Hello from Canada, as I just flew Scandinavian Airlines’ (SAS) Airbus A321LR business class on the 8hr10min flight from Copenhagen (CPH) to Toronto (YYZ), a flight I booked with Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles. SAS has just a trio of these premium A321LRs that operate on transatlantic routes, and I’ve been curious to check one of these out (in addition to just more broadly revisiting SAS’ long haul business class, as I last flew on the carrier’s A350 several years ago).
All-in-all, I have to say that I had a very pleasant flight. While SAS doesn’t have the world’s most exciting soft product, I found the cabin to be comfortable, food to be tasty, and entertainment and free (and fast) Wi-Fi to be great! In this post I’d like to share some initial thoughts, and then soon I’ll have a full review.
SAS’ A321LR business class seats are decent
SAS’ A321LRs are in a really premium configuration, with just 157 sats. This includes 22 business class seats, 12 premium economy seats, and 123 economy seats. This is a pretty huge business class cabin, with seats spread across six rows.
These are staggered seats based on the Thompson Aero Vantage platform, with an alternating 2-2 and 1-1 layout. If you’re traveling alone, obviously the “throne” seats are ideal, since you have both an aisle and window, and have more space on either side of you. The catch is that these seats have really small footwells.
Meanwhile the pairs of seats might be ideal for those traveling with someone. For that matter, my flight was pretty empty, so there could even be merit to sitting in one of these seats with an empty seat next to you, since the footwells are a bit bigger.
I was in one of the throne seats, so there was also a little storage unit to the side of the seat. Charging options included USB-A and AC outlets.
I found the seat to be quite comfortable in bed mode, and appreciated SAS’ excellent bedding.
I’m also a fan of the individual air nozzles, of course!
As is the case on many narrow bodies, one of the downsides is that there’s a single lavatory at the front of the business class cabin, which isn’t exactly ideal for 22 passengers plus the crew. That’s just becoming the reality, though, and fortunately at least my flight was pretty empty in business class, so the ratio didn’t end up being an issue.
In terms of hard product, this is very similar to Aer Lingus’ A321XLR business class. For latest generation long haul narrow body planes, this seems to be one of the most common products, along with the herringbone seats you’ll find in Iberia’s A321XLR business class, American’s A321XLR business class, etc.
SAS’ A321LR entertainment & Wi-Fi are very good
I was very impressed by the entertainment situation in SAS’ A321LR business class. For one, I was most delighted to see Viasat Wi-Fi, which was complimentary for business class passengers. Speeds were excellent, and that allowed me to stay productive throughout the flight.
SAS also has 20.5″ seat back entertainment screens on its A321LRs. While there was a little bit of a glare situation, I found the screen to be high definition and the system to be responsive, so I thought this was a good entertainment system setup.
While not among the best selections you’ll find, I still found the options to be extensive, including hundreds of movies, TV shows, games, and more.
Of course the map feature is always my favorite thing to keep an eye on (absent a tail camera!).
SAS’ business class soft product is solid and charming, mostly
On this SAS business class flight, lunch was served after takeoff, and then there was a pre-landing snack. I find SAS’ catering to be squarely in the middle of the pack, and neither memorable in a positive or negative way. And for airplane food, honestly, that’s mostly a compliment?
After takeoff, service began with drinks and warm cashews. To drink, I opted for the negroni sbagliato, one of canned drinks that they pour into a glass for you (sorry/you’re welcome for the artsy lighting — I thought the light was so pretty that I just went with it, rather than closing the windows and using the reading light).
For the appetizer, there were two choices, and I asked for the prawns with lemongrass, black pepper mayonnaise, crispy chili oil, and trout roe. That was served with bread, and a side salad. It was small but tasty.
For the main course there were four options, and I ordered the braised beef with demi-glace of dates, salted lemon, honey, carrots, and sweet potato. I almost never order beef on planes, but this was quite good!
To finish off the meal, I asked for both a cheese plate and the dessert, which was a traditional cannelés with red fruit and thyme compote. Yum. I also had a coffee, though sadly the A321LR doesn’t have an espresso machine.
Then there was a pre-landing snack, which was an open-faced sandwich with smoked salmon, apple wedges, and sweet mustard. This was very small but very good.
All-in-all, I thought the food quality was good. SAS has an onboard chef of sorts, or at least a flight attendant who dresses up in a bit of a chef uniform. However, the service isn’t quite as interactive as on other planes, because of the smaller size of the A321LR (and limited galley space).
Bottom line
I had a nice flight in Scandinavian Airlines’ A321LR business class. Ultimately all things being equal, I’d rather fly a wide body than a narrow body across the Atlantic, though I do always enjoy checking out these narrow body planes.
I thought SAS’ narrow body business class was a pleasant experience, with comfortable seats, fast and free Wi-Fi, good entertainment, and pretty good food and drinks. This product isn’t going to blow anyone away, but it also shouldn’t disappoint, and I’d gladly fly it again. A partly empty business class cabin definitely contributed to a nicer overall experience.
What’s your take on SAS’ A321LR business class?
