SAS Scandinavian Airlines

I fly frequently for my work. A recent flight on SAS proved to be one of the most awful experiences I recall. The story is long, however a short version would be: They are no better than the cheapest budget airlines, their aircrafts are dated, very tight space on the left, right and front of your seat, their in-flight service is next to none. Being a scandinavian based airline, I expected a great deal more and it was not there!!!

Naturally I will not make the mistake of flying them again and recommend the same to all other potential travellers. It is of great disappointment, sorry to say.

I have one complaint over SAS and that is the bad air onboard. I have turned ill 3 times now while i was actually up in the air. I was ok when i went onboard but very ill at landing. There seems to be no change of air. It has ruined two of my holidays. I flew last week and here I am again, very ill in bed. The captain said I am sorry for the bad air at the start of the journey, but nothing was done about it.

Flight cancelled along with many other flights out of Stockholm on 19th May. No information provided by SAS either by staff in airport or printed leaflet (how hard is a printed A4 sheet in this day and age), no organised system for queuing to get re-booked onto other flights, no refreshments offered nor voucher issued until a bottle of water given after 3 hours (for others it had been 3 - 6 hours), when flights could not be re-booked until following day(s) no overnight accommodation offered. Very much a case of fend for yourself.

To put this in context, I am a frequent flyer. I have taken nearly 500 flights, and this is the first time I have felt compelled to write a bad review of an airline. I have never been treated so rudely as by the SAS employees at Copenhagen. And by the looks of these other reviews, I doubt anyone at SAS really cares. The CEO and other leadership must be fine with it to allow operations to continue as they are. Due to mechanical issues, we missed our connection to Chicago. I understand that is part of travel. What I don't understand is when I wait in the line for 1 1/2 hours with my husband and a sick child and to be totally mismanagedby the lack luster employees at the arrivals desk. All this was for a simple hotel voucher. At the end of the wait, they wanted us to go to ticketing. When we rightly protested loudly, the manager actually told me to shut up. Truth.I ended up using my own hotel points just to get out of there.For reference, this happened on August 22 at 6 PM. If SAS leadership is reading this at all, i would wonder WHY these employees are allowed to work for you. They don't give a darn about customers. They are a model of rudeness, inefficiency, and have a customer's last attitude. Avoid SAS airlines at all costs.

They are a joke. Should you need assistance good luck

Yesterday, 25 July 2014, I arrived at the Stockholm airport about 2 hours before my scheduled flight (LH805, scheduled departing time 18:45, 25 July 2014). I was supposed to fly to Buenos Aires, via Frankfurt (LH510, scheduled departing time 22:05, 25 July 2014), as I was an invited speaker at the Stochastic Processes and their Applications conference at the University of Buenos Aires. I had bought a ticket through my university, using their travel office, American Express Business Travel in Stockholm. The ticket was paid by my VR (Vetenskapsrådet) research grant.

Upon arrival at the airport, I noticed that the flight was delayed by 1 hour. I proceeded to the check-in desk and asked them if the delay would cause my missing the connecting flight to Buenos Aires. They replied that they didn’t know because, in their words, “you are flying with Lufthansa and we are Scandinavian Airlines (SAS)”. I then asked to talk to Lufthansa. They replied that I can’t because there is no Lufthansa at the Stockholm airport. I asked them to find out what would happen if I missed the connecting flight. They responded that I should just board the plane, go to Frankfurt and ask Lufthansa there. In the meantime, another SAS representative (she was a supervisor) told me to go to the SAS ticket office that is representing Lufthansa.

