Think of Scandinavian Airlines and, if you are an energetic young man like myself, your imagination may carry you away: a beautiful blonde Stewardess bending far over to serve your meal, a cheeky blink of her eyes suggesting exactly what you had thought of in that moment, and maybe even a part-à-deux ... Read review
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1-5 of 15 reviews of Scandinavian Airlines - SAS
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Blonde Swedish Stewardesses Uncovered
Advantages: Good food, excellent lounges, attractive specials Disadvantages: Bad seat comfort, stewardesses are one big disappointment
Think of Scandinavian Airlines and, if you are an energetic young man like myself, your imagination may carry you away: a beautiful blonde Stewardess bending far over to serve your meal, a cheeky blink of her eyes suggesting exactly what you had thought of in that moment, and maybe even a part-à-deux on an empty row in the back on a silent night flight, cabin light dimmed.
Thus I was full of anticipation of amorous adventures when ... .../>
Due to the vast Scandinavian landmass and the low density of the population there, the SAS network within Scandinavia spans around sixty towns from the Northern Cape to the Great Belt in the south, and from Greenland in the west to the Russian border in the East. There are traditionally very good flight connections to the three Baltic States too.
As for the rest of Europe, Scandinavian Airlines fly to all European capitals and ... more
Think of Scandinavian Airlines and, if you are an energetic young man like myself, your imagination may carry you away: a beautiful blonde Stewardess bending far over to serve your meal, a cheeky blink of her eyes suggesting exactly what you had thought of in that moment, and maybe even a part-à-deux on an empty row in the back on a silent night flight, cabin light dimmed.
Thus I was full of anticipation of amorous adventures when I boarded my first flight with Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) around one year ago. Well, what can I say, I have got some bad news for you, guys. I have flown them around a dozen times since to Scandinavia and on connections to Northeastern Europe via Copenhagen, and nothing like that has ever happened. And when you take a look at their REAL stewardesses, you don't want anything like that ever to happen. They are around forty years on average, and you wouldn't turn your head if you saw them on the street. In fact they are a bit cold, and their service is friendly, but not very personal.
I am only describing them in such detail because Keith (flashpointz) had complained on my Lufthansa opinion that I had not mentioned the stewardesses. I hope that reading this opinion will put his naughty mind to rest.
SAS is the airline conglomerate of Sweden, Norway and Denmark. It is also a founding member of the Star Alliance built around Lufthansa and United Airlines, which now has fifteen member airlines world-wide.
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NETWORK ________
Due to the vast Scandinavian landmass and the low density of the population there, the SAS network within Scandinavia spans around sixty towns from the Northern Cape to the Great Belt in the south, and from Greenland in the west to the Russian border in the East. There are traditionally very good flight connections to the three Baltic States too.
As for the rest of Europe, Scandinavian Airlines fly to all European capitals and some important economic centres, but hardly to any "exotic" destinations. Connections to most of Southern and Southeastern Europe are served by Lufthansa in code-share with SAS, via Lufthansa's hubs in Frankfurt and Munich.
SAS operates intercontinental flights to four cities in North America (New York/Newark, Washington D.C., Chicago and Toronto) and a handful of destinations in the far east. Scandinavian Airlines are particularly popular with travellers to Japan and China, because the polar route from Scandinavia over the North Pole saves around two hours on these flights.
I have, however, only flown with them within Europe so far, thus my review is based on their shorthaul flights. All my flights with them have been in Economy Class, so that is what I will focus on.
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SEAT COMFORT _______________
In this field, Scandinavia Airlines have a problem. The new planes of the Boeing 737 Next Generation series are fitted with seats which can practically NOT be reclined at all. On a two to three hours flight to Stockholm or Helsinki, this can get extremely uncomfortable, although the seat pitch is a good 35inch / 87cm, as on Lufthansa and Swissair.
Better seat comfort is provided onboard the Boeing / McDonnell MD-80 aircraft, where seats can still be reclined, as well as on the MD-90. The latter is fitted with leather seats and foot rests at a wider seat pitch, but unfortunately this aircraft time is currently being phased out.
