Review of SAS flight from Zurich to Stockholm in Premium Eco

Hello everyone and welcome to the second part of this short series covering my trip to southwestern Germany back in April 2017. This part will cover the return flight, from Zürich to Stockholm ARN. The background can be found on part 1 of this short series.

Itinerary
Part 1 - ARN-ZRH, LX1255, Swiss International Air Lines, Airbus Industrie A321, HB-IOD - Here
Part 2 - ZRH-ARN, SK606, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Boeing 737-800, LN-RGB - You are here

Note: Some pictures were taken with my camera while others were taken with my phone.
Time had advanced moderately quickly and the gap between holidays and the time of return had shortened substantially. It was the night before the date of return, which meant it was time to pack and start going through the final checks.
Flight SK606 from Zürich to Stockholm had been scheduled to leave ZRH at 10:30 AM local time on 14 April, 2017. Online check-in for SK flights open 22 hours before departure, 12:30 PM on 13 April, 2017 in this case. I had been outside with my friend Martin1405 for practically the whole day, implying a late check-in at approximately 21:50 (9:50 PM) on my friend's laptop. Few seats were available at this moment, I quickly picked seat 30A which was one of three remaining window seats in Y. This flight was originally scheduled to be operate by a 737-700 but was later switched to a 737-800.

14 April, 2017 approached. I woke up at approximately 6 AM local time, brushed my teeth and had some breakfast with my friend before confirming the presence of my belongings for the last time. My medium-sized bag was weighed at 16,2 kg, well below the limit of 23 kg. A camera bag and a backpack were also part of my luggage, but served as my hand luggage instead.

My friend's friendly dad drove me to the airport in Zürich from Germany. We left their house at roughly 07:36 AM local time.

One of the borders between Germany and Switzerland.

Signs for the airport started to show up. 08:37 AM local time.

Approaching the airport at 08:44 AM local time.

Driving towards one of the parking garages.

To parking P2.

The car came to a final stop at roughly 08:49 AM, the trip to ZRH had taken approximately 1h 13 min.

Following the arrival, the bag was collected from the trunk before making our way to the terminal.

To the terminal using an elevator.

A quick glance at a FIDS screen in the terminal confirms the existence of flight UA7062 (also known as SK606) to Stockholm.

Several screens side by side.

We then proceed to check-in 2, the check-in area SK uses (including other airlines) for their flights.

Check-in 2. There were a fair amount of passengers present here at almost 09:00 AM, doing their thing. I on the other hand, was trying to locate the SK desks.

Before dropping my bag at the desk, I make sure to print out a dull BP from one of the kiosks scattered around the area.

It appears as Dnata handles check-in services for SAS (SK), Aer Lingus (EI), Royal Air Maroc (AT), Alitalia (AZ) and Etihad Regional (F7) at ZRH. The line for the bag drop was short and my bag was handled rather quickly and swiftly.

After dropping the bag, my friend Martin1405 took me to a spot where some plane spotting was possible.

KLM B739.

Easyjet A319.

KLM B739 and Swiss A343.

Air France A318.

We stay at the spot for a few minutes before walking back. Niki check-in desks.

At roughly 09:20 AM, I bid farewell to my friend and his dad and thank them for everything before walking to the security check.

I was approached by an automated BP control before entering the security check. There was roughly one hour left before my flight was scheduled to depart.

Security was smooth without too much traffic at 09:27 AM.

I made it through security in just six minutes, the time was 09:33 AM when I cleared the check.

Passengers are greeted with a duty-free shopping area after clearing security.

According to the BP I printed out earlier, flight SK606 was supposed to depart from gate A72. Boarding was scheduled to commence at 10:00 sharp.

Walking to the A gates. As a side note: The airport looked great on the inside and this probably comes as no surprise.

A Swiss lounge.

Towards A72.

I accidentally used one of the travelators located here but regretted my decision shortly after entering as I wanted to stop and look at aircraft from the windows on the sides. Unfortunately it was of considerable length so it took a while before I could stop without having a machine moving me forward.

Continuing the walk to gate A72.

I arrive at gate A72 by 09:50 AM local time, 10 minutes before boarding or 40 minutes before departure. I chose to walk around the area to burn these 10 minutes.

LOT E-175.

Air Canada B789, United B764, Swiss A333, Etihad B789 and a Bulgaria Air A319.

Vueling A320.

FIDS.

SAS A321 from Copenhagen. A glimpse of the tail of my ride to Stockholm can be seen next to this company 321.

Austrian A320.

Flight information:
Airline: SAS Scandinavian Airlines
Flight no & route: SK606 ZRH-ARN
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800 Winglets
Scheduled time of departure (actual): 10:30 (10:45), UTC +2
Scheduled time of arrival (actual): 12:50 (12:50), UTC +2
Scheduled flight time (actual): 2h 20 min (2h 05 min)

SK B738 to Stockholm ARN and SK A321 to Copenhagen.

LN-LGB, a 738 delivered to SK in December 2012.

VY A320.

Finnair A321 with winglets/sharklets.

I walk back to the gate when 10 minutes have passed. Priority boarding was announced at 10:02 AM.

The amount of passengers eligible for priority boarding was not high, making it fairly quick for the announcement of boarding in Y to start. I was in row 30, one of the last rows and was therefore allowed to be one of the first passengers to board in Y.

However, I was stopped by the agent after scanning my BP. She handed me a new boarding pass and said I had been upgraded to business (more like Y+ in SK short-haul) and my new seat was 3F. The agent also mentioned I would not get any meals onboard, I would only have a seat up front. I acknowledged the information and proceeded through the jetbridge. I had never flown anything besides economy prior to this, it was a slightly interesting feeling even though I was aware of the fact that it would practically be the same as in Y.

