Review of SAS flight Oslo Copenhagen in Economy

Airline SAS
Flight SK1465
Class Economy
Seat 26F
Aircraft Boeing 737-800
Flight time 01:10
Take-off 20 Nov 15, 17:15
Arrival at 20 Nov 15, 18:25
SK   #62 out of 96 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 212 reviews
marathon
By GOLD 661
Published on 1st July 2016
This is the first leg of a very short round to Oslo.
• CDG-OSL : SK834 14:05 – 16:20 here
• OSL–CPH : SK461 18:00 – 19:10 You should have been reading now about this flight
• CPH–CDG : SK1563 19:40 – 21:40 here

The connection in CPH was supposed to be a tight one, but the schedule of the first segment spared me from rushing out of my meeting to reach OSL in time. What I had not expected was that SAS cancelled Flight SK461.
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Not only SAS reprotected on a flight 45’ earlier, but my colleague flying on a different PNR was reprotected on a LH flight 1h10’ earlier, and that was going to be an awful rush. SAS, Such A Slut…
I bought a Flytoget ticket from one of the machines on the right. I did not think about getting our BPs from one of the check-in machines on the left : we had time for that since the next train was 8 minutes later and it would have saved us time in the airport.
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Waiting on the platform where it was rather cold
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Boarding
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Not many passengers in this train
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This PIDS displayed lots of advertising, but also information about the flights
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Good news : our new flights have not been cancelled in turn, and the waiting time at the security control was 5 minutes only.
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Our initial flight (SK461) was confirmed to be cancelled.
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This was the explanation of the special livery of a SAS aircraft seen the day before
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Brief stop in Lillestrøm
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Beyond the fact that a taxi ride to OSL is outrageously expensive (around 120 EUR), some fog on the way justified not considering this option.
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Leaving the OSL station towards the terminal
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The longer you walk past this endless row of multi-airlines check-in machines, the more time you save, because the passengers tend to wait in line in front of the ones which are closest to the escalator from the station.
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No matter that I tried to change my FF number, the fidelity program displayed on the BP remained that of BR. Since I had some time, I went to a counter where a very courteous staff tried, produced three BPs in succession, after as many tries of the staff who eventually gives up, while ensuring me that the computer has recorded the LH number.
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My previous flights with LH had earned me 125 miles per segment, so it was not going to change anything. Going to the security control. I did not even check later if I had received airmiles for this flight, because this M&M account is there just in case I suddenly had long distance travels on *A airlines.
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… where the maximum waiting time was confirmed to be 5 minutes
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This was not an empty promise : there was a long line, but it was moving very fast
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By pure chance, I came across my colleague getting out of the control as the same time.
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He had been reprotected on the 16:50 flight and it had had a hard time : he dumbly waited for some time in line at a check-in machine close to the incoming escalator, then his passport would not be recognized, and the flight was closed. He headed to a counter where they accepted to check him in at the last moment, took the priority lane to get through the security check faster, and there he was. Many thanks to SAS who had cancelled our flight…
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You have to go through a duty free shop area in order to reach the gates.
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A stop for buying some smoked salmon, a lot cheaper than in Paris for the same quality. The price was rounded up to the next NOK if paid in cash, because there are no coins below 1 NOK. I had no Norwegian cash anyway.
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Arrival of the crew for my flight
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They were going to wait like all the passengers…
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.. since there was yet no plane at the gate
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In the distance to the right…
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… the men drink and the women are either handicapped or caring for babies ;)
That is a case of outrageous bad faith in the choice of angle: all passengers had access to the fountain, to the toilets for handicapped and to the baby care room.
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DY 738
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LH A321
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KL738
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I need help for this one. I have seen the same one in CGN; others were spotted in ZRH and SVG. Anybody knows the manufacturer of this aircraft?
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Beyond this point, it was the non-Schengen flights where there should be more airline diversity.
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My aircraft had arrived meanwhile
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She was LN-RRK, which had entered revenue service on 20 June 2002.
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I had time to go to the toilets…
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… which were clean, and I could let it be known.
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I did not manage to get any further than this when trying to connect to the internet.
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Boarding had started before the passengers could actually enter the plane, creating a long wait in the jetbridge.
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A last look before boarding
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A Belgian Jumbolino at a gate somewhat further
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A look at the rather thin seats (no, I was not on an exit row)
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The flight was full and so were the overhead luggage bins. I had to backtrack half a dozen rows up the aisle to fit my suitcase in the only space that I could see.
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Did you notice the hump on top of the fuselage towards the rear of the aircraft ? It hides the necessary satellite connection to provide a wifi internet connection on board.
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SAS should not be proud about its internet access for a fee, when competitor Norwegian offers it for free, my neighbor said ironically. The price depends on your operator, but for a Scandinavian operated listed in the brochure, calls to Europe cost about 1 EUR/min.
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The seat pitch was the same as on the 738 on the way in.
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30 cm is very decent when measured this way.
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A country looks at the world differently when it is close to the pole.
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It also applies to this country
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The BOB’s menu
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Penny pinchers will only get a low quality coffee, or tea, which are the only free items on board. The difference between these two sugar bags is that there is one where it is written in brown on a white background, whereas the other is written in white on a beige background. It is the same white sugar inside.
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The safety card, both sides
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Nothing noteworthy happened during this night flight, and I continued writing the FR of the previous flight without being disturbed by the passenger of the previous row.
Landing with a long condensation trail behind the wing.
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Deplaning was by both ends of the aircraft. I had to retrieve my suitcase six rows further in front, it was only 6°C outside, and my wounded ankle was going to be painful in the staircase…
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… but no serious Flight Reporter would miss an opportunity to take a few tarmac pictures !
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Once up to the warmth of CPH’s terminal, this is the end of this FR. All I can offer you as a tourist bonus is the view of the hotel’s restaurant at dawn, which is about all I have seen of Oslo.
Jernabanetorget, which means Railway Square, in front of the central station
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And then looking right, the Scandic Oslo City Hotel
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And Oslo’s cathedral in the background
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Thanks for reading me !
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Verdict

