Jetting Off to Scandinavia

The newly constructed Terminal 5 concourse extension at O’Hare was the keystone of a $1.2 billion expansion plan.

Scandinavian cities present a treasure trove of excellent locations to explore and I’ve been most fortunate to have visited a good number of them. One of those capital cities that stands out best for me is Copenhagen to which I traveled on an annual basis every March. While the weather during that time of year sometimes left a bit to be desired, the city’s charms were readily apparent with fewer crowds and occasional bursts of warming sunshine. On one particular occasion, I began my journey at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport, embarking on a United Airlines flight to Chicago O'Hare with an onward connection via Scandinavian Airlines. After arrival in Chicago, I made my way from Terminal 1 to the International Terminal 5 via the Airport Transit System (ATS), the convenient, fast and reliable people mover network at O'Hare offering fully-automated service every three to five minutes during peak hours, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Chicago SAS Lounge has an open floor plan, efficient use of space and simple color scheme, but was too small.

The SAS Lounge in Chicago is located in Terminal 5 near Gate M19. On the plus side, this lounge has modern Scandinavian decor, great airplane views, and an abundance of natural light. Unfortunately, at just 2,000 square feet, it’s far too small for the number of passengers it’s supposed to accommodate. The SAS Lounge is the only Star Alliance lounge located in Terminal 5, so while Lufthansa and United don’t depart from this terminal, Air India, Asiana, Austrian, EVA Air, LOT Polish, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, and Turkish Airlines all use Terminal 5 which explains why it felt so uncomfortably crowded. The SAS Lounge did have a perfectly good selection of food and drink though, all via a self-serve buffet. This included Chicken and Turkey Sandwiches, and a salad bar with Spring Mix, Pasta Salad, Red Skinned Potato Salad, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Cheeses, Olives, and Roasted Corn. There were also Crackers, Chips, Snack Mix, Cookies, Instant Noodles, Whole Fruit, and a variety of condiments. Beverages included a selection of beer, wine, and spirits. There were also soft drinks, juice, water, an espresso machine, and hot water for tea. But, despite the food and drink offered, I found the lounge to be neither quiet or relaxing, so after a very brief stay, I simply headed for my departure gate.

For window-seat passengers on the SAS A330-300, seats in the 4 even-numbered rows are further from the aisles.

Boarding began on schedule at 9:15 PM, approximately one half hour prior to departure. SAS was operating an Airbus A330-300 aircraft on the route with three classes of service, Business, Premium Economy (SAS Plus) and Economy. Business Class was located in the forward-most cabin with 32 Thompson Vantage XL Seats configured in a 1-2-1 layout across 8 rows. The seats offered direct aisle access for all passengers and could be converted into fully flat beds that measured nearly 6’ 5” in length. I had pre selected Row 2, Seat A, which was a window seat on the port side of the aircraft. I prefer to sit in the front of the cabin whenever possible, avoiding the bulkhead seats in Row 1. For window-seat passengers on the SAS A330-300, the even-numbered seats are positioned closer to the windows and their side tables provide more space from the aisle, The seat cushion was very comfortable and I was able to raise the leg rest independently of the seat while the storage layout allowed easy access to my personal belongings during flight. Waiting on the seats were a pillow, bedsheet, amenity kit, SAS-branded headphones and a bottled water. Boarding was completed fairly quickly and soon we pushed back from the gate, taxied to the runway and took off for the eight hour and 30-minute flight to Copenhagen.

I chose the Short Ribs and found that entrée to be tasty and satisfying. The ribs were tender in a delicious sauce.

Cocktails were served about 30 minutes later accompanied by a paltry package of salted cashew nuts. No menus were provided for the dinner service, but passengers were given three options: a Short-Rib Beef dish served with Sweet Mashed Potatoes and Mixed Vegetables, a Chicken Tandoori with Rice or a Vegetarian Enchilada. The meals were served with a Smoked Salmon appetizer and a bread roll. Dessert was a Dark Chocolate Torte and after the meal, tea and coffee were served from the trolley. While the lack of menus was less than ideal, the food quality overall was fairly good and the service itself was not rushed but very efficient. Within 90 minutes from takeoff, all meals were fully cleared in the cabin.

The foot wells on these SAS Business Class seats weren't the most generous in the air and very short on leg room

Shortly thereafter, I put my seat in the lie- flat position and napped for a time. I believe I would have been able to sleep longer if the seat were not so constricting in bed mode since it slid so far under the entertainment monitor there wasn’t much leg room available. Despite the limited leg space, I did manage several hours of uninterrupted sleep, thanks to the cool cabin temperature. Service-wise, this was one of the friendliest flight crews with whom I've had the pleasure of traveling. They were all so cordial, pleasant and proactive. After I awoke, three different flight attendants stopped by to check on me and see if I wanted anything. Perhaps I looked hungry, as one flight attendant even delivered additional cashew nuts along with some gummy bears! I was very impressed with this crew. They made the flight a pleasant and memorable experience for all of us in Business Class.

Trans World Airlines (TWA) was first to introduce movies on flights in 1961. Technology's come a long way since.

Although I routinely travel with pre-loaded content on my iPad, it was time to check out the inflight entertainment system available on SAS. The 15.4” high-definition monitor delivered a bright and crisp picture, but the selections, while perfectly adequate for a flight of this duration, were not extensive compared with carriers such as Singapore or Emirates Airlines. There were a total of 38 movies (including only five new releases) and 35 television episodes on demand. Audio entertainment was also available and several games were on offer as well. To the carrier’s credit, in addition to the always popular moving map, SAS offer views from exterior cameras on all long-haul aircraft which proved to be a popular pastime on takeoff and landing. The sound quality though from the noice-cancelling headphones provided could have been better, so I was glad I traveled with my personal Bang & Olufsen H8i on-ear headphones. I was pleased to learn that Business Class passengers enjoyed complimentary and unrestricted Wi-Fi access, offering acceptable speed for a satellite-based internet connection. Power sockets and USB ports were also available within easy reach at every seat.

First opened in 1925, Copenhagen's airport is one of the oldest international airports on the European continent.

About an hour and a half before landing, breakfast was served on trays placed on our linen-laced tables. Passengers were offered several hot and cold options from the buffet carts including yogurt, cereals, hot croissants, bread and rolls as well as coffee or tea. We landed on time at 1:30 in the afternoon at Kastrup International Airport serving Copenhagen, Zealand Island and southern Sweden. It’s the largest airport in the Nordic countries serving close to 30.3 million passengers in 2019. After clearing Danish Customs and Immigrations, I headed directly to the taxi stand. Getting into town was a breeze as the airport is located not quite five miles from the city center. Traffic was light that mid-afternoon and I reached the Hotel D’Angleterre in short order. I’ll tell you all about my visit to this wonderful city in a future. post.

Until next time, safe travels.