Desperate to cut costs Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has cut complimentary wi-fi internet from SAS Plus. This is a foolish move as other carriers move toward faster and cheaper internet.
Wi-Fi No Longer Included In SAS Plus
SAS does not offer a real business class product on its flights within Europe, but does offer “SAS Plus” which includes many of the same benefits like free checked baggage, lounge access, priority boarding, and meals onboard (middle seats are not blocked, unlike business class on other European carriers). On longhaul flights, SAS brands its premium economy cabin (similar to domestic first class seats in the USA) as SAS Plus as well.
Up until this week, SAS Plus also included complimentary internet access on one device, which is always a great way to stay productive or pass time on a flight. But as the Scandinavian carrier attempts to further cut costs and emerge from bankruptcy, it is cutting this benefit.
Free wi-fi on SAS is now only available in longhaul business class.
SAS’ Identity Crisis
SAS still has an identity crisis. I’ve written about it before and I invite you to read it again.
> Read More: Analysis – Why Did Scandinavian Airlines Fail?
As I said last July:
The focus on cutting costs instead of differentiating its product, including its human capital, will not work. It has not worked. Right now, we observe a race to the bottom and that is not a contest that can be won when the fundamental cost structure for SAS is so high. SAS can only win by developing its products and enticing customers to choose to fly SAS instead of the competition.
And yet cutting one of the few things that distinguished SAS Plus from economy class on the bulk of its routes is not going to drive more customers to it. Rather, it will drive customers away. SAS cannot cut its way to profit: the graveyard of defunct carriers testifies to this.
CONCLUSION
How sad to see one of my favorite boutique carriers try to cut its way to profit. Reducing the benefits that differentiate its premium product from economy class and from its competitors will not help SAS. It will only hurt SAS. Let’s hope this latest experiment is short-lived.
(H/T: One Mile At A Time)
I love it! I am no longer subsidizing Matthew’s use of Wi-Fi with my SAS ticket purchases. Let everyone who wants this pay for their own.
In a larger discussion of cost cutting, the question is how much value customers (and the corporate bottom line) receives from such measures. For example: cutting the free checked bag allowance results in many people just clogging up the overhead bins, gate liceing, and delaying takeoff. Some other cost cutting measures, such as no free meal on economy domestic flights, may provide value in that if so many people don’t like the food anyway and it’s about $18 per meal cost, that does generate significant revenue.
The thing about wifi is that the sunk costs are in place regardless of how many use it unlike baggage, food or drink. I’m reminded of when on LOT they charged about 2 dollars for a cup of coffee, I didn’t see a single Pole take up the FA’s on the offer and the FA probably poured it down the toilet.
This ties into another post recently about airlines and mistake fares: Mistake fares simply wouldn’t happen if the airlines invested in proper oversight. For example: I have NEVER gotten a “mistake fare” paycheck for a million dollars. I don’t recall “mistake fares” being a thing back in the days of mainframes and paper tickets (although perhaps they did happen, but we didn’t hear about it due to lack of internet news). The ‘beancounters” are counting beans that they think they can count but don’t want to invest in the basics. Publish correct fare airline tickets and monitor them. Utilize RFID tracking systems so bags are not lost. That’s where the money is.
Good points.
Too bad the airlines can’t properly price a product that is all inclusive with a checked bag and Wi-Fi and snacks and make the price fair where consumers are willing to pay but also where the airlines are profitable at the same time. Are they just going to nickel and dime forever? Basic economy..seat selection charges for J? Dumb. Never flying spirit and frontier or any basic economy fare for the creeping charges alone. People can say what they want about WN but at least checked bags and most fees are included and the company is still making money. They don’t offer meals or include wifi but at least I’m paying once (or twice if I want Wi-Fi on a plane, which I generally don’t—I usually want a break from the internet when flying) and not paying for little incidentals.
Quite frankly, I rarely pay for airline tickets but rather utilize credit card trial bonus programs to score tickets on Star Alliance flights and Jetblue in economy with free checked bags because I have the branded credit cards. Jetblue’s card gives me 1/2 off of drinks and food which is a bargain and United’s card gives me 25% off plus a free checked bag. So overall, I enjoy my flying experience on those flights. Jetblue, in particular, has provided my family with comfortable seats, good service, baggage, and on-time (knock on wood) schedules. My wife and I would LOVE to fly in business again, but we can’t justify it because we have relatives we want to visit and think to ourselves: “For a business class ticket, even with an upgrade, I could get a Ukrainian orphan a flight to somewhere”. I save money to spend it on what matters to me, is what I’ll say.
My wife volunteers at the church to provide food to disabled veterans and buys food to send to those who need it. For me, an economy seat on a decent airline is like a throne when I’m going to visit friends who will feed me so much food I can’t eat anything for a week afterwards and need daily nordictrack sessions to burn them off.
