SAS
What an American traveler needs to know before booking.
SAS
Economy · Airbus A350
SAS is the Alaska Airlines of Scandinavia — competent, occasionally charming, perpetually mid-premium in a way that feels like it's still figuring out its identity.
The real deal
The booking page implies Nordic-cool refinement at a price point that suggests you're getting something above the commodity herd; what you actually get is a solid but unremarkable long-haul economy product where the hardware is decent but the soft product rarely justifies the fare premium over a budget competitor flying the same metal.
Seat
Decent hardware on modern widebodies keeps it tolerable on a transatlantic crossing, but there's nothing here that makes you forget you're in economy.
Lounge
Economy gets nothing — the SAS lounges exist, but not for you at this fare level.
Food
It arrives, it's identifiable, it's Scandinavian-adjacent airline food — the bar is low and SAS clears it, barely.
Screen
Perfectly functional seatback entertainment with a reasonable library — it won't wow you, but it won't make you stare at the seat-back map for nine hours either.
BagsOne checked bag is typically included on long-haul economy, which is table stakes — but verify your fare tier before you celebrate, because SAS's lower economy buckets can strip that out and leave you paying at the airport.
GotchaCopenhagen is a genuinely tight connection hub — Schengen passport control is unexpectedly slow for a 'efficient Nordic' airport and SAS banks its connections aggressively, so a short layover there is a real operational risk, not a theoretical one.
vs US EconomyIt's a real step above United or American in economy on the same route, but not by the margin the Scandinavian branding wants you to believe.
Secretly goodThe overnight long-haul cabin noise levels on the A350 are legitimately lower than most competitors — if you can sleep on planes, this hardware actually helps.
Watch outSAS's economy fare tiers are a trap — the base fare often strips out checked bags and seat selection in ways that quietly close the price gap with business class by the time you've added back what you assumed was included.
Watch outService consistency is uneven in a way that feels institutional, not random — some crews are genuinely warm, others are perfunctory in a way that makes a ten-hour flight feel transactional.
Watch outThe SkyTeam move is recent enough that frequent flyer redemption and partner earning still has rough edges — don't assume your miles flow cleanly until you've verified your specific itinerary.
as of 2026-06-17