'Reason is a net thrown out into an ocean. What truth it brings in is a fragment, a glimpse, a scint...
'Reason is a net thrown out into an ocean. What truth it brings in is a fragment, a glimpse, a scintillation of the whole truth.'
-- Ursula K. Le Guin: 'A Man of the People' (1995)
Member since:20.05.2003
Reviews:11
Members who trust:4
I travel frequently between the UK and Finland. As a student, price is an important concern for me, and flying SAS via Stockholm or Copenhagen is cheaper than a direct flight with BA or Finnair. I have been happy with their price/quality ratio -- I'm even in the SAS frequent flyer programme -- but recently it has taken a turn for the worse.
Some time ago, I flew from London to Helsinki via Stockholm, and the flight was delayed enough that I missed the connection in Stockholm. The SAS staff were very helpful and gave me a voucher to use in the airportrestaurants during the time I had to wait, so I considered it a minor annoyance. Since then, things have changed.
The next time I travelled with them, much had changed. Not the delay, though: my flight from London to Copenhagen was late by more than an hour, enough to miss the connection. The pilot apologised profusely, but he was the only one. This time, no vouchers. When I pointed out at the airport that I would miss the last train of the day and would have to take a flight in Finland, the staff said that as long as I get to my final destination alive, it's good enough, and SAS assumes no liability for being late. Well, I had to fly the last lap of my journey, which made the "cheap" SAS flight more expensive overall than other options.
Another time, I hit my head on the plane and started to get a ripping headache. After landing in Stockholm for transit, I asked to see a doctor just to be sure it's a good idea to continue. A member of SAS staff guided me through numerous corridors, escalators and lifts on the airport, but then suddenly informed me that there wouldn't be enough time to see a doctor or even get a painkiller as I should hurry to the gate. I wonder why he didn't tell this to me earlier. I guess he just wanted to take me sightseeing around the airport.
SAS has been making huge losses for the last year or so and has had to cut its workforce; perhaps this is the reason for the downhill trend in service. Anyway, after reading their interim report, I just plan to use my frequent flyer points soon, since it seems the airline is on its way to bankruptcy if it keeps making losses -- and with this kind of customer service, it will. If you want cheap, try a budget airline; if you want good service, use a real full-service airline. SAS stands somewhere in between. Not recommended.
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Advantages: Very helpful and friendly staff, very good entertainment system to pass the hours away Disadvantages: not much room, but I was in the cheap seats!
Advantages: Competitive prices, plenty of destinations, good service Disadvantages: You have to pay for food and drink on board - but that's almost standard nowadays...
JVL 22.04.2008 (22.04.2008)
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