Benefits When Flying SAS Plus In Europe

Benefits When Flying SAS Plus In Europe

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Last week I wrote about how SAS no longer offers business class on flights within Europe, but instead offers SAS Plus. Intra-Europe business class is pretty watered down to begin with, since it’s simply an economy seat with a blocked middle, and better food, drinks, and service.

SAS took it down a notch with their SAS Plus product, which doesn’t offer a blocked middle seat and also doesn’t offer a dedicated meal service. Instead you just get whatever you’d like from the economy menu for free.

I’ve flown two segments within Europe on SAS in the past couple of days (Brussels to Oslo and Oslo to Reykjavik) in SAS Plus, and figured I’d share my general thoughts.

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SAS Plus lounge access

As an SAS Plus passenger you’re entitled to lounge access. The SAS lounge in Oslo was quite nice. The lounge did feel very IKEAish, but then again I kind of expect that in Northern Europe. The breakfast spread was fairly good as well, with cereal, toast, oatmeal, fruit, etc.

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SAS Plus seats

SAS economy seats aren’t the most comfortable in the world, but also aren’t horrible. Fortunately they’re not slimline seats, so you didn’t feel like you were sitting on a plank of wood.

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Usually I avoid bulkheads, but I should note that on both 737s I was on, the bulkhead had tons of room, so I’d highly recommend sitting in row one if available.

SAS Plus service

The flight attendants were probably the highlight. On both flights the purser wore a pin which said “My Smile Is My Make-Up,” and it was sorta true. The crews let off a great vibe and were extremely friendly.

It’s worth noting that there isn’t a dedicated SAS Plus flight attendant. Instead service just begins in SAS Plus, and if you’re seated there you don’t get charged for anything. However, they then continue with the service in SAS Go.

SAS Plus food

SAS ordinarily charges for everything except tea and coffee on intra-Europe flights. Here’s their buy on board menu:

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So when you’re in SAS Plus you just tell the flight attendant what you want.

On my flight I had a pasta salad with tuna, which was served with a warm roll. I’ve gotta say, it was surprisingly delicious.

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I also had a water and some coffee, and then later in the flight had a Coke Zero. I guess one benefit of everything usually being for sale is that it comes in the bottle and can.

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For what it’s worth they don’t seem to proactively offer more food or drinks after the service, though if you ask they’ll gladly get you whatever. I just requested an extra drink, though I saw others order chips and nuts. I’m not sure if you could get a second “meal,” though (I would guess you could). In terms of other food options, they had flatbread, sandwiches, etc.

SAS Plus Wi-Fi

The coolest thing about SAS had to be that they offered Wi-Fi. I’ve never before had Wi-Fi on an intra-Europe flight, so that was pretty awesome. Well, at least awesome in theory.

The log-in page said that it’s free for Eurobonus members and SAS Plus passengers, though when I tried to log in I couldn’t figure out how to get it for free. I’m a Eurobonus member though didn’t know my number, so tried signing up for an account. After every attempt to sign up I got an error message. So I couldn’t actually connect to the internet, which was kind of frustrating.

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Go figure when I got on the ground and checked my email, I had apparently joined Eurobonus 12 times during the flight. Whoops.

The lesson to learn here is that you’ll want to sign up for a Eurobonus account (and know your account number) before the flight!

SAS Plus bottom line

I think SAS is onto something with SAS Plus. The price premium is actually reasonable (often about 50% more than the lowest cost ticket), given that it gets you lounge access, priority boarding, free food and drinks, bonus miles, etc.

Service was friendly across the board, their onboard food selection was actually edible, and the fact that they have Wi-Fi was awesome.

They run a solid operation, and I look forward to flying them longhaul once they have their new business class.

Conversations (13)
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  1. Ann New Member

    Hi lucky,
    Re eurobonus, have almost 1000000 points but cannot get first class flights to SE Asia using them on any star alliance flights. Any suggestions?

    Thanks a lot

    1. lucky OMAAT

      @ Ann -- Maybe try booking within two weeks of departure on Lufthansa, or otherwise looking at space on Thai? They often release quite a bit of space in advance in first class.

  2. Cecilie Guest

    Hey Ben, also another thing regarding the wifi; if you can't remember your EuroBonus-number, just ask a flight attendant, as they have their own username/password that can be used if the passenger has forgotten their EB-number.

  3. Roberto Guest

    An important benefit of SAS PLUS and EB Gold are the priority security benefits at OSL/ARN/CPH

  4. eponymous coward Guest

    Sounds like VX's Main Cabin Select.

    https://www.virginamerica.com/cms/fly-with-us

  5. Robert D Member

    I have enjoyed flying SAS. Can't wait to hear your impressions of Reykjavik and Iceland. I was just thee in June and LOVED it. I also dou d IcelandAir to be a nice little airline, but I digress.

  6. Denis Guest

    Why didn't you use AwardWallet's app? There you could've gotten your Eurobonus number.

    1. lucky OMAAT

      @ Denis -- Because I didn't have my EuroBonus account on there. I only keep "active" accounts that I use on my AwardWallet so that it doesn't take too long to refresh balances.

  7. Cecilie Guest

    You must have flown LN-RRE / LN-RRF or LN-RRG, on the picture of the cabin. They are 737 originially intended for Air Europe (and thus have Air Europe's cabin configuration, including leather seats) On many other 737-800s, there are slimline seats unfortunately.

    With regards to the Wifi, you were lucky. SAS only has Wifi on 10 737-800s, all based in Oslo. So if you're flying a 737-600 out of Stockholm or Airbus 320 out of Copenhagen, you won't have inflight wifi.

  8. Pat Butcher Guest

    Lucky have you ever looked into what SAS Eurobonus is like? Is it a good scheme, are they any good for booking staralliance awards, buying miles etc?

    1. lucky OMAAT

      @ Pat Butcher -- Not in great detail, but based on what I've seen didn't look too lucrative. I'll dig deeper, and if I find anything good I'll report back.

  9. Andy Guest

    With a Plus ticket you can eat and drink as much soda/alcohol as you like - muffins, chips, sparkling wine etc. If you book well in advance you can often grab a Plus ticket for around the same price as economy on european routes, and finally when searching for a ticket on ITA etc search premium econ instead of business for the best prices. /Andy EBG

  10. Lantean Diamond

    that flight attendant is so handsome! i would be happy to be on his flight as well...

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

lucky OMAAT

@ Ann -- Maybe try booking within two weeks of departure on Lufthansa, or otherwise looking at space on Thai? They often release quite a bit of space in advance in first class.

0
Ann New Member

Hi lucky, Re eurobonus, have almost 1000000 points but cannot get first class flights to SE Asia using them on any star alliance flights. Any suggestions? Thanks a lot

0
Cecilie Guest

Hey Ben, also another thing regarding the wifi; if you can't remember your EuroBonus-number, just ask a flight attendant, as they have their own username/password that can be used if the passenger has forgotten their EB-number.

0
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