Company A321.

Missed focuse.

The new BP.

Seated on seat 3F. Flight attendants were greeting passengers at the door when entering the aircraft.

A black pouch blocked the middle seat which was appreciated, as I had not expected to have an unoccupied middle seat. The passenger seated on seat 3D had also been upgraded.

Seatback.

The flight was announced as full, passengers were requested to store as much luggage as possible below the seats to keep space for larger carry-ons in the bins.

The actual legroom was alright as seen here.

The legroom for me was a little bit more limited, as I had my camera bag and backpack down here. The free middle seat helped with the limited amount of legroom, allowing me to stretch out to the side when needed.

Austrian A320.

Air Berlin (Belair) A320 pulling in to the adjacent gate. Belair is officially shutting down this October, some routes will be closed down while I believe other routes have already been taken over by Niki and Air Berlin.

Wing view.

Overhead panel.

Overhead bins.

Boarding was completed a few minutes before the scheduled time of departure.

Pushback commenced at 10:36 AM local time.

Interestingly, the middle seats in front of me and next to me were not blocked off which seemed bizarre. I do know that a few of these passengers were last-minute upgrades from Y like me but I do not think all of them were, SK could have made it to an Y-only flight if the latter was the case.

Taxiing to runway 28.

Austrian A320.

Lufthansa A320.

Air Europa E-195.

Bombardier Challenger 300.

Avro RJ100.

Cessna Citation XLS+.

Holding short of 28.

Lining up with runway 28.

Rolling down.

Swiss A333, Etihad B789 and El Al B738.

Blurry shot of a Singapore Airlines A388, Cathay Pacific B77W and Thai Airways B77W.

Rocketing out of ZRH at 10:45 AM.

Iberia A321 in the distance, arrived as IB3464 from Madrid.

Oberglatt.

Niederhasli and Niederglatt.

Banking towards Stockholm, Sweden.

Flying through the clouds.

As soon as we made it through the clouds, the alps became partly visible.

It was definitely nice to see parts of the mountains from above.

Seatback.

Cruising.

The man seated on 30D decided to put the pouch below the middle seat, instead of having it on the seat.

Safety card of this Boeing 737-800.

The store.

The BOB menu.

SK Magazine.

Mercedes-Benz magazine.

Waste bag.

Clouds.

The agent who told me food would not be served to me as I was upgraded was true to a certain extent, but that was not the full story. Real SK plus passengers would be served a "meal" in a box, including having the ability to choose anything from the menu. One of the friendly and attentive FAs arrived at my row asking whether I would like anything, I only asked for a cup of coffee as that's normally what's included in Y on intra-European flights with SK (or tea). Then, the FA asked if I was sure and if I did not want any snacks or other drinks. She noticed my confused expression and proceeded with explaining that all snacks and drinks were complimentary from the menu, for upgraded passengers too. The boxed "meal" and the food items were not, but the rest were. I ended up getting a bag of crisps with the coffee. The service was done shortly after 11:10 AM, 25 minutes after departure.

Charging my phone with the powerbank was essential, as on every occasion.

20 minutes later, I decided to try out a smoothie and had a Marabou chocolate bar with it. Many of the upgraded passengers ordered a whole bunch of alcoholic beverages, probably making the best of the situation where they could order almost anything from the menu. The FAs on this flight were attentive, friendly and professional. They did not seem to have any kind of "fake" smiles, it all appeared to be genuine. Definitely one of the better short-haul crews I have had.

Cruising at 38 000 ft.

The tray table.

Coat hook.

A quick visit to the lavatory was made at 11:51 AM.

The flight was completely full today.

The Baltic sea.

Seat cover.

Thanks for tracking me Martin1405!

The island of Gotland on the Baltic sea.

Time passed away quickly and it was already 12:19 PM, we were only a few minutes away from descent into ARN at this point.

An overview of some new SAS' routes (ARN-MIA not on the list). Meanwhile, the captain had initiated our descent into Stockholm.

Losing altitude.

Gloomy weather.

The first glimpse of Stockholm, more specifally in the northern outskirts outside of the city centre. Parts of Sollentuna municipality including Viby, Rotebro, Häggvik, Norrviken and Tureberg are visible, a portion of Upplands Väsby is also visible. The E4 freeway and road 267 can also be seen, with at least eight lakes spotted including Norrviken, Edsviken, Ravalen, Vallentunasjön, Fjäturen, Rösjön, Väsjön and Snuggan.

In addition, Ullnasjön (lake) and a small part of Stora Värtan (leads to the Baltic sea) can be spotted in the distance.

The Marabou chocolate factory in Upplands Väsby.

E4 freeway.

Fysingen (lake).

Closing in on runway 01L.

The road to the airport.

Almost there.

Touchdown on runway 01L at Stockholm ARN at precisely 12:50 PM local time.

Slowing down.

Thai Airways B77W, Aeroflot A320 and Norwegian B788.

Taxiing to our gate in terminal 5.

Back to Stockholm I presume…

Icelandair B763.

Continuing the taxi.

Our 738 came to a final stop at 12:53 PM local time. We parked up next to a company 737.

A last look at the seats. The legroom was fine and the seat comfort was acceptable for a flight of this length. I am 179cm tall (5ft 10 inches), for the record.

I disembarked from the plane at 12:58 PM and headed towards the belts to collect my bag.

Belt 5 according to this screen.

The bag arrived in roughly 12 minutes, I collected it and met my dad outside who picked me up and drove me back home. That was everything for this report, thank you for taking your time to read this FR. Have a good one, see you later.