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An Icelandic Summer and a side of London, Stockholm & Oslo (SQ, FI, SK, QR in J/Y)

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  • #31
    Noise-cancellation headsets were also distributed,




    Icelandair's fleet. The grounding of the Maxs had affected Icelandair's fleet expansion plans.




    Doors closed and safety video played as we started our taxi.






    It was a long taxi to the runway.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG1l8-YyqOI






    Tiny aircraft behind us.




    Departure from Rwy01. B757s have really steep an powerful takeoffs!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cppbMoHc-Yk








    Flew over the entire city of Reykjavik. I am gonna miss this peaceful and uncrowded place.



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    • #32
      Landscape of Iceland.




      Starting the IFE system. Decided to watch Alita.






      View of the Saga Class cabin.




      Only a curtain separated Saga and Economy Class.




      A peek into the Economy cabin behind. Sometimes, I do appreciate being able to fly upfront in the premium cabins.




      Before meal service started, food and wine menus were handed out.




      Just a basic wine selection, but I am no wine-connoisseur, so not a concern for me.




      Other beverages and the iconic Icelandair gin library.






      Food selection for Iceland to Europe flights. Advise: If you are flying in Saga Class, please do yourself a favour and pre-order online. The onboard selection only offered cold meals while hot mains would need to be pre-ordered. The purser came round to confirm our pre-ordered hot mains (Saga Lamb and Saga Fish), and said that we had made the best choices.




      A warm dish is offered on the longer Europe-Iceland flights.

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      • #33
        Beautiful photos of Iceland. Thanks ycp81

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        • #34
          Getting cloudy down below.




          While enjoying my movie.




          Service started with a pack of corn chips nd a beverage of choice. I went for a Riesling.




          This was followed by a hot towel in preparation for lunch.




          I had pre-ordered the Saga Lamb, which is an Icelandic Lamb dish with potatoes, carrot and peas. It was served along with bread and butter and a dessert. I had an apple juice to go with the meal.




          Unrolling the cutlery towel pack, there was salt and pepper.




          Metal cutlery





          Hard roll and dessert




          At first glance, the lamb dish might looked boring and dry, but I swore it was the best red meat I had ever eaten on a plane! When cut, the lamb was still moist and pink in the middle, and tasted very tender with almost melt-in-the-mouth sensation! It was even better than many restaurant-quality lambs!






          Finishing up the meal with a light mango and cream pastry and coffee. Overall a very satisfying meal!



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          • #35
            My friend had pre-ordered the Saga Fish, which was Arctic Char served on Barley stew. It was equally tasty! An exceptional catering by Icelandair, provided you have pre-ordered their hot meals.




            Still cloudy below.




            Visit to the very basic and retro lavatory. No additional amenities for Saga Class, and I was more intrigued by the all-in-one handwash.






            Tried out the gin library selection with tonic, and the very kind purser offered all the Icelandic gin they had available, and said to take them with me!




            Somewhere over Norway.




            Duty free sales was offered, and of course I bought the model of the exact aircraft I am flying on right now.






            Soon, we were preparing for arrival. Galley was secured, headsets collected, while the purser let me keep the menus (menus were collected by the crew) as souvenirs from the flight.




            Descending into a cloudy and rainy Stockholm.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYR66VB7BFg





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            • #36
              Landing in Stockholm Arlanda Rwy08.

              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7_T1uWIMeA








              Passed some interesting aircraft during taxi, including a swedavia (airport authority) MD82 used for ground training.




              And an antique DC8 which appeared to be well maintained. Not sure if it is still able to fly though.




              Reaching the terminal building.








              Airbridge connected, doors opened and we were the first to disembarked.








              I have totally enjoyed this short-haul flight on Icelandair Saga Class. Catering was of very high quality, seats were comfortable, IFE decent and service by the Purser was warm, engaging and felt very welcoming. A very satisfied Icelandair customer I was on probably the best intra-European Business Class product.


              After the peace and quiet in Iceland, it felt overwhelming to be faced with throngs of passengers in the terminal building.

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              • #37
                There was quite a wait for the luggage, which eventually turned up with the priority baggage adhered to.




                Arlanda Airport was conveniently connected to downtown Stockholm via the 20min Arlanda Express ride.




                My hotel, Hotel C Stockholm, was literally just 10 steps from the Arlanda Express station exit. Room was basic but of decent size and cosy.








                After checking in, we headed towards the Old Town.










                Grabbed dinner at a popular Swedish restaurant, Stockholm Gastabud, for some traditional Swedish cuisine.





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                • #38
                  Continued exploring Old Town after dinner.














                  Back to the newer part of town.






                  The next morning, the hotel offered an inclusive buffet breakfast. Selection was huge, but the breakfast restaurant was extremely busy.






                  Headed out to the shopping street. However as it was a Sunday, not all shops were opened. Those opened were operating at reduced hours.




                  Flea market in the center of town.