SAS

5.5/10
Cabin6.5
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi2.0
Meal/catering5.5

Oslo - OSL

9.1/10
Efficiency9.5
Access10.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness10.0

Copenhagen - CPH

8.3/10
Efficiency10.0
Access8.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness7.0

Conclusion

Strictly speaking, this flight was on time, but it was not the one I wanted to take. Cancelling a flight the day before looks a lot like the grouping of two empty flights into one, and I hate this.
The only good news about SAS’ seats is that the shorter the flight, the least painful they are.
A cup of coffee is really minimal catering by European standards
No IFE and no newspapers
Only the crew was up to standards expected from any airline.
You all know about the many humorous acronyms behind SAS; the S does not really stand for Satisfaction.

OSL has a good albeit expensive connection with the city center, little waiting although this was a Friday night and reasonable walking distances. Security controls are efficient.
The only reproach is that I did not get an internet connection (but I did not really need one).

Hardly any power ports in CPH, and no cleaning done after a plane’s departure : they should do better (to be described in the report of the connecting flight)

Information on the route Oslo (OSL) Copenhagen (CPH)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 4 avis concernant 2 compagnies sur la ligne Oslo (OSL) → Copenhagen (CPH).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est SAS avec 6.9/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 1 heures et 5 minutes.

  More information

6 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 355924 by
    eminere™ 271 Comments
    Interesting this B738 is not fitted with winglets.
  • Comment 356067 by
    Rl 777 802 Comments
    Thank you for sharing this FR with us!

    Flytoget looks modern and comfortable, impressive that it departs so frequently.

    I'm glad your colleague made it to the LH flight. I'm sorry to hear about the SK461 cancellation.

    Great spotting shots at OSL!

    I guess all the other 461 passengers were rebooked to 1465, hence the full flight.

    Nice shots of your bird at CPH! I rarely see these non-wingletted 738s at ARN, most of them are based at OSL and only come to ARN if they end up on one of the OSL-ARN runs.

    I haven't flown with SK in 9 years despite living in Stockholm, I think there is a good reason for that.

    Nice bonus at the end!

    Have a good one, see you!
    • Comment 356083 by
      marathon GOLD AUTHOR 10116 Comments
      The Flytoget is even more expensive than the Arlanda Express, but some services continue beyond Oslo Central, all the way to Drammen (seen during the descent into OSL on the way in), one hour travel time from the airport.

      Thanks for the comment !
  • Comment 356808 by
    NGO85 SILVER 1963 Comments
    Thanks for sharing Marathon!

    “SAS, Such A Slut…”
    - Brilliant ;)

    “because the passengers tend to wait in line in front of the ones which are closest to the escalator from the station.”
    - A war of attrition, this is true everywhere. Who is willing to hold out the longest?^^

    “creating a long wait in the jet bridge."
    - Looks like a fire hazard ;)

    “to take a few tarmac pictures !”
    - I see there was another FI next to your plane at CDG. They were following you everywhere that day ;)

    For a short flight like this, I think the catering is appropriate. I guess for European standards, a small salty/sweet snack should have been handed out with the drink, but to ensure a completed service on a B738, a condensed drink menu doesn't surprise me. Even notoriously good caters, like B6, do condensed service on shorter flights.
    • Comment 358075 by
      marathon GOLD AUTHOR 10116 Comments
      “SAS, Such A Slut… Brilliant ;)”
      - I do not claim authorship of that interpretation, but it did spring into my memory at the time.

      “creating a long wait in the jet bridge.
      Looks like a fire hazard ;)”
      - In the advent of a fire, it would be arguably faster to evacuate this jet bridge rather than the plane ;)

      “I see there was another FI next to your plane at CDG. They were following you everywhere that day ;)”
      FI is more likely to be seen in Scandinavian capitals :)

      “For a short flight like this, I think the catering is appropriate.”
      Arguably, you do not get a cookie and/or a drink when you ride on a high speed train in Europe.

      Thanks for your comments, and my apologies for answering late, due to another trip to be reported (soon?)

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