The first SAS aircraft “Erik Viking” with their new long haul cabin took off today. Lucky passengers on flight SK909 from Copenhagen bound for Newark are currently experiencing a new design, new seats, new infotainment system and onboard WiFi. We announced the development back in May last year, with artists impressions, however due to their recent launch event, we can now introduce you to the real thing.
This heralds the launch of SAS’s investment in its long haul fleet in which seven existing aircraft are being updated and new aircraft will enter service from fall 2015. SAS Airbus A330 Erik Viking will mainly fly between Copenhagen and USA. The next updated aircraft is set to enter service in late March and will mainly fly between Stockholm/Oslo and USA.
“We are delighted to now be able to present our ultramodern cabin. It is a huge boost for SAS and will give our customers a totally new in flight experience. The new interior is designed to meet the needs of our frequent flyers and substantially strengthens our customer offer,” says Rickard Gustafson, President and CEO of SAS.
The materials and color scheme in the new cabins have been chosen to create a welcoming and relaxing atmosphere. The seating in SAS Go and SAS Plus is designed with good storage to create extra space. All seats in SAS Business have direct access to aisles and fold flat as sleeper seats. The bedding comes from Hästens, the oldest bed manufacturer in Sweden, to ensure passengers enjoy a high class sleeping experience. The aircraft has a new on-demand entertainment system with HD screens and WiFi in all classes. Images of the new cabin are now available to download.
If you want to read the bigger story, check out last year’s article here. The business class cabin is the showstopper here though, featuring Thomson Vantage XL seats which is currently only found on one other operator – Qantas. Designed by Factorydesign, a UK based agency exclusively for SAS, the cabin is a beautiful and modern interpretation of Scandinavian design. Effortless, calm and seriously business looking the cabin is a haven for long haul travel.
The rest of the aircraft follows suit, with a sea of charcoal grey and muted tones filling the cabin, including their ‘premium’ offering SAS Plus and economy class SAS go. The Vital statistics of each cabin can be viewed here. We also love the deep colours found in their mood lighting, which we can’t help but feel must look awesome on night flights.
For now, we will let the pictures do the talking. Let us know what you think of the new cabin!
The Big Picture
TheDesignAir 
Thanks for yet another informative report on product development in the perpetually competitive airline industry. SAS – a once leading world-class airline – seems (albeit belatedly) to aim at at least catching up with its European/US rivals. About time, certainly, but is the upgrade sufficient to attract new business to the company? What is the distinguishing factor, if at all any? I can’t seem to spot it, yet.
Granted, the cabins look moderately cool and relatively contemporary. Very notable, also, are the changes to the SAS image paradigm, through the remarkable departure from a distinct nordic style, the light and luminous atmosphere said to embrace the much promoted “natural” and airy feel of modern Scandinavian designs and lifestyle.
The new product seems, surprisingly, more oriented towards some sort of nightclub-chic ambiance, nocturnal mood lightening and all, thus denoting fairly a sharp turn away from the company’s long-cultivated Nordic profile. Also, the new product comes across as almost audaciously masculine. This objectively notable feature underscores the product’s international ambitions, downplaying the uniquely equalitarian Scandinavian image. I think I like it. It could prove to be a smash hit.
Bringing in high profiled Scandinavian manufacturers such as Hästens sounds smart. Still, Hästens, being a provider of über-excellent and/but softly sweet and traditional upper echelon products, seem to clash rather loudly with SAS’s new night clubby-masculine-cyber-cool on board feel.
In sum: The much awaited and overdue upgrade is welcomed with open arms. I will definitely try it, soon. Yet, it is kind of discouraging that the product upgrade feature some of us will be looking forward to more than anything on European-USA flights, is the improved video-on-demand system. The new SAS long-haul cabin is cool, but may be too little, too late, to generate significant attention beyond its everyday realm.