WHEN FLAG CARRIERS FAILI am a VERY frequent flyer, and as much as I love seeing the world, the PSPs, the technology, and the different cultures, I must admit that flying is not something I enjoy. Right now, I am sitting in CPH airport, and though it's only a short haul to Stuttgart, I feel almost sick of sitting in the airport again. One of the reasons is, of course, the frequency, secondly the class I fly (mostly economy), and last but significantly the service of the airliners.

By Editor Morten B. Reitoft

When I post on Facebook my disrespect for the airlines, their equipment (planes), and their service, I am often met with comments like watch out for your blood pressure and take a deep breath, and yes, of course, but there is more to it.
One of the worst airliners is the Scandinavian Airline System (SAS), and maybe not much worse than KLM or other flag airliners, but they are SO pretentious that I can't stand it. The advertising promises the world, but flying with them almost kills you because of their hilarious messaging, terrible equipment, space, and lack of service. On board, the security announcements are presented in a Danish language no one has spoken for the past 50-60 years; the 'chefs' that have prepared the food have apparently found yogurt in a supermarket mixed with the cheapest (yet organic) cheese and for that the price difference flying return from Copenhagen to Birmingham (in equally bad seats, and limited space, is more than 200% higher than Economy class).

The flying experience is so bad (and yes, I am big) that I sometimes wonder when the authorities will regulate the airline industry. You can ask why not fly economy+ or business. It's a valid question, but upgrading to Economy+ rarely gives you much more space (but does give you the same shit food + free liqueur - and from Economy+ to Business class, at least our customers wouldn't be prepared to pay the difference. So what about being a frequent flyer? I have done the math, and it doesn't make sense for how we travel. I was once in America where Frequent Flyer miles were important - that led to more expensive tickets, longer time in the air, and almost every time a stopover in Atlanta, so getting from A to B as fast as possible and as cheap as possible without jeopardizing safety is what we prefer, and even if you always chose to use same carrier OR airline group, you end up paying the price of what a business class would have cost you. Maybe better service if you are delayed, or flights have been canceled, but we rarely experience lousy service because of this strategy, to be honest!

So what is the issue? First and foremost, since the pandemic, there have been fewer flights, so almost all flights are full, and at the same time, the airliners have squeezed even more seats into the planes. Food has become considerably worse, and prices have increased - not much, but they have increased.

So this is where my blood pressure increases because flying low-price carriers like Ryanair and EasyJet has always been bad. Or - actually, RyanAir's 737 fleets are compared to, i.e., SAS CRJ900 not bad - or EasyJet's A319/320 planes are way more comfortable than the way to small planes from Bombardier (700/900). Many of the low-price carriers in Europe have not changed much after the pandemic, and compared to a carrier like SAS, you soon realize that with SAS, you don't get what you pay for, and with the low-cost carriers, you get precisely what you pay for.

Last week I was flying with SAS to Birmingham. It was a Smart Plus ticket, which I assume compares to an Economy+ ticket. Carry-on luggage and early boarding should secure you both a seat and space for the luggage, but since all passengers are put on the same bus taking you to the plane, you have NO guarantee to be boarded first- and therefore no guarantee for the luggage you paid for!

Now the low-cost carriers even fly to the central hubs, which should put pressure on flag carriers like SAS - but here is a suggestion.

1) Make minimal pitch and width for planes
2) the increased cost will lead to an increased price
3) the increased prices will lead to fewer passengers
4) fewer passengers but at a higher cost will return happier customers and better travel conditions (healthier) - yet the competitiveness remains.

This can not be achieved in a free market, but setting the terms, industry-wide or by legislation, will allow free competition, but on a different quality level.

With the sustainable issues relating to flights, I also think the prices on tickets should now include REAL CO2 offset, use of biofuel, and now at it - make it illegal for governments to own or subsidize airliners, so the competition based on the above baseline will give customers both healthy and comfortable travel + at a price that includes the actual footprint.
Finale thing I would prefer is memberships to the airports rather than airliners - when I depart from Copenhagen, this is my hub 99% of the time. This is where I would like fast tracks, lounge accesses, etc. So why not?

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And by the way. My flight to Stuttgart was canceled. Now waiting at CPH airport for a flight to Frankfurt, and then I, at my own expense, can get a 1,5 hours train to Stuttgart - or, as SAS suggested, go tomorrow - which is NOT an option :-(

And finally, to top it up with - extremely bad Danish Open Sandwiches from "Carl's' at a steep price (2 sandwiches and sparkling water almost 40USD). Next time in CPH - don't take your chance with them - not worth it!