As always, an impeccable experience on SAS in long-haul business class, and it is on this positive note that I probably bid farewell to the Scandinavian airline, which changed its alliance a few weeks after this flight.
As I told you, this trip to the USA was mainly an opportunity to use up the points in my SAS Eurobonus account, as the airline is leaving the Star Alliance and is no longer of much interest to me, especially as I already have lifetime status with Skyteam. Technically, this flight is not the last one, as I still have a flight to Paris, but in my mind, this long-haul flight will mark the end of a pleasant adventure.
As a reminder the air routing of this trip.
At the bottom of the page you will find the summary of the articles about this trip to Boston, New York and New Orleans.
Check-in and ground experience
I check in online the day before my trip and take the Silver Line to the airport after having lunch with Olivier and watching the French rugby sevens team become Olympic champions on my iPad.
I’m not going to say that this airport reconciles me with the aesthetics of American airports.
I have to tag my luggage myself before dropping it off, and to do that I have to look for one of the few miserable terminals provided for this summer.
Once I’ve dropped off my suitcase, I’ll get through immigration in no time and take refuge in the Lufthansa lounge, not without strolling around a bit on the way.
I am very disappointed by the duty free offer, as I had electronics to possibly buy, but no matter: in a few days I will be in transit in Singapore…
It’s better to have a lounge than no lounge at all, but this one will be completely packed, even though the food is pretty good.
I leave the lounge a few minutes before boarding.
Boarding
I won’t have to walk far: my gate is opposite the exit of the lounge.
Boarding time is approaching and pre-boarding is starting for people with reduced mobility and families with children. There are so many that it takes forever and in the end I wonder if ‘normal’ passengers are not in the minority on this flight.
Priority boarding is finally starting and I’m first in the queue and to enter the cabin.
However, I can’t get to my seat because a family who boarded during the pre-boarding process is blocking the aisle trying to rearrange I don’t know what in their suitcases. After waiting for a good minute, a flight attendant arrives and explains to them that they can sit wherever they want to do that, but not by blocking the aisles, let alone access to business class while they are in economy.
They ended up leaving the aisle, but not before giving the flight attendant and the passengers waiting a dirty look.
And here I am in my seat.
The cabin
You have already seen this cabin many times and I am afraid that this is the last time.
1-2-1 cabin in staggered configuration, which means that every other row has seats that are more isolated from the aisle, which is the case with mine.
I really like this seat and the simplicity of the colours.
On the side of the seat I find the reading light, the seat controls, the noise-reducing headphones, the TV remote control and what happens to be the only storage space.
There is a seat control repeater lower down, making it easy to access when lying down.
The tablet is a good size and the screen is really bright.
Comfort kits are handed out to us.
It’s quite comprehensive and really high quality with Dux and Verso products.
The blanket is also really high quality.
The aircraft has a second business cabin with only two rows directly behind this one. I think it must be more private and certainly more pleasant.
The flight and the service
While boarding continues, we are offered a welcome drink.
The captain addresses us to announce that we have a 6 hour 20 minute flight but that there will be some turbulence. While the window covers are closed on the ground to prevent the cabin from heating up, he also asks that they be opened for takeoff, which tends to annoy certain American customers who are used to being able to leave them closed all the time and fall asleep more quickly.
We are given the menus, I have another glass of champagne and we can leave our parking spot to taxi to the runway.
On the way, we pass a Lufthansa A340, which I really like…
Then a Turkish Airlines A330 .
And to finish off, an Air France 777 .
Comfortably settled in my seat, I wait for take-off…
We do experience some turbulence during take-off, but it quickly subsides and the crew comes to hand out hot oshiboris.
Then they come to set the tables and offer us aperitifs.
I’ll have a whisky mule. It will be prepared in front of me on the trolley and served with hot nuts. Very good and fresh, made with Danish rye.
A little later, the starters are served, and as always at SAS, they are served on a trolley and presented in a visible way so that you can make an informed choice by seeing what the dish looks like.
Here is the menu.
I will have the smoked salmon with dill and horseradish crème fraîche, fingerling potatoes, quail egg crumble, rye and caraway, accompanied by a salad prepared in front of me to order.
Quality fish cooked to perfection, the sauce does not weigh down the dish. Really very tasty.
For my main course, I chose pan-fried Midwest beef tenderloin with rutabaga gratin, seasonal vegetables and rosemary sauce.
Perfectly cooked meat that isn’t rubbery and very tasty sauce. Excellent.
I’ll skip the cheese and have the cherry tart with some fruit.
The fruit is ripe and fresh, but the tart is really stifling.
I finish with a tea and a whisky (an Atmosfar 2, a Swedish peated whisky that I really like).
Once again, an excellent meal on SAS. I like the service protocol with the visual presentation of the dishes, the fact that they serve, then clear the plates before serving the next dish… it requires more work than other companies, but it really feels premium.
I also like the way they provide three sets of cutlery, one for each course, but the salt and pepper in paper bags makes it look cheap for a business class.
I was also offered wine refills throughout the dinner.
Given the short duration of the flight, it’s time for me to try and get some sleep.
After a short night, I am woken by the flight attendant for breakfast and she gives me a hot oshibori before setting the table.
Yoghurt, handmade and hand-packed granola, fruit smoothies, Morten Heibera, seasonal fruit jam, selection of charcuterie.
Good and filling, but maybe I’d like something more sophisticated…
We are approaching our destination and need to prepare for landing.
Crew
Very pleasant, professional, smiling and even affable. Really perfect.
Arrival
We land on time, I’m one of the first to disembark and I’m in a hurry: I only have an hour to catch my flight to Paris and it’s at the other end of the airport.
I arrive at immigration and, for once, there is a queue and it is anything but fluid. The ‘all passport’ line moves even faster than the European passport line… four booths for some, only one for others!
I finally get through and all that’s left is to sprint across the airport…
Bottom line
Another excellent long-haul flight on a SAS aircraft, which is really better on this product than on medium-haul flights. I like the cabin, the service, the crews… it’s the end of an adventure with this airline, which has really been the pleasant surprise of my time with Star Alliance.
I would have loved a slightly longer daytime flight to enjoy it more…
The articles on this trip to Boston, New York and New Orleans
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