90 TURNING LEFT
BOARDING PASS
PASSENGER TICKET AND BAGGAGE CHECK
GATE
Carrier
GATE CLOSES 8 09:45
Scandinavian Airlines SK997 Departure
Arrival
Copenhagen Shanghai
R No 012 34567 89100
SEAT
8b
BOARDING PASS
BUSINESS CLASS BUSINESS CLASS
GATE
8 GATE CLOSES
SEAT
09:45
8b
Recognized as a regional leader in Scandinavia and famed for its on time departure rate, SAS continues to seduce Asian travellers with its sophisticated, modern service and extensive European network, discovers Nick Walton.
Check-In I checked into my flight in Copenhagen’ s chic international airport, where SAS has two lounges dedicated to business and frequent flier passengers. Boarding was the typical quick and no-nonsense process seen across Europe, with both Scandinavian and Mainland Chinese crew welcoming passengers with trays of juice – alcoholic drinks could only be served after take off – international newspapers and over-night amenity kits.
In-Flight SAS operate a modern A340 aircraft between Copenhagen and its two four Asian destinations – Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo and Bangkok( a new code share with Singapore Airlines links the Lion City to Scandinavia this month), with a three class configuration. Business Class is spread across a main cabin space and a smaller cabin, in a 2-2-2 configuration and on our flight the cabin was full. I changed into more comfortable attire in the fantastic double-sized bathroom, which comes complete with two windows, before we pulled away from the gate exactly on time, and were quickly in the air as day ended in Scandinavia below.
The Seat Although not‘ horizontal’ lie flat, SAS’ business class seats are modern and comfortable. The 10.4-inch entertainment monitors are located in the seat casing in front, allowing for plenty of seat width but also making them a bit small. There is also a lack of storage space compared to other carriers, which forces you to be selective with what you take down from the overhead bin. When in full recline, the seat is perfectly comfortable and as it was an evening flight, many
Nordic Notions
passengers skipped the meal and went straight to sleep.
Dining SAS has a good rep for dining, and deservedly so. Even though drink and meal service took a very long time( fine on day flights but a little frustrating at night) when the meal came it was exceptional. To drink there was signature cocktails laced with Pure Green organic vodka, Henriot 2006 champagne, South African and New Zealand white wines and Australian and French reds, as well as spirits. A crayfish salad with salmon roe was followed by a choice of grilled scallops with jasmine rice; chicken breast with egg noodles and bamboo shoots; or roasted pork loin with sweet potato mash and an apple cider sauce. I opted for the pork, which was well presented by smiling staff. Mains were followed by hay cheese and goat’ s brie with pear marmalade, and caramel cheesecake with ice cream. A snack buffet to one side keeps night owls happy, while breakfast included both continental and cooked options and came with a coffee-to-go option well suited to morning arrivals. www. jetsetter. hk