All seats are fitted with individual phones, which have however been deactivated due to low acceptance by passengers (would you make a phone call for 5$ a minute?). There is no inflight entertainment at all, neither audio or video.
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MEALS ____
I can only tell you about their breakfast, because by coincidence I have only been using SAS on morning flights. (Maybe because I was afraid of being raped by Stewardesses if flying at night. Not a very promising idea, as I explained above.)
Unlike many other European airlines, SAS offers a full breakfast even on short flights of around one hour. SAS doesn't differentiate its meals by European flights and domestic connections. The best part of the breakfast is the hot meal, usually ham and eggs. This is completed by a selection of jam and cheese, together with fresh warm rolls. SAS' Economy Class breakfast can easily compare to those served in the Business Classes of many other airlines.
The downside to their meals is the packing up. The meal comes in a cardboard box, which is ecologically sound, but the drinks are served in plastic cups, which is not.
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FLIGHT SAFETY _______________
Scandinavian Airlines check and maintain all aircraft in their own maintenance centre at Copenhagen Airport. All the planes which have been using have left a very well maintained, new and clean impression. This is however an aspect which is hard to assess as a passenger.
Onboard, the stewardesses (who still haven't become any prettier during the composition of this review) take safety a bit too serious. During take-off and landing, you are not allowed to read a newspaper, but have to place it in the seat pocket in front of you - for safety reasons as they say (same explanation for non-reclining seats, by the way). I have no clue how that might effect safety.
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PRICES _______
SAS frequently offer economy specials to Northern Europe and North America, which are usually below the specials offered by other quality airlines, but can't beat the dumping prices available from KLM and Sabena.
On ALL of their European routes, Scandinavian Airlines permanently have Business Class Specials which come around 20% cheaper than the official IATA fares. Business specials (D-Fares) have become quite common in the airline industry, but most airlines only offer them on selected routes and at certain times of the year. Not so with SAS.
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LOUNGES _________
Scandinavian Airlines have by far the prettiest and best equipped Stew... err... I mean lounges of any European carrier. They come in two classes: SAS Lounges for Business Class passengers and Star Alliance Silver Status holders, and Scandinavian Lounges for Star Alliance Gold Status holders, like myself. :))
The two types of lounges don't differ much in design, only in size and equipment (business centre in the Gold lounge, better selection of snacks). They are both fitted with colourful upholstery in blue, green and burgundy colours, set against a light conifer wooden floor and accessories. The upper end of ambience from the IKEA catalogue, and the most relaxing lounges in Europe. The bar area has a wide selection of drinks and cold snacks on offer, and smokers are not banned to the back end corner, but have a nice separated lounge area for themselves.
It's a real pity that whilst SAS has so inviting lounges, it doesn't provide the beautiful stewardess with whom you would like to share the sofas.
...a bit lacking in that Scandinavian style which does so much to endear us to them. Whilst flight information, timetables and so on are available, the whole thing feels a bit counter-intuitive to use, and you're left feeling that it could have been so much better. Still, I didn't book through their website, but through a travel website, and what must be said in their favour is that their fares are much more competitive than they used to be. An article ... ...be expensive as most things Scandinavian are, but was very pleased to have my eyes opened. Comparing the legs from and to the UK with SAS with the distant legs to Esonia (code shared with Air Estonia) there was no comparison. I'll be looking SAS up again. I mean, what other airline is chepa AND gets you fit? ...
anthonylees 09.11.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Scandinavian Airlines - SAS
Advantages: A pleasure to fly with them Disadvantages: You usually land in Scandinavia
...sister were on the same Scandinavian Airways flight and the luck of seat allocation meant they surrounded me. I hasten to add I’m not related to Thomas’s family. Thomas’s interjections into the calm take-off atmosphere were a pity because you have to say, with the exception of this noise, it was a trouble free flight. Well almost, as we sat on the plane at the gate waiting to move off another passenger’s mobile phone went off, unfortunately this ... ...ever done to you?.’ No there is a cowed acceptance that in-flight food is awful. Of course it’s inedible - you’re on a plane! But I can recommend Scandinavian Airways, they are efficient, the staff were all pleasant and the pilot seemed to know what he was doing. ...
