A wide-body plane crossing the Atlantic in premium economy would not be very memorable, but what about a narrow-body jet?
Since 2004, Scandinavian Airlines has provided premium economy on its Airbus A330 and A350 trips to the US and Asia.
However, the airline received its first Airbus A321LR in December 2021, making it the first SAS narrow-body aircraft equipped with premium economy (as well as business class and economy).
The aircraft can fly medium-distance routes from northern Europe to the East Coast of the United States with a range of 4,000 miles.
Now, SAS is using the A321LR on routes from Copenhagen Airport (CPH) to Boston Logan International Airport and Washington, D.C.'s Dulles International Airport (IAD) (BOS).
I was interested to learn that the new SAS aircraft would offer a true premium economy experience.
Would this be one of the most secluded cabins in the air with only 12 seats?
How would it differ from flying on a bigger jet?
For the return flight to Europe after my westbound transatlantic business class flight on this A321LR aircraft from Copenhagen to Washington, I opted for SAS premium economy in hopes of having a memorable experience.
Booking
I booked a cash fare from my home airport of London Heathrow (LHR) to Washington, D.C., via Copenhagen so I could review business class in one direction and SAS Plus premium economy on the return leg for a total of $2,295. Unfortunately, you cannot redeem United MileagePlus miles or Air Canada Aeroplan points for flights operated by partner airlines like SAS.
Depending on your travel dates, a round-trip premium economy ticket in both ways between Washington and Copenhagen will run you up to $1,424.
In the summer, there are five flights per week from Copenhagen to Washington, D.C. (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday). Beginning on November 1st, there will be one flight per day.
The service's current block out time is nine hours and fifteen minutes, with an 11:45 a.m. departure and a 3 p.m. arrival in Washington.
The return flight takes out from Washington at 5:15 p.m. and arrives in Copenhagen at 7:15 a.m., a distance of eight hours.
Ground-level exposure
Three hours prior to departure, I arrived at Dulles International Airport and was impressed by the spectacular concrete ceiling of the huge check-in hall.
Although SAS only operated one narrow-body flight that day, there was no separate priority lane for SAS Plus customers, thus it only took a few minutes to receive assistance from a kind employee in the regular line.
I do not have Star Alliance elite status, and tickets for SAS Plus do not include access to a lounge.
Nevertheless, I do have a Priority Pass subscription, which allowed me entry to the Turkish Airlines club at Dulles.
In my travels, I've visited dozens of Priority Pass lounges, and many of them have been incredibly forgettable, especially when their choices have been reduced due to the pandemic.
One of the top Priority Pass lounges I've ever been to was this one.
It was a great place to wait for my flight, with a kind and cheerful staff, consistently restocked hot food stations, floor to ceiling windows, and even a bartender mixing free drinks.
At 4:30 p.m., boarding began at the neighbouring gate.
We would be driven to a remote stand because I didn't see any SAS aircraft parked at the gate but rather a distinctively Dulles mobile lounge attached to the jet bridge.
I enviously observed the adjacent gate where British Airways passengers flying to London Heathrow would be using a jet bridge to board their aircraft directly as opposed to taking a bus to a remote area of the airport.
Groups of people boarded at a time, with Star Alliance elite members and business class boarding first and SAS Plus passengers boarding after them.
In the end, it didn't really matter that we were all crowded into the gate truck.
All of the passengers on my aircraft fit into the one movable lounge due to the coach cabin's modest load.
Even though the mobile lounge took a good ten minutes to make its way from the airport to our aircraft after the tumultuous boarding process for my departing SAS flight in Copenhagen, this was a much calmer situation.
In an effort to board the plane first, I carefully selected a position near the lounge door that I thought would lead to it.
I would have loved the aircraft to be closer to the terminal, but it was a unique experience because the mobile lounge connected directly with the aircraft door at our distant stand without the need for steps.
Seat and cabin
The Airbus A321LR's SAS Plus premium economy cabin, which has just 12 seats split across three rows in a 2-2 arrangement, is located directly below the 22-seat business class cabin.
There was only a curtain separating the ordinary economy and premium economy compartments.
At no point during the trip did the crew shut this.
SAS selected the Collins Aerospace MiQ seat, which has a 38-inch pitch, a 22 1/2-inch width, and a 10-inch recline. It also has highly cushioned cushions.
There was a black antimacassar and a pretty dismal grey colour scheme.
During the check-in and boarding process, the only seat that had a free seat adjacent to it was a window seat in the third and last row of the section.
Up until the moment I boarded the plane, I kept an eye on the seat map on ExpertFlyer.
The tray table that pulled out from the window-side armrest easily accommodated my 15-inch laptop.
Storage was limited to a small pocket under the in-flight entertainment screen, a narrow document holder, and a box in the center armrest (which had charging ports and a small screen remote).
The seat had a padded leg rest and a decent 10-degree recline, both of which could be adjusted via controls in the centre console.
Additionally, a footrest that could be extended somewhat for taller people manually folded out from the bottom of the leg rest.
Even though I seldom sleep well on these little overnight flights sitting almost upright, I was able to stay in this seat for a few hours and discovered that I much like the fabric coverings to the leather featured in Virgin Atlantic's premium cabin.
The width, pitch, recline, armrests, and general comfort of the seats on the several premium economy flights I've taken with various airlines have all been remarkably comparable.
It was the same with the SAS hard product.
Although it offers a little bit more comfort and room than economy, there is a significant difference between premium economy and business class.
