Flying a narrowbody jet across the Atlantic.
The staggered 2-2, 1-1 layout of SAS Business on its A321LR (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
A lot has happened in the past year for SAS; it left the Star Alliance and joined SkyTeam, and with this change, it has moved around network operations, especially in North America, to fit its new partnerships. The airline has expanded at SkyTeam hubs such as New York-JFK with more service and aircraft upguages, as well as a new nonstop flight to Seattle.
For this flight, I would be flying in SAS business class to New York from its hub in Copenhagen, on board one of the carrier’s Airbus A321LRs.
This would be my first time ever crossing between mainland Europe and North America on a narrowbody aircraft.
I got to the airport about four hours before the flight, and with my business class ticket, I got access to the airline lounge in Copenhagen.
The lobby of the SAS lounge in Copenhagen (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
Like I mentioned already, at the time I took this trip, the airline was still part of Star Alliance so some of the signs do say “Star Alliance” in the pictures, but they have since been changed to SkyTeam as of September 2024.
The lounge was very nice and clean, and despite there being a lot of people, its massive size helped spread everyone out. On offer was a typical European breakfast with lots of cheese and vegetables, and it was on the lighter side.
About an hour and a half before the departure time, I started making my way to the gate as I needed to pass through customs, as the lounge is located in the general area of the airport before customs.
Walking towards my departure gate in Copenhagen for the flight to JFK (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
It’s interesting as SAS currently says they have 10 destinations in North America, however, they technically fly to 11 airports as they count Newark and JFK in New York City as a single destination.
The departure board for my flight to JFK (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
My aircraft for this flight is SE–DMR, an Airbus A321neoLR. This registration was actually the very first of the type that was delivered to the airline in September 2021 and carries the name ‘Åsa Viking.’ It wasn’t very long after getting to the gate that we started the boarding process for the flight.
SAS’ A321LRs have seven rows of business class in a staggered 2–2 and 1 – 1 configuration, with the odd-numbered rows being in the 2 x 2 configuration, and the even-numbered rows being in a 1×1 configuration. I would be sitting in 3F, one of the 2 x 2 configured rows.
Waiting for me at my seat was a pillow and blanket as well as an amenity kit. Not long after sitting down, the crew came around with our pre-departure drinks, which were a choice of orange juice, water, or champagne.
My pre-departure drink on SAS to JFK (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
Prior to pushing back, they also came around and took our orders for the main course, of which we had a choice of three options. The options were either beef, chicken, or pasta, and I chose the beef, which I will discuss more further down.
Pushback as well as taxi to the runway didn’t take very long, and we took off into the sky for our just over eight-hour flight to JFK in New York.
Departing from Copenhagen on the SAS A321LR (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
All of the seats in the SAS business cabin on this flight, turn into a lie-flat bed, no matter if you are in a 1×1 or 2×2 row, with the 1×1 “throne seats” having extra table space on either side of you. But even in the 2 x 2 seats, there is still plenty of room.
Next to you, there was a control panel for the seat that would turn it into a bed as well as turn on the seating lights, along with a massage feature on the back of the seat. There is also a retractable remote that way you didn’t have to lean forward and touch the screen if you were in the reclined position. There was also a more in-depth panel to control the seat movement near shoulder level.
Also near your shoulder level is a power outlet along with two USB-A ports, and a three-pronged headphone jack for the noise-canceling headphones that they let you borrow during the flight.
My amenity kit in SAS Business (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
In the amenity kit, there were socks, an eye mask, as well as a toothbrush and toothpaste, plus earplugs. All of which was presented very nicely in an amenity kit that looks like you could use it again.
It didn’t take very long before we got up to our cruising altitude of 34,000 feet/10,363.20 meters.
Roughly 20 minutes after takeoff, they brought around the tablecloth as well as a hot towel to get ready for the meal. First, they came out with warm nuts, as well as a choice of drink, and I chose what they call an “SAS mopolitan.”
After about an hour after the initial takeoff, they brought around the starter along with our choice of the main course. For a starter I chose a mixed salad that came with roasted and puffed seeds, local air-dried ham with smoky cream cheese and roasted pickled rhubarb, along with homemade bread and local butter.
My starter course in SAS Business to JFK (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
Next came the main course, which for me was the smoked beef burnt ends, and came with red wine sauce, thyme and pearl onions, fried potato, along with tomatoes and green beans.
The main course I chose on SAS: beef (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
To round out the excellent meal service on board this flight, there was dessert and you had a choice of two options; I chose the organic ice cream, which was vanilla ice cream pop that was coated in chocolate, and had fruit on the side.
My dessert on board SAS Business (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
Before settling in for the rest of the flight, I decided to take a look at the inflate entertainment screen in front of me.
The large IFE screen had a lot of useful information that would keep you busy during the flight, and included many options, such as world clocks, movies, TV, information about SAS, how to connect to the Wi-Fi, as well as as of course a live flight map, which was always fun to look at especially as an AvGeek.
The IFE screen onboard my SAS Business flight to JFK (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
On the IFE screen, they also gave you a list of the drink options that you could order during the flight, including an SAS-branded beer.
Two hours after initial takeoff, the meal service had been pretty much cleaned up by this point, and I decided to settle in, turn my seat into the lie-flat position, and try and get some sleep. I got some relatively decent sleep for the next five or so hours, especially considering this was a westbound daytime flight.
Getting ready to sleep for a majority of the flight (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
I did eventually wake up to the smell of food, which usually tends to be what wakes me up during flights. The flight attendants began handing out the hot towels for the pre-arrival meal. At this point in the flight, there was about an hour or so left, and we were over New Brunswick in Canada.
Starting our descent into JFK (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
Just like the main course hours prior, you also had a choice for the pre-arrival meal, and there were two options for this as well: either a vegetarian meal or a sandwich, and I chose the sandwich option. It was a traditional Scandinavian open-faced sandwich, which had Atlantic shrimp, dill mayonnaise, eggs, pickled red onions, where was all on Danish rye bread. There was also a bowl of fruit along with a small box of Swedish chocolates on the side for dessert, and of course, your choice of drink.
My pre-arrival meal (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
About 40–45 minutes before landing, the service ended and the crew started cleaning up for the arrival into JFK, and 15 minutes before arrival, they turned the seatbelt sign on.
Just before landing, they showed a video on the screen that showed all the passengers how to get ready for the arrival, including putting away bags and storing anything they may have taken out during this flight across the Atlantic.
Approaching JFK, with NYC in the background (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
We touched down at JFK airport in New York at 3:32 p.m. local time after eight hours and 16 minutes of flying time from Copenhagen.
As mentioned previously, this is my first time flying a narrow-body aircraft between mainland Europe and the United States. It was weird at first flying across the ocean on a single aisle aircraft as I had never done it before this point, but I would definitely do it again given the opportunity.
Just after landing at JFK following my SAS flight from Copenhagen (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
A video account of this trip report can be found below:
Editor’s Note: SAS provided AirlineGeeks with a seat on this flight, but this trip report is an objective portrayal of the events and is in no way swayed by that aspect.
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