Background & Booking
I was debating whether to take a train or fly from Oslo to Stockholm. All the trains were going to be about 5 and a half hours, versus a 1-hour flight. I decided to try the flight, as both were the same price. Plus, when traveling with a group of 3, on the Airbus A320, you can sit together versus the trains serving Oslo to Stockholm were all in a 2-2 configuration (both in 1st & 2nd class). Norwegian Air, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), and Ethiopian (5th freedom route) served the Oslo to Stockholm route and I just chose the best price/time combination which happened to be on Scandinavian Airlines (SAS). I booked a flight on the SAS Airbus A320neo, in the SAS Go Smart fare class.
SAS has a few different fare classes, and the lowest fare option is SAS Go Light, which only comes with a personal item that must fit under your seat. Next, is SAS Go Smart which is what I booked and this comes with a carry-on plus a piece of checked luggage.
Flight Details
Scandinavian Airlines Flight 496
Oslo (OSL) to Stockholm (ARN)
Scheduled Duration: 1 hour 0 minutes
Aircraft: Airbus A320neo
Cabin: Economy
Seat: 15A (Window)
Online Check-In
SAS check-in opens up 30 minutes before your flight. I logged in to check in and was assigned seats together towards the rear of the aircraft. I wanted to be closer to the front and was able to switch to row 15 for free! This was nice because, on my Finnair flight from Helsinki to Oslo, I would have to pay 9 EUR to change my seat after it was assigned at check-in.
At the Airport
Self-serve bag drop was quite simple, and then it was off to security which wasn’t too long of a line (10 minutes or so). There weren’t any lounges that I had access to, so I just did some souvenir shopping before boarding.
Boarding
Boarding started half an hour before our scheduled departure. It was a bit messy at the boarding gate, they used 2 automatic gates where you scan your boarding pass and they started with group 1, then group 2, which are the priority groups. Then, they did 3 & 4 together. Not sure why they even have both if they are just going to clump them up. It got messy then, and I was in group 3. Thankfully, no issues were finding carry-on space for my bag.
What helped boarding this 200-passenger plane was that they boarded from both the front and rear doors, so anyone past row 17 would board from the back.
The Seat & Flight
It was a pretty full flight, but boarding was complete in 15 minutes, which I was impressed by. The captain said it would be a short 40 minutes in the air.
Our aircraft was only 4 years old, and it did feel on the newer side, minus the dated looking cloth seats.
The legroom was on the tighter side, but not too bad for a short hop. aeroLOPA says that the seat width is 17.7″, and the seat pitch is 30.0″. Thankfully I’m only 5’9 as I saw a guy across the aisle who had his knees glued to the seat in front of him.
We left the gate a few minutes before our scheduled departure and took off shortly thereafter.
Items were available for purchase, and coffee and tea were free onboard. I’m surprised they provided a beverage service on such a quick hop, but I guess that’s just from my US experiences…
No Wi-Fi was available on this flight, but USB-A was charging at least.
We landed about 14 minutes before our scheduled arrival and got to the gate 5 minutes early.
The Verdict
Overall, I had a solid short flight aboard the Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) Airbus A320neo. The flight was on time, USB charging was nice to have, and it was nice to still get tea on such a short flight.
Have you flown on the SAS Airbus A320neo? How was your experience? Comment below!
Cheers,
Ty
Have any questions? Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. I’ve also started working with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays or planning trips. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!
