Review of SAS flight Umeå → Stockholm in Economy

Hello and welcome to the third and final part of this short series, consisting of three quick flights done in one day. The previous part can be found here while the first part can be found here. This concluding part will cover the last flight, from Umeå to Stockholm ARN.

Background:

My first time flying alone was back in April 2017, I was allowed to visit and stay at my friend's house in Germany after several discussions with my mother. Fast-forward a few months and my summer holidays begin, from 08 June, 2017. Calculations showed that I would have plenty of free days, after accounting for the summer job and other miscellanous tasks. According to a few local articles, BRA (Braathens Regional Airlines, domestic airline in Sweden) had plans to retire the Saab 2000 after Midsummer this year. I ask my mother about traveling alone this summer and she told me I was allowed to fly by myself, as long as I come back home the same evening. BRA (cooperating with Finnair) operated the Saab 2000 on the HEL-UME route until 22 June, before it switches over to a triangle-routing by ATRs on Norra (Nordic Regional Airlines). The HEL-UME flight seemed like a safe bet for trying out the Saab 2000 before retirement but first I needed to get to Helsinki as I live in Stockholm, I quickly look for flights to Helsinki and decide to book a morning flight at 06:50 AM on SAS to Helsinki on 22 June, then I book the HEL-UME flight before booking a UME-ARN flight on SK at 20:10 (08:10 PM) the same day. The flights were booked on 17 June, five days in advance. All plans with full details were made at home and printed out to avoid wasting as much time as possible between the flights. My main intention was not to fully explore Helsinki or Umeå in any way but I would try and see what I could explore in the few hours I had between flights.

Note: Pictures used in this report were taken with both my phone and camera.

Itinerary:

Part 1 - ARN-HEL, SK702, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Bombardier CRJ-900, EI-FPD -

Here

Part 2 - HEL-UME, AY683, BRA Braathens Regional Airlines/Finnair, Saab 2000, SE-MFM -

Here

Part 3 - UME-ARN, SK2035, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Boeing 737-600, LN-RRZ - You are here

Four kilometres of walking and an hour or two later, I start thinking about returning to Umeå Airport after the short visit.


A quick glance at the public transportation app shows a timetable of one bus every 20 minutes at this hour. I planned to catch the bus leaving Vasaplan in the centre at 18:00 (6 PM) for my 20:10 (8:10 PM) flight back to Stockholm. It was not essential to catch the 18:00 bus for my flight at 20:10 as the airport is on the smaller end of the spectrum but I was in a mood where relaxing at the airport sounded like a good deal.


Unlike the first SK702 flight to Helsinki, the seat selection seemed to work on this final SK2035 UME-ARN flight, to some extent. The map showed up without any error messages which was pleasing to see. However, my seat never actually changed to the newly selected seat when saving my option, thus making my online seat selection game unsuccessful once again. I would have to wait until going to the airport before being able to check my seating opportunities. According to a local article, SK has received multiple complaints regarding the new website, they have responded and are going to implement changes and fixes to the new site according to the same article.


Taking the electric bus to Umeå Airport from the centre, the bus was delayed for a few minutes.


On the E4 towards Umeå Airport.


Fast-forward a few minutes and I am at the airport.


The bus is ready to drive back to the centre.


Walking to the terminal building.


This could possibly be the smallest airport I have traveled through, in terms of the size of the terminal. This allows for smooth departures and arrivals, although there is little do to inside.


Before passing security, I paid a visit to one of the kiosks scattered around the airport in order to print a secondary BP with (hopefully) a more desirable seat than my original one.


This time around, my mission regarding seats was ended on a slightly more positive note. There were several unoccupied seats and I was able to lock in and verify 17A without any issues.


The security area was small but the proccess was swift.


The smallest duty-free section I have seen in my life, seen after clearing security.


A café and a restaurant were spotted after passing the duty-free section.


Gate 2, the gate assigned for flight SK2035 later in the evening.


With one severely delayed flight and two slightly delayed flights, the seating area was bound to be more crowded than usual.


Amapola flyg Fokker 50.


SAS 737-700 arriving from Stockholm ARN as SK2030.


Pulling up at 19:17 local time, this flight had a scheduled time of arrival of 18:45.


Parked.


BRA RJ100 arriving as TF270 from Stockholm BMA.


Boarding for flight SK2031 to Stockholm began at 19:25, eight minutes after arrival.


Status of pushback at 19:41: Completed.


Flying back to Stockholm ARN at 19:43.


BRA RJ100 following shortly afterwards, TF277 to Stockholm BMA.


DY B738 pulling up to gate 3 at 19:49, scheduled time of arrival was 16:20.


Parked.


While the Norwegian 737 was getting ready for its flight back to Stockholm, the screen at gate 2 had confirmed the existence of my flight this evening. Besides the time of departure, there was also an estimation of a slight delay of 15 minutes.


Suddenly it started raining, while boarding had started for the DY flight.


My ride arrived from Stockholm ARN at 20:03. It was scheduled to arrive at 19:40 before leaving Umeå at 20:10.


Passengers boarding flight DY4014 in the rain.


LN-RRZ, a 737-600 delivered to SAS in 1998.


Boarding for my flight was announced at 20:12, luckily it stopped raining at the same moment.


Walking to the aircraft when it had just stopped raining.


Front side.


Pushback for the delayed DY flight to Stockholm ARN.




Flight information:

Airline: SAS Scandinavian Airlines

Flight no & route: SK2035 UME-ARN

Aircraft: Boeing 737-600

Scheduled time of departure (actual): 20:10 (20:33), UTC +2

Scheduled time of arrival (actual): 21:10 (21:17), UTC +2

Scheduled flight time (actual): 1 hour (44 minutes)



SB20.


