Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is adding seat assignment fees in business class and SAS Plus in its latest attempt to generate revenue.
SAS Adds Seat Fees In Business Class (both Shorthaul And Longhaul)
As noted by One Mile At A Time, SAS announced that it will begin asking premium cabin passengers for seat assignment fees:
- This applies for bookings made as of October 18, 2023 and for travel on or after October 23, 2023
- Cost will vary based upon seat chosen and distance of flight
- EuroBonus Gold, Diamond, and (invite-only) Pandion members are exempt
- Star Alliance Gold or Silver members from other Star Alliance carriers are not exempt
- Passengers traveling on a wholly domestic flight(s) within a single Nordic country in SAS Plus will not be subjected to seat assignment fee
- Complimentary seat assignments become available 30 hours before departure when online check-in opens.
SAS offers a business class product on longhaul flights and calls its forward cabin service within Europe “SAS Plus” which is a hybrid of business class and economy class, with no blocked middle seats but business class service.
From what I can tell, a “standard” transatlantic business class seat will cost $90 to reserve while a “preferred” seat (window seat in a 1-2-1 configuration) will cost $120.
On routes within Europe, a “preferred” seat will cost $10 and a “more space” seat will cost $18.
Is This A Reasonable Policy?
There is little to celebrate about paying $6,000+ for a business class ticket and then having to pay another $120 in each direction for a seat assignment.
But we cannot separate from our discussion the fact that SAS has lost money for years and is operating in bankruptcy protection. The carrier is running to Air France – KLM and ditching Star Alliance despite being one the alliance’s founding members because it has not found a way to make money for years. With the governments of Norway and Sweden pulling the plug on funding, the financial position of SAS is precarious and the Danish government will not continue to prop it up alone.
It is true that”desperate times call for desperate measures” and we must not overlook that SAS is in a fight for its survival. At the same time, we also must note that SAS is also in a fight for its identity and if this new seat assignment fee only turns 1/50 customers away, I am not sure SAS is going to come out ahead…
> Read More: Why Did Scandinavian Airlines Fail? (Analysis)
One group that should love this change is EuroBonus elite members, who will now have an easier time selecting seats.
CONCLUSION
SAS recently added wi-fi fees in SAS Plus and is now adding premium cabin seat assignment fees. All of these moves strike me as penny-wise, pound-foolish, but with other carriers in Europe doing the same thing I do not expect any sort of rollback.
In the meantime, if you book a transatlantic ticket on SAS you can expect to pay $120 for a window seat.
So does AF so this makes sense.
British Airways similarly charges seat fees for transatlantic business class. It’s a big deal for me when traveling with my wife and kids- ends up adding nearly $1k to the tab when the 4 of us go roundtrip.
I avoid it when I can, but BA operates the only nonstop transatlantic service from my home, so they get some business from me.
Airlines are money-hungry . Soon we will have a choice between a free wooden seat , or pay $ 250. extra for a cushion . Also a choice between a free small bag of Fritos , or pay $ 150 extra for a large popcorn . The only solution is for a week-long boycott ,
I booked their LHR-CPH-EWR steal of a fare just yesterday. Missed paying 20% more by a day!
I don’t mind those fees- they are mostly targeted at infrequent flyers with money to burn. I know SAS Plus is a bad product, and I am fine with any longhaul flat seat in 1-2-1 configurations, so I wouldn’t spend any time worrying about this.
I’m a relatively infrequent flyer who does NOT have money to burn! The maths is really straightforward here: if SAS’ fare + seat reservation > a competitor’s, I’ll just use the latter.
This seems particularly shortsighted. Norwegian’s new incarnation is already covering the low cost end of the spectrum. SAS trying to compete at the bottom with a vastly higher cost structure is a particularly bad decision. Instead they should be burnishing their credentials as a premium carrier rather than a not-quite-as-bad Norse at a much higher price.
And those dumbass Swedes and Danes wonder why the airline is in receivership, Good one Lars, Good one Frederick, #giveyourselfanuppercut
Quick reminder GUWonder is a nazi. Does anyone know what his real name is yet?
Didn’t see this coming,just missed the new fee by two weeks for SAS plus transatlantic,in fact I switched seats and the
man who assisted couldn’t have been nicer making the change.Overall I like flying SAS and connecting in CPH.Sorry to see them leave star alliance,I avoid DL/AF/KLM.
Oh well, with SAS leaving the *A and now charging for seats it’s another reason not to fly with them. They lost the plot about fifteen years ago and have gone downhill at ever increasing speed since then. There can’t be long left for them.
As noted elsewhere,charging for selected seats and wifi is now standard practice,SAS still offers it’s PLUS passengers priority check in,fast track(which I love most,lol),access to their SAS lounges,still a great value.I only know of JAL offering these perks to premium economy.
just a clarification on the comments: choosing seats is still complimentary. what’s now for pay is to pre-book a seat in advanced.
this makes avoids the unnormal situation in which the one that booked the ticket earlier (and paid less) has preference over the one that booked later and pay more
Sas is wanting me to pay seat charges on flights they have rebooked. I booked flights before they started to charge, and had seats chosen. They cancelled the flights and changed my booking to different times. And they want me now to pay for my seat selection, on flights they changed. It all sounds a bit illegal.
Did you call and ask?