SAS Airbus A330-300 SAS Go, Chicago to Stockholm

After five days in Chicago, it was time for our return flight with SAS to Stockholm. In our rented Audi A4, we were met by a SilvercarA Star Alliance employee drove us to Terminal 5 at Chicago O'Hare Airport. Check-in at the Star Alliance Gold and Business counters went smoothly. Upon request, we were offered an upgrade to SAS Plus (Premium Economy) for USD 199. Similar to our outbound flight (upgrade via Optiontown), the booking class would have been adjusted. However, we saved the money today.

SWISS Lounge Chicago (O'Hare)

Fortunately, there was a priority lane for Star Alliance Gold customers at the security checkpoint, so we were quickly through. Directly behind the security checkpoint and the duty-free area is the entrance to the SWISS Lounge. Renovated in 2011, the lounge reflects SWISS's global design concept. You can find more details about the SWISS Lounge at Chicago Airport in our Review.

Since the SWISS flight to Zurich departs at 7:15 p.m., the lounge closes at 6:30 p.m. So we decided to switch to the SAS Business Lounge.

SAS Business Lounge Chicago (O'Hare)

The SAS Business Lounge is located between Gates M13 and M14 and was very crowded. We could hardly find a seat. The design is typically Nordic. There are two round tables at the buffet with power outlets and several seating areas with armchairs. There's a view of the apron, where today a Boeing 787-8 from Royal Jordanian Airlines (registration JY-BAA) is parked.

Flight SAS SK946 to Stockholm

The same Airbus A330-300 Enhanced (registration LN-RKR, first flight on August 26, 2015) as on the outbound flight was already waiting at the gate. Boarding was still delayed at 7:35 p.m., so we unfortunately didn't make it off on time at 7:45 p.m. Since we had declined the upgrade for an additional fee, we sat in Economy Class (SAS Go) on the way to Stockholm. This and the SAS Plus seats filled up to over 901 seats. At 8:02 p.m., the captain ordered the plane to be pushed back and announced a flight time of 7:30 hours. Just 13 minutes later, the A330-300 lifted off from runway 10L.

It was only about an hour after departure that the drinks service arrived in row 42. We were shocked to see the difference to SAS Plus (here our report from the outbound flight): All alcoholic and non-alcoholic soft drinks (outside of the meal) are served at an additional charge (wine & beer 9$, cola 5$). The food service was also rather Scandinavian-style, casual. It took over 1:30 hours before we got anything to eat. In my opinion, the food, except for the dessert, a caramel cake, was inedible. But thanks to the offerings in the SWISS Lounge and a deep-dish stuffed pizza in Chicago, I wasn't hungry either.

The slow service continued with the collection of trays. By the time I was finally able to fold up the small table in front of me, we had almost left continental America and only had about five hours of flight time to Stockholm ahead of us. Time for sleep was severely limited.

At 11 a.m. local time, the Airbus A330-300 docked in white Stockholm. A nice finishing touch was the cabin lighting, which was set in Sweden's national colors of blue and yellow.

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