Providers and entertainment
A plush cushion with a delicate cotton pillowcase and a rather thick blanket wrapped in plastic were waiting for me at my seat. Despite the fact that the cabin temperature never dropped below a comfortable level, these items kept me warm throughout the night.
I also discovered a water bottle, some inexpensive earbuds, and a tiny amenity kit.
Receiving an amenity kit in premium economy is a wonderful perk, and the SAS version came in the style of a shoe bag.
I had never seen this presented as an amenity kit before, and I thought it was a creative and distinctive design choice.
I took the earplugs and the little toothbrush and toothpaste with me and continued using them when I got home.
Unfortunately, a quality eye mask would have been a lovely finishing touch.
An 11-inch touchscreen located on the seatback offered the same selection of 57 films and 87 television shows as the business-class and coach passengers.
Although I was more interested in sleeping on this flight than playing some of the simple video games, listening to a few music albums, or viewing the moving map.
I found it to be a wonderful inclusion that Wi-Fi was accessible on this flight and was provided without charge to both business-class travelers and those sat in SAS Plus.
By providing my passenger reference number and last name on the login screen, I could connect one device at a time.
Although my download speeds were just 13.4 Mbps, Wi-Fi wasn't a priority on our long flight.
The SAS Plus and SAS Go (economy) cabins shared two tiny restrooms at the back of the aircraft.
If you wish to put on new clothing before landing, it could be difficult to do so in this extremely little environment.
Beverages and food
I was surprised that there were no refreshments offered before boarding the premium economy cabin.
This is a missed chance for the airline and a simple method to set this product apart from standard economy.
Additionally, there were neither physical or digital menus, which was disappointing.
A selection of drinks was provided by the crew about 30 minutes after takeoff.
Both the sparkling wine and sparkling water, which were presented to me in plastic glasses, were made by Philippe Dublanc.
I was happy to find that premium economy travellers could also enjoy the same cashew nuts that were served in business class.
The crew vocally informed the passengers of their supper meal choices.
They featured salmon with potatoes and chicken with rice.
I selected the chicken, which sped up the food service on this overnight flight. I was then given my full meal on a single tray.
Since British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, two major European carriers, haven't bothered to organize the trays nicely on premium economy flights I've taken in the past, I enjoyed how the items on this tray were neatly lined up.
With the exception of the hard, stale, and cold bread roll, the dinner was lovely and rather good when the coverings were removed.
The green salad with sliced turkey and mixed lentils for the appetizer and the lemon tart for dessert were both of business-class quality (and presentation).
Unfortunately, the chicken, bok choy, rice, and steamed vegetables more closely resembled frozen microwave meals.
But I really liked the style of the renowned SAS-branded glasses by Swedish artist Orrefors.
Around 90 minutes after takeoff, which was fairly quickly for a journey of this length, the trays were cleared.
Breakfast arrived less than five hours after dinner, and although I wasn't especially hungry, the plate of cold cuts, granola with strawberry yogurt, a little apple muffin, and orange juice provided 90 minutes prior to arrival seemed like a decent choice for a light breakfast.
Service
I had planned very carefully during the boarding procedure to be the first passenger to board the plane, so I was shocked to see one seat already taken when I walked on and at first assumed this was probably a passenger who had need special assistance.
The individual caught my attention as I moved down the aisle since they were bandaged and wearing an SAS uniform.
When I got to my seat, I also saw that this person had occupied the seat next to mine.
She informed me that she was scheduled to operate this service as a member of the cabin crew, but that just hours before, she had suffered an injury, making it impossible for her to carry out her cabin crew responsibilities. As a result, she was traveling home as a passenger.
She apologized profusely for the incident, and I again offered her the window seat while explaining that I would probably frequently be in and out of my seat throughout the flight because of the difficult review assignment I had ahead of me.
She respectfully declined, and I understood from closely observing the seat map during the flight that there were no other open seats in the premium economy section.
I got to work right away, snapping a tonne of pictures, making short notes about the seat and my experience, even using a measuring tape I had brought with me to measure the seat's dimensions.
We were seated inches apart when she saw my weird reaction and was incredibly nice about her unusual circumstance.
We ended up having a fruitful discussion about SAS's past as well as about her time working as long-haul cabin crew during the epidemic.
We received wonderful treatment from the (other) crew members servicing the premium economy cabin the entire flight; it was notably more friendly than I had encountered in SAS business class on the same aircraft type a few days earlier.
This might have been due to the close quarters of the premium economy section or my unique seatmate.
She might have given the crew a heads-up in her native tongue about how meticulously I was documenting every aspect of the flight experience.
However, I didn't feel like I was getting special treatment or anything out of the norm, so I feel comfortable giving the experience the same rating as any other traveler would.
Overall perception
Over the Atlantic, this was an odd but mostly nice experience.
I was originally shocked that there was an injured crew member sitting next to me because I had studied the seat chart so intently right up until I stepped onto the aircraft.
However, she was terrific company and we both received excellent service, so it probably made the flight better.
The SAS Plus premium economy seats themselves were excellent; you get a bigger seat with greater legroom, the ability to recline, and a wider seatback screen than you would with an economy product.
Being the only 12 passengers in the cabin was wonderful as well.
However, SAS could easily make a few changes to their premium economy soft product.
For a more upscale cabin, the curtain separating premium economy from economy should be drawn once at altitude.
I also anticipated receiving a pre-departure beverage of some kind, even if it was just a selection of sparkling wine, water, or orange juice.
However, unlike the business class cabin, all seats in premium economy are equivalent beyond the option of aisle or window, making seat selection less crucial.
It's a good product, and if I could have two seats to myself, I'd definitely fly it again.
FACEBOOK