Nordic Luxe: 6 Reasons To Discover Denmark With SAS Business Class

30.08.2023 - 11:15 / forbes.com

What’s better than a trip to Denmark where you’ll explore the remote wonders of North Jutland and the culinary and cultural scene in Copenhagen? Flying to your destination via Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) in business class, of course. As travel becomes increasingly stress inducing, the aspirational allure of SAS business class shines brighter than ever. Beyond the mere act of getting from point A to B, this elevated travel experience can add another valuable dimension to your journey.

This trip was noteworthy not only because of the chance to fly business class, but also because it provided the opportunity to experience SAS’s recently launched route offering of New York (EWR) to Aalborg, Denmark. Throughout the summer 2023 season (and again in 2024) SAS is offering a direct flight from Aalborg to New York three times weekly with SAS’ latest addition to their fleet, the Airbus A321 Long Range. A chance to experience this new route firsthand was not to be missed and provided the chance to review SAS’s business class offering for an international flight.

First Impressions

The journey began at the airport, where business class passengers have complimentary access to the SAS lounge. With its tastefully designed interiors and generous seating options, it was a welcome place to wait for the flight to takeoff. In truth, while the self-serve beverage bar had a decent selection of beverages, the buffet, with things like salad, sliced turkey and cheese slices, was somewhat disappointing. Overall, however, it was comfortable and uncrowded.

Seating

Boasting a configuration of 22 Business, 12 Plus, and 123 Go seats, the Airbus A321 Long Range aircraft has a total capacity of 157 seats within its single aisle structure. For its business-class cabin, SAS has opted for the Thompson Vantage seat, featuring a configuration of 22 seats distributed across seven rows. The seating arrangement alternates between a 2-2 configuration and a 1-1 configuration across rows.

SAS has embraced a predominantly dark, somber if elegant aesthetic, for their business class, featuring shades of gray complemented by hints of black, leather, and silver. The dimensions of each seat are a width of 24 inches, coupled with a generous pitch of 44 inches. The lie-flat seats are comfortable and even have a much-appreciated massage feature. There’s a variety of positioning features for the seat, and you also get a cozy cover and pillow, so comfort is pretty much guaranteed. There is also a large overall variety of movies, TV shows and games that you can watch on your 15.4" HD screen, though the selection of new release movies did appear to be rather thin.

In odd-numbered rows, two seats are arranged closely on either side of the aisle. This