enter through the premium-cabin security lane and still move more slowly than the regular line. Keep that in mind. After TSA took another 20 minutes off my life, I was finally let into the terminal. I first stopped by the Star Alliance Lounge at LAX, quickly inhaled some food, and then headed downstairs to board.
SAS Scandinavian Airlines A330
The airport windows were extremely dirty, so there are quite a few black spots in the photos. Please bear with me...
By the time I got to the gate, everyone was already gone, so I hurried onto the plane.
The A330-300 business class cabin is arranged 1-2-1, so every seat has direct aisle access. The window seats alternate, with one row closer to the window and the next row closer to the aisle.
Flight attendant accidentally in frame
SAS’s design and color palette are very pleasant, with a cool, understated elegance. My seat was 1H, one of the seats closer to the aisle. In theory, the seats positioned closer to the window offer better privacy.
On the right side of the seat is the control panel. In addition to adjusting the seat position, the seat also has a massage function. I accidentally turned it on, and the seat kept shifting slightly at a very low frequency. I didn’t really feel any “massage” effect—if anything, it just made it harder to fall asleep.
Headphones were provided, though they were very basic—lightweight, but nothing special in terms of features.
Tucked away in the corner was a bottle of water. To be honest, I didn’t end up using it until after I got off the plane.
There are also a few storage compartments in front of the first row in business class. They’re pretty easy to forget when deplaning, so make sure to double-check before you leave.
If you have a coat, the flight attendants will proactively hang it up in the business class wardrobe and then return it to your seat before landing, which is very convenient.
Departure
SAS’s inflight entertainment system offers a live tail camera. Watching your own plane take off is actually a pretty good way to pass the time.
Food & Drinks
Not long after takeoff, the flight attendants began serving a full meal.
The bread and drinks came first. After drinking this glass of Champagne, I spent almost the rest of the flight feeling extremely sleepy.
This fish dish was served first. It was quite tender and didn’t taste anything less than fresh.
It’s hard for steak to match what you’d get on the ground anyway—unless we go back to the days, decades ago, when flight attendants pan-fried steaks onboard. This filet mignon naturally couldn’t compare with one on the ground, but it was still perfectly edible.
After finishing everything, I added a little ice cream and fruit, and that wrapped up the meal.
WiFi
This aircraft offers WiFi, and for business class passengers it is completely free. After connecting to the WiFi network, you should be able to enter your last name and the reservation number from your ticket to get complimentary WiFi access. Why do I say “should”? Because I couldn’t get it to work. So I had to ask a helpful flight attendant for assistance, and after she entered a mysterious string of code on my laptop, it successfully connected to the WiFi. Not content with just that, I then asked her to connect my phone as well. The speed was not fast, but it was good enough for basic internet use. Streaming video, however, was out of the question.
Amenity Kit
The amenity kit itself did not have much long-term keep value, and the contents were all fairly standard basics.
Breakfast
Thanks to the alcohol, I fell asleep almost immediately after finishing the meal and did not wake up until the cabin lights came back on for breakfast.
SAS served breakfast from a cart, and passengers could choose whatever items they wanted.
I picked up some hot items, mainly sausage and eggs with a strong cheese flavor.
After that, I added some yogurt. (I definitely will not admit that I also quietly asked for another plate of fruit in between.)
Landing
After eating and drinking my fill, it was time to prepare for landing. ARN is one of SAS’s major hub airports, and there were quite a few SAS aircraft parked there.
There was hardly any line for non-European citizens at immigration, and I entered the country smoothly. The arrival time of this flight was chosen very well.
Conclusion
In my view, SAS ranks among the best on transatlantic routes between Europe and North America, with the exception of outlier routes like Singapore Airlines’ FRA-JFK. SAS’s food was excellent, and the seats were all quite new, making it a very good option for trips to Europe or even onward travel back to China.
What do you think of SAS?
Appendix: Menu
