We traveled between Sweden and Greece on a flight that was actually operated by airBaltic, but we booked a flight on SAS, which was actually operated by a different plane.
We were booked on a flight between Athens and Sweden.
The Athens to Stockholm flight leaves at 11:30AM and arrives at 3:05PM.
SAS Plus is a premium economy product of the airline. Middle seats aren't blocked and it's like a business class in Europe. The price for a one-way ticket was less than the price for the economy.
Being a Star Alliance Gold member allows me to get priority services. The SAS Plus cabin is emptier than the economy cabin on leisure routes and I place a lot of value on that. We had four rows all to ourselves in SAS Plus on this flight.
airBaltic is an airline that only flies the A 220s. The airline has a unique business model. The impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine has had on airlines. AirBaltic isn't able to operate many routes anymore because it has too many planes.
Scandinavian Airlines and Eurowings Discover are two airlines that airBaltic has leased planes to. The Scandinavian Airlines flight was operated by airBaltic. This means what?
The check-in was open at 9:20AM. Given the chaos at many European airports, we just ended up sitting in the check-in hall for almost an hour.
Within a few minutes our bags were checked and we were on our way to Sweden.
Athens was an calm airport.
We had access to a fast track security lane and it took us five minutes to get through.
The Goldair Handling Lounge at Athens Airport is where SAS sends its customers. The lounge was across from the gate where our flight was leaving.
We were a bit late on boarding due to the fact that the inbound aircraft only arrived from Stockholm at 10:50 AM. The A 220 has a lot of plane energy.
The A 220 was a brand new plane and joined airBaltic's fleet in May 2022.
There are a total of 146 seats in the A220-300s. The A 220 is a pleasure to fly, thanks to its spacious cabin and large windows.
Depending on demand, the business class cabin can be different on flights to Europe. The flight had 11 rows of seats. 55 SAS Plus seats were available since there was no seat blocking.
The left side is the best place to sit for most travelers.
If you are travelling as a party of three, the right side of the cabin has a single middle seat.
On its A 220s, airBaltic has 32′′ of pitch, which is above average. The ride is very comfortable.
There was a tray table that folds down from under the pocket literature and the standard A 220 seatbacks.
The overhead consoles had reading lights and small screens.
I like to keep an eye on the map feature on those TV screens.
It was smart of the flight attendant call button to be in a different area than the lighting buttons. A lot of travelers push the call button instead of the lighting button.
The cabin used airBaltic's signature green colors.
Standard size carry-ons can be accommodated in the overhead bins of the A 220.
While SAS Plus doesn't have seat blocking, we booked seats in row 11 and the three rows in front of us were empty. The economy was busy.
Premium economy and economy were separated by a curtain. In SAS Plus there is a small sign that indicates the separation of seating zones. This gave a better experience.
The lavatory is one of the advantages of the A 220. It is up to airlines to decide how they want to finish cabins, but the A 220 is usually spacious.
For short haul travel, this cabin is a must have. The two biggest drawbacks to airBaltic are that there are no power outlets and no wi-fi. I think it's cheap that airBaltic doesn't install power outlets on new planes, especially since the airline flies between Riga and Dubai, which is a flight blocked at 6hr45min to 7hr15min.
The captain came on the PA to advise us of our flight time, which was 3 hours and 20 minutes. He said that we were still waiting for some bags to be loaded. The cabin manager referred to the flight as a "Sass" flight rather than pronouncing it "S-A-S" The airBaltic safety video was shown after the announcement.
I was excited about this being a wet lease because I knew exactly the type of flight I was booking. I wonder if the average passenger is interested in what is happening with this, or if they don't think about it.
The main cabin door closed at 11:30 AM. It was great to sit near the engine and wings.
I liked the views even though we had a long taxi to the runway. I was surprised to see that both American and Delta flights were boarding from remote stands.
We were given the go-ahead to take off on runway 3R by noon.
On departure, the views were beautiful.
The sign for seatbelts was turned off.
Inflight service is one of the benefits of flying SAS Plus. Any food and drinks can be ordered off the buy on board menu at SAS Plus guests' expense. The menu can be found below.
We were served a snack box about 30 minutes after takeoff.
Chicken breast, sundried tomatoes, orzo, cheese, and crackers were the snacks. The snack was decent but boring.
I ordered a bottle of water and coke.
The crew came through the SAS Plus cabin with a cart again about 90 minutes after the initial service. I ordered a cup of coffee and some cashews and crackers.
The crew was okay. They weren't rude but they weren't friendly and didn't go above and beyond. It's fair to say that they were just going through the motions as part of the arrangement.
The flight was one of the longest out there at 3hr 20min, but without the internet the flight felt very long. Even though I had downloaded a few shows and done some offline writing, this flight didn't feel like it passed quickly.
The captain gave an update on our arrival about an hour before we were supposed to land.
About 15 minutes before landing, the seatbelt sign was turned on, and it was smooth. The weather wasn't great.
We arrived in Sweden at 1:45PM.
We took a taxi to the arrivals stand and parked next to a plane. Our bags arrived less than five minutes after we got there.
An SAS Plus flight operated by airBaltic A 220 is one of the most unique flights I have ever taken. The A 220 is a joy to fly, we had lots of empty seats near us, the flight was on time, and the inflight snack was good. The cash cost was not bad.
I missed the power and wi-fi on the flight, but SAS usually has them.
What did you think about flying on the airBaltic A 220?
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