The 737-600s are slowly but surely getting retired from the SK fleet.


Tail.


Entering the 736 from the rear.


Inside the aircraft at 20:16 local time.


Seated on 17A, droplets were visible on the window.


Soon boarding was also possible from the stairs at the front side of the aircraft, which caused a traffic meltdown on the aisle as there is no real space for two lanes on the aisle. They should have allowed passengers seated at one specific set of rows to board from the stairs at the front, while the other passengers boarded from the stairs at the back (similar to what DY does on some flights from my experience). Despite that, the mess was not huge and boarding was still completed rather quickly.


Seatback.


Seat pitch and legroom were sufficient for a short flight.


Safety card.


Opposite side.


Interestingly there was a menu for long-haul and charter flights in the seat pocket of seat 17A.


Store.


The proper menu for this flight.


Unfortunately this shot was blurry which makes it difficult to read. Smaller snacks and some drinks are available for purchase on these short domestic hops.


SE-MFM, the Saab 2000 that flew me from Helsinki to Umeå.


Taxiing to runway 14 at 20:28 local time.


This SK flight was the last flight from UME this evening.


Turning.


Taxiing to the far end of the runway.


U-turn.


Almost ready for departure.


Rolling down the runway.


SB20.


The small terminal.


Lifting off at 20:33 (8:33 PM).


Gimonäs båtklubb (boat club).


Nydalasjön (lake) on the left hand side of the picture with a few residential areas of Umeå.


Climbing out of the Umeå area.


Parts of Kvarken, a narrow region in the Gulf of Bothnia seperating the Bothnian Bay from the Bothnian Sea.


Flying through cloud layers.


Making progress.


The load factor was estimated to be around 70-75%. There were numerous unoccupied seats on this flight.


10 000 ft and climbing.


Made it through the clouds.


Scandinavian traveler magazine.


Flying over the Gulf of Bothnia, the northernmost tip of the Baltic Sea.


Overhead panel.


Thank you Martin1405, for tracking my flight.


The tea/coffee service was made at 20:48, 15 minutes after takeoff. The FAs were amiable and did their jobs efficiently on this short ride. I opted for tea instead of coffee this time, solely for variation purposes.


Cruising. The captain informed us about good weather in Stockholm, something I don't hear often on my flights to Stockholm.


A cargo ship on the Baltic Sea.


Descending.


Islands in Östhammar municipality, Uppsala County.


More islands in Uppsala County.


Islands in Uppsala and Stockholm County with Hargshamn on the bottom part of the picture, Hargshamn is a port and a small town with roughly 300 inhabitants.


Wind turbine park in Varsvik (Vindkraftsparken Varsvik).


Traces of settlement can also be seen, belonging to Hallstavik in Norrtälje municipality.


Banking in order to line up with runway 19L at ARN. Erken can be spotted, a lake in Norrtälje municipality.


Gavel-Långsjön (lake, the oblong one), Skedsviken (lake), Kornan (lake) and some other smaller lakes.


Lining up with 19L.


2 500 ft and descending.


Husby-Långhundra and road 77.


Approaching the airport.


Crossing runway 08/26.


Old CRJs, two caravelles and a Swedavia MD-82 on ramp K. The MD-82 is used for ground training.


Halmsjön, a lake north of runway 01R/19L.


Road 273.


Touchdown on runway 19L at 21:17 local time. Our scheduled time of arrival was 21:10.


Slowing down.


Vacated the runway.


Shining sun.


ALFA long-term parking facility.


Jumbo Hostel.


Taxiing to terminal 4, one of two terminals used for domestic flights at ARN.


UPS 757.


FedEx 757.


DHL 757.


A couple of NextJet ATPs.


4U A319.


Arrived at terminal 4.


I disembarked from the aircraft at 21:30 and immediately texted my parents about my arrival.


Inside terminal 4.


Walking towards the exit.


Landside area of terminal 4. I had a few viable options to choose from when going home from the airport. The most convenient would be to catch one of the airport coaches (Flygbussarna) directly home, this would however require a new ticket as I only purchased a one-way ticket when traveling to ARN earlier this morning. I could be at home by 22:20 if I caught the bus. The cheapest option was SL (public transportation company in Stockholm) with two different routes, one route was to take bus 583 to Märsta, connect to the commuter train before taking another bus. That option implied an arrival of approximately 23:00. Another option was to take the commuter train from the airport before connecting to a bus, this option suggested an arrival time of 22:30. Normally you have to pay a stupid station fee of 120 SEK when using the regular station at ARN but I am under 18 and do not need to pay that fee, the reason for the fee can be found at the end of this report. In the end, I decided to opt for the latter option (SL, train from ARN + bus).


Walking to the station, located in SkyCity. There are two other stations at ARN but those are only used by the ARN Express.


Identification had to be showed in order to verify my age, before passing the gate.


Taking an escalator down to the station.


On the platform.


The Stockholm commuter train arriving at the station. This particular line extends beyond the Stockholm area, to Knivsta and Uppsala C in Uppsala County.


Inside the train at 21:43 (9:43 PM).


I do not live in the city centre so I did not continue to the central station, instead I got off the train a few stations before reaching the centre.


Waiting for my connecting bus at 22:08.


Inside the bus at 22:13.


Walking from the bus stop to my home at 22:23 (10:23 PM) local time. This was the last series/FR from this house, my family is moving to a new part of the Stockholm area in a few weeks which means my future reports will begin/end from a new part of town. Additionally, thanks to my mother for letting me go on this quick trip. Thank you for taking your time to read this FR, have a good one and see you later :).