I recently flew Scandinavian Airlines Premium Economy on a long-haul flight from New York JFK to Oslo. Since I have written several business class reviews in the past, I figured it was only appropriate to write a SAS Premium Economy review as well.
Hopefully this post will help you decide whether Premium Economy is worth it on a long-haul flight with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS).
My flight was originally 7 hours and 25 minutes, but ended up being a little under 6 hours. Due to some delays at the gate, however, I got another hour to enjoy my seat while waiting to be cleared for takeoff.
In this guide I will break down SAS’ long-haul Premium Economy, not to be confused with their new “Business class” within Europe (formerly SAS Plus) or “Premium” within Scandinavia (also formerly SAS Plus). I have flown the latter countless times, both before the name change and after, but this is not covered in this review.
Now let’s dive in!
Side note: for all of my airline reviews & upgrade hacks, head this way!
Table of Contents
SAS Premium Economy Quick Summary
In the age of AI summeries and people wanting quick answers, I’ll give you one.
SAS Premium Economy on a long-haul flight is worth it.
Unless you can manage to get upgraded to SAS Business Class, of course.
But overall, the extra space and comfort is ideal for those 6+ hour flights, and there are some noticeable improvements from standard economy that make the extra cost worth it.
And if you are able to score a Premium upgrade through a bidding war (I outline exactly how in this guide), even better!
There are some drawbacks worth being aware of, mainly that there are no designated lavatories for Premium Economy passengers. But, if you don’t mind walking to the back of the plane for this, the comfortable seats, slightly wider entertainment screens (12″ vs the standard 9″ on Economy) and thick blanket/pillow combo is definitely worth it.
First impression
Please note that I flew onboard an A321LR Neo, which is a smaller plane and not usually one used for long-haul flights. However, this particular one has a configuration intended for long-haul travel, as indicated by the LR in the name (Long Range).
Therefore, this is a smaller plane than the usual Dreamliners that they often fly transatlantic, and there is only one aisle on the plane.
So, my first impression was that “oh my, this is a narrow plane – I am so happy I am in premium economy!”.
Next, a note about the Business Class configuration on this plane. I have flown it once before, and it is not my favorite. They have a so-called “throne seat” on every second row in Business Class, so the configuration there is interchangeably 1-1 and 2-2 across the 4 rows.
It is not my favorite Business Class set-up (unless you score the throne seats, i.e. the 1-1 rows), which is why I didn’t add more to my bid.
As I sat down in my Premium Seat (seat 20A, which is the first row of Premium Economy, just behind the divider for Business Class), my first thought was that the seat was wider than expected.
In fact, on this plane I almost want to say that it is as wide as the Business Class seat (especially since there is a 2-2 configuration on both). I didn’t see much difference in the seats, if I’m being honest.
Seats & Cabin
As mentioned, I did try to bid for an upgrade to Business Class on this flight, with a minimum bid. But for the first time, I didn’t get it, and I had to make do with my original ticket.
The reason I didn’t want to increase my bid was that I don’t love the Business Class configuration on this plane, and that I already had a Premium ticket.
Now, I didn’t actually plan on writing this review, and it wasn’t until 30 minutes into the flight that I decided to. So all photos are taken after take-off. Usually I would try to get one of the cabin upon boarding, but once people were in their seats I find this a little inappropriate.
Normally Premium Economy would have a 2-3-2 configuration, whereas on the A321LR it was 2-2. There were only 3 rows in Premium Economy on this aircraft.
I know I mentioned it above, but the seats were wider than I had expected, and it felt very much like a Business Class seat in width. There was a storage space next to the seat, covered by the arm rest (which could flip up to reveal the space). This was perfect for a small bag and any snacks you brought for the flight.
It was especially ideal when sitting in the first row, since you don’t have any space in front of you to keep your personal items.
There was also a water holder in the front of the mid-console with water, and the standard pocket on the wall/seat in front for magazines (and my iPad).
Seat Comfort
I personally found the seats to be comfortable, all though I had expected a *slightly* bigger recline on the back, and even a *slightly* bigger range of motion for the foot rest. Especially in the first row. There was a lot more space to take advantage of in front of me.
The flight was overnight, but I wasn’t able to get any sleep unfortunately. I do believe this was more due to the time difference/timing of the flight (leaving at 18:00/6pm US time, landing at 07:00 Norway time/1am US time, so by the time I got tired they were serving breakfast and preparing to land).