polydeuces 21.12.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Scandinavian Airlines - SAS
Advantages: Good food, nice on the ground staff Disadvantages: Cramped, smelly plane. Air hostesses with a foul temper. Late take off
...enough to accommodate the slim, scandinavian air hostesses without causing them to knock you around the head with their elbows - then another 3 seats. It was packed, hot and dark. The best newspaper they had on offer was the Mail. I took a copy and quickly realised why they had chosen a tabloid - there was barely space enough to read that, nevermind a quality paper.
Take off was fine - objectively. I had a hiddeous time - I was suffering from a ... ...suffer from vertigo - so every aspect of flying is totally horrible for me. The air hostesses were utterly disagreable. There were 3 of them - each less pleasant than the next - well, that's maybe a bit unfair - one of them was actually human and smiled - the other two were far from friendly. As a young woman in considerable discomfort I was not impressed when they chastised me for not pulling down the table in front of me so that they could place ...
fam6 24.08.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Scandinavian Airlines - SAS
Advantages: Real-life advantages if frequent flyer Disadvantages: Tight seat pitch in all classes
This year I have started flying SAS twice a month between Heathrow and Stockholm Arlanda (ARN in airline parlance). I sent 4 years doing the same with BA but changed allegence due to the SAS frequent flyer arrangement being better for me. Basically even though I fly economy I can still get and maintain the Gold card with SAS while I couldn't maintain that level with BA.
I don't know if it is coincidence or not but since I have got my SAS Gold card,I ... ...to business class) 3 times out of the last 10 flights with SAS while I only received 2 upgrades during 50-60 flights with BA.
On the Stockholm flights SAS seems to have a smaller pitch between the rows of seats than BA so they feel more cramped (so try to get a seat in the emergency exit rows and benefit from a few more inches of leg room). The seat design and pitch seems to be the same along the whole length of the plane which means that Business ...
pilot61 29.06.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Scandinavian Airlines - SAS
Advantages: Helpful flight staff who speak perfect English Disadvantages: Flight meal might not appeal to the unadventurous eater
I flew to Ostersund via Stockholm from Heathrow at the end of January 2003. I was part of a group of 17 people, seven of which were wheelchair users.
We found the check-in staff very efficient at getting us through to the boarding area.
Boarding with the assistance of Heathrow ground support went well, but we noticed a big difference in levels of assistance at the two Swedish airports. We had personal escorts to assist us in making our connecting ... ...highly enough. They were superb.
On board our two flights the flight attendants were quick and polite in their responses for drinks, blankets and answers to queries, etc.
We had meals and snacks which reflected the cuisine of Sweden, which I appreciated. Others would have been happier with more standard fayre, but each to his or her own! I though the food was great.
An interesting feature of the flight was the camera which showed take-off and ...
Graysiepops 06.03.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Scandinavian Airlines - SAS
Food Quality
Customer Service
Punctuality
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Value for Money
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This is a travelogue about the trip that my wife, Nikki, and I took to Italy (Milan and Venice) in the period from June 7th to June 14th 2003. We spent the first 3 nights in Milan and then we took the train to Venice - where we stayed for 4 nights before returning home to Norway (via Milan). The trip report is divided into two pages. This page will focus on our stay in Milan and the second page will focus on the stay in Venice.
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For a few years we have been talking about going to a European destination again and we had planned on going to Spain in 2002 but we ended up in Thailand instead. But this year we wanted to take a 1-week vacation to a European city and lucky for us SAS (ScandinavianAirlines) had some great offers to different European cities and we decided to go to Italy. Our ticket cost us 1 ...
