SAS long haul from Copenhagen after five years: the collective agreement, the A350 flying, the Scandinavian work life balance and what the rebuild changed

SAS Copenhagen, five years, long haul for the last one, and the SAS threads on here are about parental leave and the Stockholm base, which are good. This is the Copenhagen long haul and the airline after its restructuring, from inside.

SAS now

After the reorganisation and the ownership change, SAS is a Copenhagen centred airline with Stockholm and Oslo as the other bases, a fleet of A320neos for Europe and A330s and A350s for long haul, and a network that has been rebuilt with Copenhagen as the hub. The crew who lived through the restructuring have opinions; the crew who joined after mostly see a stable airline with a strong contract.

The collective agreement

Negotiated by the cabin crew unions in each country (CAU in Denmark), public, and enforced. Duty limits, rest, pay scales, allowances, the pension, the parental leave that the other thread describes. The Danish version is what I work under and it is the reason I have stayed through the hard years: the protection was real when the airline was not.

Long haul from Copenhagen

New York, Newark, Boston, Chicago, Washington, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, Tokyo, Shanghai, Bangkok, and the seasonal routes. The A350 is a good aircraft to work: a modern galley, the crew rest bunks, a quiet cabin. Business class with lie flats, a premium economy, an economy with a meal service. Trips are three to four days with a real layover.

The Scandinavian balance

The thing crew from elsewhere notice. The roster respects the agreement's rest rules. The days off are real. Parental leave is generous and used by fathers. The crew room is flat: first names, direct talk, no drama. The pay is taxed heavily and the tax buys a lot. Nobody at SAS is saving Gulf money. Everybody at SAS has a life.

What the rebuild changed

Copenhagen became the centre. Some routes moved, some bases shrank, the crew groups were reorganised. The long haul from Stockholm and Oslo is thinner than it was; Copenhagen has most of it now. For a new joiner that means Copenhagen is the base for long haul and the other two are more European. The airline is smaller than it was and it is more stable.

For applicants

SAS hires Danes, Swedes and Norwegians primarily, with a Scandinavian language expected, and occasionally others with the right to work and the language. The assessment is the calm Nordic type. The winter is the winter. Copenhagen is a lovely, expensive city with a good airport commute. If you want long haul from Scandinavia with a contract that protects you, this is the airline and Copenhagen is the base.