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                  • #39





                    Went on an archipelago cruise. Viewing Stockholm and surrounds from the sea. It was also a great way to avoid the frequent thunderstorms throughout the afternoon.




















                    Lunch was included onboard the cruise. The salmon dish was tasty.

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                    • #40
                      The potato dumplings stuffed with mushrooms and lingonberries was excellent!




                      It was rather quiet on the streets on the Sunday evening.






                      Dinner at another popular Swedish restaurant, Brinken. We were lucky to be offered a table without reservations as the rest after us without reservations were turned away. The dishes were all very well-prepared and tasty.








                      Dusk in Old Town




                      A light breakfast to start the Monday.




                      Rushed around to do some last minute shopping in the morning.




                      And grabbed a traditional Swedish Princess cake and Chocolate ball at the popular café Vete-Katten.





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                      • #41
                        After a short 2 nights in Stockholm, hopped onto the Arlanda Express again back to Arlanda airport. First up was to file some tax refunds from this trip. I learnt that Sweden is part of EU, but Norway is not, so my purchases in UK and Stockholm had to be filed here before departure from EU. Also, I learnt that Arlanda airport (not sure about other airports) is the worse airport I had been to file tax refunds, not because of the long queues (this award should go to London Heathrow), but you would need to go to 3 different places to file tax refunds, depending on 1. Global Blue purchases in Sweden at Global Blue counter at Departure Check-in, 2. Non-Global Blue purchases in Sweden at an agent counter at another area within Departure Check-in (which I skipped cuz the refund amount is not worth the energy to trek there), 3. All other EU purchases at Customs counter at Arrival Hall. Truly tourist unfriendly....

                        After filing my tax refunds, we checked in at the SAS counters. There was no wait at the SAS Plus counter. SAS Plus is the Premium Economy equivalent for intra-Europe flights, since there are no Business Class offered by SAS for intra-Europe. With SAS Plus within Europe, you would be offered more baggage allowance, seating at front of aircraft, lounge access, fast-track and priority boarding and free snacks onboard. Seats are just the normal economy seating with no empty middle seats.






                        Through fast track security




                        It would be quite a walk through the shops to the lounge.






                        Entrance into the lounge.




                        There were 2 separate lounges, SAS Gold / Star Gold and Business Class/SAS Plus. Of course we headed into the Business lounge. Upon entry, there was he buffet and dining area.






                        Warm curry soup and breads




                        Salads and cold cuts




                        Bar area




                        FIDS

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                        • #42
                          More seating in the lounge






                          My late lunch. The warm curry soup was the only hot food option in the lounge. Disappointing as I had expected more for a hub lounge. Other than the poor food selection, the décor was nice and modern, and generally a pleasant place to await the flight, though I guess it could get pretty crowded during peak periods as the lounge is not too big.




                          Left the lounge and headed to the gate, with some plane-spotting along the way. Mainly SASes and Norwegians on the tarmac.








                          Plenty of shopping in Arlanda.





                          12 August 2019
                          SAS Scandinavian Airlines
                          SK 499
                          Stockholm Arlanda (ARN) - Oslo (OSL)
                          A320
                          OY-KAP
                          SAS Plus
                          Flight Time: 0H43M



                          Crowded at our boarding gate. SAS operates multiple flights between the 2 Scandic cities.




                          I was impressed by the efficiency of SAS's ground operations. This single lady handled the entire pre-boarding paperwork, boarding process and operating the airbridge!




                          Aircraft operating the flight.




                          Boarding commenced with priorities observed.



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                          • #43
                            As a SAS Plus perk, we got to select seating for free towards the front of the aircraft, and was able to score Row 1. The 'divider' between SAS Plus and economy was just a signage at the headrest of the last SAS Plus row. Seat wise, SAS Plus seats were exactly the same slimline seats as economy seats.






                            View out the window.




                            Decent legroom at 1A.




                            A wide range of literature in the seat pocket.




                            SAS's fleet




                            There was a slight delay due to problems with the aircraft's APU system. After further checks and being cleared by the technician, engines were started by the ground power unit and we were ready for pushback. Safety demo was conducted manually.






                            Lengthy taxi to the departure runway.







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                            • #44
                              Taxied to Rwy19L and straight for takeoff with no hold. Lovely views during the climb out from Arlanda.

                              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1802-_8sQ1Q














                              Stockholm is well surrounded by water.








                              Crew immediately started service once seatbelt signs were turned off. The 4 crew members were all friendly and efficient. Could not expect more for such a short flight.




                              SAS Plus passengers were entitled to select any food and drinks from the snack menu for free. For economy class, only coffee/tea were offered free.



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                              • #45
                                My snacks for the flight, which included potato chips, chocolate ball, a sourdough roll and an apple juice.






                                Quick visit to the very basic lavatory.




                                Another shot of my seat.




                                Soon, we were descending into Oslo. Trash were cleared as we prepped for landing.






                                Landing in Oslo Rwy19R.

                                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOwlpIzHbaY&t=49s










                                Parked at the gate beside a LH A320neo.



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