At the SAS ticket office I posed the same questions. They made a phone call and told me exactly the same thing: “We don’t know, we are not Lufthansa, you have to go to Frankfurt to find out.” I replied that it was unreasonable to go to Frankfurt if, say, they would not put me in the next flight or reschedule me with another airline. They refused to talk to me further. Nevertheless, I continued: I told them that, since they are representing Lufthansa at the Stockholm airport they should take on the responsibility to find out about my connecting flight and inform them. They replied that it was not their responsibility. I told them that it was the first time, ever, that, at an international airport, in fact the main airport of the capital of Sweden, they refused to take on the responsibility of what would happen to a passenger who might miss his flight. The lady asked to see my boarding pass and replied: “Who talks about responsibility, a Greek?” So there was no point in communicating with them further as, not only they were unwilling to take on any responsibility and help, but were also insulting me.

Meanwhile, I realized that the flight was delayed even longer and now it was clear that I would miss the connecting flight. I decided to find the phone number of Lufthansa and call them myself from my mobile phone. And so I did. I called +46 770 111010 and was told to wait. After 20 minutes of waiting, and without hanging up, I went back to the check-in office. The lady at the check-in desk said to me that she had seen me earlier and she could do nothing except check my luggage in and send me to Frankfurt. The supervisor appeared again and asked me what they told me at the ticket office. I replied that they didn’t help at all and that, meanwhile, I decided to call Lufthansa and was, at that very moment, waiting for Lufthansa to reply. “Could you not, please, call Lufthansa yourselves, as you are supposed to represent them in Sweden?”, I asked. To which they replied: “We are not allowed to call phone numbers abroad, just local ones, and there is no Lufthansa at the airport. It is not our responsibility and we can do nothing about it.”

After about 50 minutes of waiting, Lufthansa picked up the phone. I told them what was going on and they said that I would certainly miss my flight, that Lufthansa would put me in a hotel in Frankfurt and that I would have to wait for the next flight to Buenos Aires. She looked for the next available flight and told me that for the next 5 days all flights to Buenos Aires were booked. I had to wait in Frankfurt for 5 days. While this lady from Lufthansa was on the phone (Lufthansa representative from Cape Town), I communicated what she was telling me to the check-in desk in order that they realize that my inquiry was, indeed, very rational: there was no point in going to Frankfurt and wait there for 5 days, at least. I asked her if there was any way to be rebooked via another airline, Iberia, say but she answered that this was impossible. After the Lufthansa representative ensured me that Lufthansa would reimburse me for the flight, I decided to cancel the flight because, after all, I would miss the major part of the conference. Actually, Lufthansa said that I would get the reimbursement through the travel agent (American Express Business Travel) who made the reservation.

Our first flight leg to Copenhagen was cancelled. Our son drove us to Chicago to catch our next flight to Copenhagen. I have called SAS customer service over two months to try and get a flight reimbursement for the cancelled flight. Nothing happens nor do they ever communicate. Worst airline customer care I've ever seen. Further, on our return flight, SAS simply dropped our last flight leg without communication to us and that flight let was confirmed. We are very disappointed. A complaint to SAS went unanswered when they said we would receive a reply in 10 business days.

Our first flight leg to Copenhagen was cancelled. Our son drove us to Chicago to catch our next flight to Copenhagen. I have called SAS customer service over two months to try and get a flight reimbursement for the cancelled flight. Nothing happens nor do they ever communicate. Worst airline customer care I've ever seen. Further, on our return flight, SAS simply dropped our last flight leg without communication to us and that flight let was confirmed. We are very disappointed. A complaint to SAS went unanswered when they said we would receive a reply in 10 business days.

Boarded plane in Copenhagen THEN baggage handlers went on strike. While we sat in plane for 2 hrs. Finally management got us in the air. When arriving to new York our luggage did not. NOBODY from SAS to talk to about luggage situation. Poor customer service for sure. Food is not very good either. Whole experience not good. Will avoid this airline in future. Bunch of BOZO'S

They changed their schedule and messed up my connections, so I had to cancel my flight. They promised a refund, which I never got. They are almost impossible to reach through fax or phone, and they never respond to complaints submitted through their web based "customer care" form. When I finally reached them on the phone in Copenhagen, they simply cut my call.

Rude, inefficient, a nightmare!