The foot board that flipped out where you could rest your feet felt a little flimsy to me. But other than that, they were decent seats.
Having flown long-haul in a “premium” class before (namely Eurowings Discover’s Premium Economy), I can say that this was a much more elevated seat experience.
Food & Service
The service was good, and the cabin felt less “busy” than in economy which helped the overall meal experience.
I have seen comments online (mainly Reddit) where people say that the food in Scandinavian Airlines Premium Economy is the same as in Economy, but this was not the case in my experience.
Yes, the food comes wrapped in foil like in economy, and the 3 courses they promise are all served together on the same tray, so this is far from the personal experience you get when flying Business Class. But I would still say that the meal was a better experience than economy.
For starters, the cutlery is metal, and the glass you get with your meal is actual glass (all though we were given plastic glasses with the drinks served before dinner).
There were only two options for food, beef with mashed potatoes or a vegetarian paella. I had the latter, and it was served with a chicken, corn and bean salad and chocolate cake. I truly enjoyed the meal, and would rate it quite highly out of all the meals I’ve had in the skies (all though it is nowhere near the mezze served onboard Qatar Airways, forever my favorite).
We boarded quite late due to some slow restocking of the food on the plane (we were told by the gate agent), so I wonder if this was the reason there were only 2 options for food, or if it is always like this in Premium Economy. If it’s the latter, I would say this is a drawback. I would have expected 3 options.
Before landing they served breakfast, which I declined as I was desperately hoping to get some sleep. But I looked at my seat mate’s table and it looked very good. It was a continental breakfast with juice, cereal, yoghurt and bread with jams and spreads.
Amenities & Wifi
There was a “comfort kit” waiting for me in the magazine holder by my seat. I was sad to see it wasn’t unique or different for SAS’ 80 Year Anniversary (in Business class it was).
It consisted of ear plugs, a cheap eye mask and a (surprisingly large) tooth paste and tooth brush, all wrapped in a shoe bag. Quite underwhelming, in my opinion. And also things you end up getting a lot of when you fly Premium or Business several times of year.
For example, I still use my Emirates Business Class eye mask when I travel. So I just left my comfort kit on the plane this time.
There was also a pillow and blanked waiting for me in my seat when I arrived. These were not too different from the ones I have been given in Business Class, and were both of high quality.
Wifi
Scandinavian Airlines offer free wifi onboard for Eurobonus members. I usually never use the Wifi on a flight, as I love being disconnected for a few hours. But this time I did. It was fine, but sadly not strong enough to download images sent via iMessage from my friends. So, I was able to see that I had received an image, but I couldn’t see it until I landed in Norway.
But, for just general browsing and playing games that require wifi, it worked just fine!
Drawbacks
Now that I have covered all the details and perks of flying SAS Premium Economy long-haul, I will point out a couple of drawbacks. These are simply worth being aware of. These might affect how much money you are willing to pay for the upgrade.
There are no dedicated bathrooms/lavatories for guests flying Premium Economy. The front lavatories are designated for the Business Class passengers. On my flight there was a curtain with a sight saying that Premium Economy passengers should use the lavatories in the back of the plane.
This means walking through the entire plane in order to use the bathroom, and often meant lining up too (as the 3 bathrooms in the aft are used by everyone in economy as well).
And, since I have mentioned it, there was only a curtain divider between Business, Premium Economy and Economy. This might only be on the A321LR aircraft, so hopefully there is a more rigid divider on the larger planes.
This isn’t a huge deal, but I know from experience that a more permanent divider contributes to the cabin being even calmer, which is one of the main benefits of flying Business or Premium (in my opinion).
Final Verdict: Is SAS Premium Economy worth it?
My final verdict is that flying SAS Premium Economy on a long-haul flight is definitely worth it, especially if you are not able to upgrade to Business Class.
If your options are Economy or Premium Economy, I would definitely opt for the latter for any flight over 6 hours. The comfortable seat and extra space is the main reason for this, with the amenity kit, wider entertainment screen and (only) slightly elevated meal service being minor bonuses.
The main drawback is the shared lavatories with Economy in the back of the plane. This breaks the illusion of the calmer and less busy cabin, in my opinion. Still, I would say it is good value for money.
I hope this guide helped you decide whether you should opt for the upgrade to SAS Premium Economy on your next flight!
For a true airline “face-off”, you shouldn’t miss my breakdown of Qatar vs Emirates Business Class!