On to the final stop on this Scandinavian tour: Gothenburg. I had originally planned a direct flight, but due to a schedule change I was rebooked on a flight via Stockholm, adding not one but two medium-haul economy flights on SAS to my list, and I can’t hide the fact that they weren’t the most eagerly awaited or exciting flights of the year. But in this period of COVID I make do with the opportunities I have….
Reminder of the articles related to this Scandinavian journey:
# | Type | Post |
---|---|---|
1 | Hotel | Moxy Paris CDG (no article, look at our previous articles on Moxy Paris CDG ) |
2 | Flight | Paris-Zurich – Swiss – Business Class |
3 | Flight | Zurich-Stockholm – Swiss – Business Class |
4 | Hotel | Miss Clara by Nobis – Stockholm |
5 | Restaurant | Restaurant Nisch – Stockholm |
6 | Restaurant | Restaurant Sturehof – Stockholm |
7 | Flight | Stockholm-Copenhagen – SAS – SAS GO (eco) |
8 | Hotel | Moxy Copenhagen Sydhavnen |
9 | Restaurant | Restaurant The Shrimp Copenhagen |
10 | Restaurant | Restaurant Marv & Ben Copenhagen |
11 | Lounge | SAS Gold Lounge in Copenhagen |
12 | Flight | Copenhagen-Stockholm – SAS – SAS GO (éco) (here) |
13 | Flight | Stockholm-Gothenburg – SAS – SAS GO (eco) |
14 | Hotel | Radisson Blu Scandinavia Gothenburg |
15 | Lounge | Vinga lounge in Gothenburg |
16 | Flight | Gothenburg-Zurich – Swiss – Business Class |
17 | Flight | Zurich-Paris – Swiss – Business Class |
And the air routing for this trip :
Ticket booking
For my domestic flights, I opted for SAS in eco for the reasons already mentioned on the review of my Stockholm-Copenhagen : I didn’t have to chase miles to renew my status, the business class was not justified for such short flights (all the more so as SAS offers a premium eco on medium-haul flights, not a business class) and my Diamond status on the SAS frequent flyer program gave me all the advantages of the upper class.
So here I am, off for Copenhagen-Gothenburg at 77 euros, but a few weeks before departure due to a change in the flight program. I was rebooked on a flight via Stockholm. If I had to choose, I would have preferred via Oslo to discover the airport or, while I was at it, a Copenhagen-Oslo-Stockholm-Gothenburg route to have a bit of fun, but as I didn’t have the pressure of having to accumulate flights to maintain my status, I accepted the proposed itinerary, especially as I was finally in a hurry to get to Gothenburg.
Check-In and ground experience
I checked-in the day before on the SAS app and still remembering the cacophony of baggage checking in Stockholm a few days earlier, I anticipated my departure from the hotel to prepare for any eventuality.
My cab will drop me off at the other end of the terminal (I don’t know why), allowing me to explore the airport a little before reaching the check-in counters.
As in Stockholm, there’s a long queue and I assume it’s to check health documents, something I was exempt from on intra-Scandinavian flights.
On the other hand, here the priority queue was easily accessible and, what’s more, there were also self check-in kiosks to check in your luggage yourself…which were just as neglected as in Stockholm.
Anyway, in two minutes I’m at the counter, I check-in and I’m on my way.
Off to the security checkpoints in no time, thanks once again to a highly efficient priority queue.
As you would expect, you’ve got to go through duty free to get into the terminal…
And I hasten to the lounge…
The SAS Gold lounge in Copenhagen
I won’t go into too much detail on the subject, as I introduced you to the SAS Gold lounge in Copenhagen in my previous post.
Let’s just say it’s a very pretty lounge, bearing in mind that I really appreciate the Scandinavian design of SAS lounges, but it’s still not enough in terms of food.
Boarding for Stockholm
I’ll be leaving the lounge early to visit this airport, which I’d never been to before.
The airport is very pretty and pleasant, and although Denmark had lifted the sanitary restrictions by this time (Delta and Omnicron weren’t there yet), the traffic flow signs were there and respected.
On the other hand, Copenhagen is an airport where you have to walk a lot…no less than 13 minutes to reach my boarding gate.
On my way here I see that Windows has struck again…
The plane (an A320 Neo) is there waiting for us, still sporting the old livery.
Boarding starts on time, boarding priorities are respected and I find myself in the jetway…
The SAS A320 cabin
There’s nothing exceptional about this cabin, which is identical from top to bottom, the only difference between the SAS Go (Economy) and SAS Plus (Premium Eco) sections being in the service, not the seat.
The cabin is sober and luminous in light grey tones. Apart from that, there’s not much more to say.
The seat is rather “ironing board” like the NEK, which is gradually disappearing from Lufthansa and with which it shares a Recaro base.
I’m lucky enough to be at an emergency exit, which helps with legroom.
One negative point: no coat hook. It’s pennywise, but the result isn’t very convenient.
The flight and the service
As everything in SAS Go is chargeable, apart from coffee, I find the Buy on Board menu in the seat pocket.
I glance towards the front of the aircraft: the “SAS Plus” section (10 rows) is virtually empty, proof that the upgrade auction isn’t working and that they might be better off upgrading “Elite” passengers.
From there, you’re in for the shortest flight report in Travel Guys history.
We push back on time to reach the runway.
Even in the air it’s hard to get out of the dreariness…
Flight attendants serve drinks….and coffee, the only free product in SAS Go. Then a second service….
Landing and arrival in Stockholm
It’s perhaps the only part of the flight about which there’s anything to tell. The approach was more than a little choppy in the clouds, and the weather in Stockholm made me nostalgic for Croatia, where I’d been just 10 days earlier.
The COVID protocol requires each row to leave the aircraft only once the previous one has done so. Considering the load factor, I’d say I’ll be out of here in no time.
The SAS crew
Not much to expect from a crew on a flight like this…but at least it’s done professionally and with a smile.
Bottom line
When you buy a ticket that only includes the minimum service, you get a minimum service worthy of a low-cost airline, but with a little more consideration on the part of the airline and the crew.