I can sympathize with the bean counters why they don’t want to provide a free checked bag in that the cost of getting those bags loaded and moved through the airport is non-trivial, after all. And the airline food, it’s tragic when they pay $15 to provide a meal that many consider inedible. I HATE to see a meal provided to me go to waste because I simply find it not worth eating. I choose the fruit meal, when available, because it’s NEVER gone wrong for me yet and I feel great at the end of a long flight.
That makes sense on cc bonuses and there’s a lot of info on those on Boarding Area which is helpful. Trust me, I get it re flying business. I just want to book Honolulu or Maui in J on Hawaiian right now for my birthday.
I have only flown JetBlue a few times and I wasn’t impressed with cleanliness, age of planes, clientele, and so on, at least out of JFK. However at the time the planes were not retrofitted to today which is obviously a much nicer design. I really like Mint product, just really don’t like how they treated two friends that worked there, so they aren’t a priority for me to spend $ with.
Love the sentiments on supporting orphans and those in need in Ukraine. Glad you are able to support veterans, too–soo important. Both of my grandfathers were in WWII, one received the Purple Heart but I’m sure both deserved it.
Completely agree on food. As the oldest of six there was no food wasted. I hate throwing away food still to this day decades later. I’ll never forget my mother gave me $1 in Kindergarten to get something at the school store and I lost it and was so upset for weeks, lol. Digressing again.
Anyway, I eat a tonn of fruit myself at home so I totally get you there. Fruit is the best. Anyway I genuinely hope you get to fly business again, it’s the best. You will. Good karma will come back around to you!
Be blessed, PK.
Not sure they can be called boutique if they don’t block middle seats at a minimum
Speaking as a Scandinavian, you Americans are overly caring and obsessed about wifi connectivity. It is more of a “oh wow there’s wifi on this flight, nice!” attitude her rather than demand it to be available. People won’t really care.
Besides, Wifi is still free for gold, diamond and pandion members, and those are the ones filling the SAS Plus cabin anyways, so it won’t be much of a difference.
It’s sad to see SAS cut back on what is already a very scaled-back front cabin.
Matt, those mainframes were bulletproof. The code was so well written back in the 1970’s that they thought “Well, whose gonna need that stuff in 2000 so why not just use 2 digits for the year?” So… a lot of my friends made big bucks consulting for Y2K. I read that Japanese airline CEOs were on flights at midnight at Y2K to put their literal lives on the line.
Although they were almost entirely phased out when I went to school, I used a card reader line printer. Simply amazing times when code was written so precisely and yet, also, did so much. At the same time, it can be rigid and unscalable as Southwest discovered.
I wish I grabbed the agent keyboards out of some dumpster. Those clackity tactile keyboards sell for big money now!
Fascinating. reminds me of Alan Turing
Not 1970s mainframes but still just saw this and it made me think of you
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cq78W12rzQC
While I agree with the tone of the post, a ‘premium’ product that doesn’t include priority security and lounge access is just so far behind the competition that nobody would pay for it – it’s only there as a fig leaf for those who paid for a long haul business class ticket and/or feel comfortable spending other people’s money like there’s no tomorrow (e.g. consultants or elected officials who are entitled to higher classes of travel). In that sense, it makes sense to get rid of the free WiFi- not only will the change not affect any purchasing decisions, but it may also entice the latter group to purchase it and add it to their expense account!
SAS Plus does come with fast track and lounge access
Not at outstations, unless you are flying from LHR or a Star Alliance hub. SAS do not use any contract lounges anywhere in Europe!
I would read this: https://www.flysas.com/en/travel-info/at-the-airport/security-screening-fast-track/
Been offered fast track at ALC for years, where there is virtually no Star Alliance presence except SAS, Brussels, Lufthansa and Swiss, which doesn’t really make it a Star Alliance hub. Fast Track is also offered at AMS which isn’t necessarily a Star Alliance hub.
How disappointing. I am one of those that pays for higher fare which usually includes benefits like this when traveling within Europe.
I know the Scandinavians are notoriously cheap just like the Dutch. Guess I’ll be looking at another airline. Perhaps Lufthansa which has some nice benefits.
I am all for paying for a solid product like Aegean’s business class, or even for a cheap P fare to secure an empty middle seat on Lufthansa, but SAS Plus really does offer very little, WiFi or no WiFi.
If free Wi-Fi is what sends you away from SAS, I wouldn’t turn to Lufthansa… They don’t have WiFi at all.
Your point is well taken, but on my flight in SAS Business, the “free” WiFi was so slow as to be unusable. Which I suppose begs the question – if you can’t actually use the free perk, does it really even count?
never mind everyone getting microwaved by the radiation at 35,000 feet lol. Imagine the side effects if 5G makes it onboard.