For our trip back to The States, we’re riding with SAS on their A330. I opted for Premium Economy as it was a solid price and I wanted the extra comfort for this daytime flight back to Atlanta. When SAS joined Skyteam, they added flights to Atlanta to connect with Delta’s hub. When booking this flight, I screwed up the dates. That was the reason for the extra night in Stockholm. I was able to get it corrected, but had to pay the stupid tax out of pocket.
Bottom Line: I enjoyed SAS’s Premium Economy on the A330. The Bulkhead row was comfortable and would be my preference again. The food was adequate but the drinks flowed and the in seat entertainment kept me amused for the ~9 hour flight.
SAS A330-300 Boarding CPH
After a quick hop to Copenhagen from Stockholm we walked through passport control and towards the departure gate for our flight to Atlanta. Unfortunately we were stopped short of the gate.
Boarding was an absolute mess. We didn’t have time to stop at a lounge here in CPH, but we did check out the SAS Lounge in Stockholm before our connecting flight. Because we’re departing to the US, you have to answer some security questions. They wouldn’t let anyone into the gate area without it and made everyone line up to be questioned by 1-2 people who were not making good progress. After about 20 minutes, and much complaining and questioning by passengers, they announced anyone going to Atlanta can go to the gate. What a waste of time, they just asked the questions at the gate like usual.
At the gate, our A330 waiting to take us down to Atlanta. SAS doesn’t have a huge widebody fleet, just 12 planes in total with 8 of them being A330s. The boarding process was pretty orderly at this point. They had 3 agents at 3 different podiums scanning boarding passes and checking passports. The process was pretty fast. I’m really not sure why they bothered with the pre-questioning desk.
We boarded when our zone was called. I like the glass jet-bridges here at Copenhagen.
SAS A330 Premium Economy Cabin
The SAS A330 Premium Economy cabin is quite large. 8 full rows of premium seating between the Business Class cabin and the Economy Cabin.
The cabin is arranged into a 2-3-2 configuration so if you’re in the center section, there is a middle seat. I will say, the seats feel a little older. While the seats are a little bit more old school, that’s not always a bad thing. Some modern and newer seats are terribly uncomfortable.
Val and I had assigned ourselves to the 2 seats on the side. We’re also in the bulkhead. In our seats are a pillow, blanket, bottle of water, amenity kit, and set of earbuds.
SAS A330 Premium Economy Seat Features
We got situated into our seats on the left hand side of the plane. The Premium Economy Seats are wider than economy with more recline. They also have a leg rest with adjustable foot rest. I chose these seats based on a few reasons, the bulk head has a leg rest, the other seats just have foot rests. These seats have no one to recline into you, I liked that when I’ve flown other premium economy products.
Our bags fit nicely stowed overhead. It doesn’t look like the premium economy section is going to be completely full on today’s flight.
Leg room is very good in these bulkhead seats. For reference I’m only 5’8″ so I fit comfortably in most seats, but there’s a ton of leg room. The downside is the lack of storage at your feet during takeoff and landing. The video screen is also stowed between the seats during this time.
On the opposite wall there is a screen that displayed flight information and the safety video. There are also some coat hooks on the wall to hang jackets. This, being premium economy, coats were not taken by the flight attendants.
One big downside is the lack of individual overhead air-vents. I’m really not sure why airlines tend to remove them from premium cabins. It’s nice to have a little air blowing.
The SAS A330 Premium Economy seat has a small drinks table that folds out of the center divider section.
Below that are the controls for the leg and foot rest. Pretty simple setup here, push the button and the leg rest extends, hold the button and push down to retract.
On the opposite arm rest there is the seat recline. You can see the wear on the seats here. These planes have some age on them, but are still very comfortable.
Between the seats there is a power port for each passenger. Because we’re in the bulkhead, this is where the in flight entertainment screens are located in the folded position.
Our view from this row is pretty good. We have 2 windows. The premium economy cabin is about 80% full. All of the window seats and the majority of the aisle seats are occupied.
The tray table folds out from between the two seats.
SAS A330 Premium Economy Push-back and Takeoff
Pilot gave his announcement telling us it would be a 9:15 flight to Atlanta.
Right on time the doors were shut and we pushed back from the gate. The safety video was shown as we headed for the runway.
We took off towards west on a lovely sunny day.
We got some great views as we climbed out of Copenhagen.
Soon we were above the clouds. The seatbelt sign wast turned off. I do find that non-US airlines tend to be very quick to turn off the seat-belt sign where US carriers are much slower to do so.
SAS A330 Premium Economy In Seat Entertainment
Here in the Premium Economy bulkhead, the entertainment screen folds out from inside the center armrest. On it there’s USB power along with a second headphone jack.
