Question:
: The baggage reclaim wasn’t too far, so everything seemed to go quickly. : Had to wait for the luggage for a moment though, but the good thing with : small flights like these are that there is really _no way_ they can : screw it up. You might think so, but just a few weeks back a friend of mine flew Tampere-Copenhagen on an Air Botnia Saab 2000 identical to yours. He was told he couldn’t take his (IATA-sized) carry-on bag containing his laptop on board, so he put it in the hold… and he never saw it again. Total damages awarded: 400 euros. Whee. I’m flying HEL-CPH-SIN on SAS tonight, and will be holding on to my gear with both hands… Cheers, — Jani Patokallio >O._, A jug of wine, a loaf of bread, and Thou!
Response:
<SNIP> > Did the check-in. Person at the counter advised that she can’t > check me or my bag through to Newark, and that I had to pick my > luggage up at Stockholm, and re-check in with it.
I am surprised by this – might have something to do with the additional security requirements for USA flights. <SNIP> > Great view at the archipelago from the plane; the sea was still covered > with ice and ice roads were visible.
I have to agree. The Finland-Stockholm route is beautiful in Winter and Summer. In summer I always try to find the Silja/Viking line ferries. <SNIP> – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Back to check-in, and in to the airside. > I missed the corridor leading to the right gate at first, > and went the wrong way. Arlanda seems to be bit confusing, > especially if you’re in a hurry. > But I quickly noticed that when the gate numbers didn’t seem > right at all, and turned back. > The gate for the Newark flight was pretty far away, so it > was a long walk. And that part of the airport was deserted; > there were empty halls and empty corridors, and not a single > person in sight. That makes you feel a bit unsure, if you’re > going to the right direction, especially if you don’t know > the airport, like me.
Since I use Arlanda all the time I never think of this. However it is laid out in a Strange way. Another example is that the terminals are numbers 2 to 5, with no number 1 terminal (and Number three is really only a pier). It will get better though, as they are currently re-building, and Arlanda will be split into Arlanda North and Arlanda South, with the piers labelled with a Character. You went out via the F pier – which is used for Non-schengen flight just now. The long walk you had to the plane will shortly be replaced by an equally long walk, but with shops and open spaces, etc. > The flight was about half full. There were a lot of empty > seats everywhere, which is a big difference compared to > British Airways, which I’ve usually flown before to the US.
In the last 3 months, almost every flight I’ve been on has been half empty. Before that almost all was full. I think SAS are hurting bad. > The plane looked a bit crummy, and dirty. Maybe it was one > of the older ones. It was a 767.
Been there, done that. Their 767’s are really past their sell by date. They have not invested in the inside or the outside, as they are to be replaced soon (in fact one of the USA routes, not sure if its ORD or EWR from Stockholm,has already been replaced with a brand spanking new A330). > And I do like the BA’s entertainment system better, where > each seat has a screen. I guess the other one’s OK, if you > happen to sit in the right seat, but many times you don’t.
The A330 will be a big difference – seat back screens, with lots of movies, features, games, moving maps and real life camera’s (forward and down). Flew on a SAS A340 to Japan, and it was a BIG difference. > Why is it that no matter where I sit, I’m usually one of the last > people on my flight to get through immigration? It’s not that > I take long there, but I always get the line that’s the slowest.
I know the feeling – but then again it’s not limited to immigration with me – supermarkets, banks, McDonalds, etc, etc, etc > Here is a big difference with the customs between the US > and the European countries I’ve been in. In the US, they > seem to pick people for inspection continuously, whereas this > is not the case in Europe, especially in Finland. Here they > pick people pretty much only if they suspect something.
Haven’t been stopped in the USA or Europe for over 9 years, so can’t comment > Good view though; I could see Manhattan from the terminal. Nice > rocking chairs too. Great idea, they should do that at other > airports too.
Last time I was in EWR, I went to the SAS lounge, had the SAS 767 directly outside the lounge window, leaving just enough space to see the IKEA store. Hardly felt like flying after that as I was already in Sweden.. > Didn’t sleep a bit in the plane. I can never sleep in the plane, > I don’t know why. It’s not that I’m nervous. Maybe I should try > those noise-cancelling headphones, if it’s the noise that > bothers me.
