Given the length of the flight and the aircraft used, an ATR 72, the service offered on this SAS Plus flight between Copenhagen and Gothenburg was very basic. Basic but not uncomfortable.
I’m starting to become a regular on the Copenhagen-Gothenburg route on SAS, which I have to take for connecting reasons, and I have to admit that there are more exhilarating flights. Only 228 km as the crow flies, a very short flight time that barely allows for a service, and yet it’s not as unpleasant as it sounds (especially in the other direction, with a nice approach to Copenhagen) and above all very convenient.
So here I am, on my way to Gothenburg for a short stay before heading to Chicago…again via Copenhagen.
Here’s the air routing for this trip.
You’ll find all the articles about this vacation in the USA at the bottom of the page.
Ground experience
I leave the SAS Gold lounge, where I’ve spent almost four hours, and head for my boarding gate. Porte A28, i.e. at the end of the world with a 17-minute walk.
I don’t know this part of Copenhagen airport yet, so I’ll find out in about twenty minutes. I can’t help but be surprised by the size of the airport in relation to its traffic, especially the non-Schengen terminals, which I think are totally oversized, but we’ll discuss this again very soon.
I walk through the shopping area, which is as lively and pleasant as ever…
Then I discover Terminal A and its long corridors…
The gates go by, but mine is almost at the very end…
Admittedly, a little effort has gone into the architecture…
Another travelator…
And at the very end, I’ll be going down one floor, since my door is at ground level, as this is an ATR72 that doesn’t allow jetway boarding.
Here I am, in just under 15 minutes instead of 17. Everyone waits patiently without fuss…
After a few announcements, our boarding starts on time.
Boarding
As always on SAS, priorities are strictly respected and I’m one of the first to head for the aircraft. It’s parked right in front of the gate, so you can get there on foot, which is much more comfortable than boarding by bus.
The cabin
Of course, we board this aircraft from the rear.
We have a 2-2 configuration with comfortable leather seats.
However, given the knee room, I wouldn’t spend two hours in there.
I’m seated at the rear of the plane, which is surprising but logical. Since we board and disembark from the rear, priority passengers are seated so as to enter and exit first. This is clearly stated:
We’re quickly ready to go.
The flight and the service
We’re ready to leave, but nothing happens. First we’re told that air traffic control is imposing a 15-minute delay on our departure. But the clock keeps ticking, and we’re finally told that start-up has been postponed by 45 minutes, for a take-off delayed by just over an hour.
The reason? Too much traffic in Gothenburg, which air traffic control can’t handle. Gothenburg congested? I hesitate between laughing out loud and…laughing out loud.
We are allowed to close the window blinds on the ground to prevent the cabin temperature from rising too much in the absence of air conditioning, since the engines are not running.
We end up leaving a good hour late under a big blue sky.
The weather quickly becomes overcast as we head north. 228 km between the two towns, but I’m always surprised by the difference in the weather between the two every time.
Service begins, but given the length of the flight, SAS Plus (premium eco) and SAS Go (eco) will be on the same footing: water, tea or coffee. The buy on board menu is in the seat pocket, but I wonder if it’s really possible to order anything.
So I’ll have a cup of tea and continue watching the last season of Succession. No seatmate, I can spread out and put my legs on the diagonal.
There are still some food wrappers in the pocket, so cleaning was a little neglected during the stopover.
The descent begins very quickly, after a short time at cruising altitude.
Arrival and disembarkation
Greenery and lakes as far as the eye can see – welcome to Sweden!
We land comfortably in Gothenburg, where the weather seems to have cleared up after being very overcast for several weeks (yes…it’s August).
In the end, we made up part of our delay (20 minutes out of an hour). It’s not complicated: the flight is scheduled for one hour “block” (from closing to opening of the doors) and the distance is so short that the actual duration is much shorter. This makes it easy to make up for delays when they are reasonable.
I’ve rarely seen so many people in Landvetter’s baggage claim…
The equipment is not new, but it works! I love this old school look.
15 minutes later I’m outside. I’m expected at a friend’s house for dinner, so I have to drop my bags off at the hotel as soon as possible, and our delay doesn’t help matters. Without any Uber available within a reasonable time, I’ll take a cab.
One last photo to enjoy the Scandinavian sunshine at 8pm. Even in mid-August, it sets very late here.
The crew
What to say about such a short flight? It was pleasant and efficient.
Bottom line
A basic flight, but with such a long flight I can’t think of any airline capable of providing a normal service, apart from Turkish Airlines, which surprised me between Istanbul and Izmir on a flight that wasn’t much longer.
However, there was a significant delay compared to the flight time, which could have been problematic if I’d had a business meeting on arrival instead of dinner at a friend’s house.
The articles about this vacation in the United States
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