STOCKHOLM, Sweden, March 20, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- In conjunction with its launch of Scandinavian Direct, SAS is changing its onboard service. There will be only one travel class and all passengers will enjoy the same level of service.
The change in the onboard service concept, like other changes, is mainly based on customer surveys carried out by SAS.
"Our customer surveys clearly show that customers want a change especially in short-haul flights. They want a simplified product for a lower price," said Ulf Ingnas, Director Product Management Inflight at SAS Airline. "Frequent flyers who travel shorter distances want their travel to be as convenient as possible. They have indicated that they want a smarter, more efficient product.
"Taking customer preferences and SAS's own cost-cutting requirements as our guidelines, we developed a new concept for onboard service that is geared toward shorter flights. The concept will initially be launched on intra-Scandinavian flights as well as on all domestic fights."
Breakfast Important
The Scandinavian Direct service concept varies with the duration of the flight. A key element of the concept is breakfast, which is served on all flights until 9:30 a.m. "Flight length determines what we can serve onboard. On a flight that is 50 minutes or shorter, we have a 12-15-minute window in which to serve a meal. We want passengers on such flights to be able to have their breakfast without feeling rushed," said Ulf Ingnas.
Simplicity and Variation
The new concept is divided into two periods - breakfast, and all other times during the day and night. The current service concept is divided into five periods. SAS is now focusing instead on two concepts that offer greater inherent variation.
"Our frequent flyers often fly regularly at the same time and would prefer us to vary our range rather than offer different concepts throughout the day and night," Ulf Ingnas explained. "Our menus are inspired by fast-food trends throughout the world. We will have five different themes - Asian, Scandinavian, Mediterranean, 'fusion,' and vegetarian. Based on these themes, we will create snacks, sandwiches and wraps.
Beverages served with meals include juice, water, coffee and tea. Beer and wine are available on request. This decision is also motivated by customer surveys and by the extremely small serving window available on short flights. Most business travelers want fewer disturbances during their flight.
Friday Special
On Friday afternoons after 4:00 p.m., Scandinavian Direct will provide a feature offering called the "Friday Night Special." "This might be, for example, 'American Friday,' with hamburgers; 'Italian Friday,' with pizza slices, or 'Danish Friday,' with 'polse' sausages, bread and beer," Ulf Ingnas explained.
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