Try eye shades and ear plugs. You still don’t sleep much, but its a lot better than without (and cheaper than the headphones). > So, in order to keep me occupied, when everyone was asleep, I > went to the bathroom and looked through everyhing that was there. > Has anyone ever noticed, how much stuff there actually is there? > I mean, there’s paper, then there’s another kind of paper, > trash bags, sanitary napkins (not that I need those). Then there > was air refreshener (had to try that too), different kinds of > soap. Toilet bowl liners… They thought of everything. Too > bad there wasn’t a window, or I would’ve just stayed there. > Nice and quiet, privacy, and sometimes more room than in your > own seat. A new class is born; toilet class.
You should try and visit the front toilets on SAS’s renovated MD80/90’s, their 737’s and A321’s. You would even have a window view to keep you happy in toilet class. Joking aside, their toilets are far and away the best I’ve ever seen (wood panelling, space, windows, etc). > All in all; SAS was slightly worse in my book than British > Airways. But only because of food and entertainment system.
Years since I’ve flown long distance on BA, but I’m sure you’re right. The A330 will make a big difference, and I must say, a A330/767 size (width) of plane beats a 777/747/MD-11 for me. > Previously I’ve flown British Airways HEL-LHR-JFK, but this > seemed to be a much better route. I saved money and a lot > of time with this routing. Sometimes it does pay to go > for the smaller airports, instead of the big ones.
You sound like a perfect target for Ryanair !!!! Good report GinGan – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> — > Mikko Peltoniemi; Film & Video Editor, Avid Technician > Looking to edit in the US or Finland. > http://editor.is.dreaming.org
Response:
> I am surprised by this – might have something to do with the additional > security requirements for USA flights.
I don’t understand it, though. I think you don’t have to do it flying through Copenhagen. > I have to agree. The Finland-Stockholm route is beautiful in Winter > and Summer. In summer I always try to find the Silja/Viking line > ferries. Saw a couple, just outside of Stockholm… Plus saw the iceroads too: http://mikkopel.dyndns.org:1000/maailmalta/maailmalta.html#b22-vayla > flight just now. The long walk you had to the plane will shortly be replaced > by an equally long walk, but with shops and open spaces, etc.
Ok, so that’s why it was all deserted? I guess, in the future, when they finish the terminal and the shops open, there will be more people. But now it was just weird, when no-one was around… > Been there, done that. Their 767’s are really past their sell by date. They > have not invested in the inside or the outside, as they are to be replaced > soon (in fact one of the USA routes, not sure if its ORD or EWR from > Stockholm,has already been replaced with a brand spanking new A330).
You mean they are already replacing them? Well, I guess if you want to keep up in times, it’s about time to start offering the new entertainment systems already. Especially since it will take a while (and money) to replace all of the planes. Good thing anyway, so I don’t have to buy a laptop just for entertaining myself on a plane! > Haven’t been stopped in the USA or Europe for over 9 years, so can’t comment
I’ve been only stopped once, but still every time I go I see the customs people pulling passengers off the line, and I’ve never seen that in Europe. > You should try and visit the front toilets on SAS’s renovated MD80/90’s, > their 737’s and A321’s. You would even have a window view to keep you happy > in toilet class. Joking aside, their toilets are far and away the best I’ve > ever seen (wood panelling, space, windows, etc).
Why is that anyway that usually there aren’t windows there? Maybe people don’t like it, and feel like they’re being watched. 
> You sound like a perfect target for Ryanair !!!! Good report
Oh no way! — Mikko Peltoniemi; Film & Video Editor, Avid Technician Looking to edit in the US or Finland. http://editor.is.dreaming.org
Response:
I’ll put some pictures from this trip on my home page next week, when I get them developed. That is, if they’re any good… The address is at the bottom. I arrived at the airport on March 28th for a morning flight to Stockholm with Air Botnia less than an hour early. Turku airport is small, pretty much all the flights that leave are Air Botnia’s flights to Stockholm and Copenhagen and Finnair’s flights to Helsinki. Only a handful of people were at the caf