The selection appears is very good. Easly 100 movies to chose from. The screen was nice and responsive, but there’s some glare from the glossy screen.
Unlike in business class, there’s no printed menu here in premium economy. There is a menu in the entertainment system for drinks and snacks.
I put on a movie and settled into my seat. I found the seat very comfortable. Older seats are like that sometimes, they might not be the best looking, but they are often better.
SAS Premium Economy Lunch
The flight attendant came on and told us about our flight. A welcome cocktail and snack would be first. Followed by 2 options for our meal, a salmon lasagna or meatballs with potatoes.
For my welcome cocktail I went with a gin and tonic. The flight attendant also asked for our dinner entree and drink order at this time.
For dinner, I went with an Mikkeller IPA that’s bespoke to SAS.
Next came our meals. They are served on a single tray. I’m not sure if there’s any difference between the meal options in premium economy and business class.
The appetizer was a pork terrine with some sort of root vegetable. At first I thought it was turnip, but I’m not too sure.
I chose the meatballs with potatoes and peas for my entree. The meal didn’t look amazing but was more than edible. I’ve obviously had better.
Desert was cheese and an apple crumble tart. Both were excellent.
The flight attendants were very good and came around offering tea or coffee after the meal. I went with tea.
At the end of the meal I had eaten pretty much everything. The flight attendant then came around cleared our trays.
SAS A330 Premium Economy Lavatory
After my meal I went to the bathroom to get cleaned up. There are 2 lavatories at the rear of the SAS premium economy cabin. Both are large enough to be comfortable and were kept clean during the flight.
SAS Premium Economy Amenity Kit
Premium Economy on SAS does included an amenity kit. It’s pretty basic set that include a shoe bag, ear plugs, and toothpaste/brush.
I like the shoe bag though. I’ve kept it and started using it in my travel kit to keep my packed shoes away from clothes.
SAS A330 Premium Economy In Flight
I walked back to my seat through the mostly full premium economy cabin.
Outside it’s been a very nice day for flying. We’re flying with the sun so it will be daytime for the whole flight back home. This is pretty much the standard for Europe to North America flights.
The flight attendants came through the cabin and provided water pretty regularly. As always, on long flights I drink as much water as I can, getting dehydrated sucks.
SAS A330 Premium Economy Bedding
Back in my seat I settled in with the provided blanket and pillow. I found both very good, especially for premium economy. I was able to get a good 2-3 hours of sleep so that was nice.
As we approached the coast of Greenland we were treated to quite a view. It’s pretty rare to be able to see Greenland through the weather, it’s usually covered with clouds. Not this time. Another reason why I like to choose the right side of the plane when flying west.
For those not on the right side of the plane, they could pull up the view on the plane’s cameras. This was the view from the belly camera.
We passed over Canada with just under 3 hours left in the flight. I was a little surprised we’re this far north, usually it’s a more southern route, but not today.
The whole flight we’ve been lucky with the weather. We’ve been able to see the ground or ocean for basically the entire trip.
SAS A330 Premium Economy Pre-Landing Snack
With about 90 minutes left before landing in Atlanta, we were offered a snack meal. It was a chicken salad with barley. I actually really liked this. It was light and delicious. Much better than the sad sandwiches other airlines serve at this point in a flight.
After eating, I put on some shows. We’re a little to close to landing for a full movie so I’m glad there’s TV episodes to watch.
SAS A330 Premium Economy Approach and Landing
With about 40 minutes left before landing, the flight attendants began preparing the cabin for landing at ATL.
We slowly descended and the pilot made his announcements about the weather and that we’re scheduled to arrive just a few minutes early. More of those clear skies outside.
Great view of the Atlanta Airport as we made our turn downwind before landing.
And just a few minutes later we landing here in Atlanta after our very pleasant flight.
SAS A330 Premium Economy Final Thoughts
I enjoyed our trip on SAS in their premium economy. Premium economy is a great option for daytime westbound trans-Atlantic flights. The seats were older but had plenty of features to stay comfortable on this 9 hour flight. I liked the leg and foot rest we had in the bulkhead. I also very much enjoyed all of the leg room. The downside is that the meal is pretty much the same as in economy, not a big deal, just nothing special.
The in seat entertainment is good, lots of options for movies and TV shows to choose from. The provided bedding was very good for a premium economy product. There’s also power in each seat so my phone was charged when I land, always welcome. The best part of the flight was the view, we got great clear weather the whole trip and got a view of Greenland.
I’d gladly ride on SAS again in their premium economy.
Follow Our Trip
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