SAS Business Class to Frankfurt

SK 675
CPH-FRA
MD-83
July 8, 2011
2:50p-4:20p (sked)
3:40p-5:08p (actual)
Seats 5AC

With the departure monitor still showing on time 1450 departure, we left the SAS lounge at 1410 and head thru the shopping mall that is CPH towards B-5. Good sign that the plane is there, or at least, a plane is there. Tick-tock-tick-tock. 10 minutes after our scheduled boarding time with not a single gate agent in sight, commotion in the gate area as the departure screen now shows a 1740 departure and a different flight number. No announcement, just an SK employee in the concourse, not the gate mind you, telling everyone that there is a gate change and the new gate is now B-19.

Off we go to B-19 to see an MD just pulling up and the jet bridge moving in. The monitor now shows a revised departure time of 1510. Yeah, right. Like that is even remotely possible. Sensing my now complete lack of faith in SK, Mrs. SFO is now getting concerned about making our connecting flight. I on other hand, am quietly rooting for a misconnect so that LH will be forced to put us on the 380 nonstop tomorrow morning (EF now showing 4/8). At 1455, a gate agent finally arrives. Ten minutes later, he informs us that the aircraft swap has left us 10 seats short and they now have to figure out who will be bumped. Another 5 minutes and he calls up the first pax to be bumped. Now we are still waiting for catering before we can begin boarding. At 1510, another agent arrives and decides that they are going to start boarding, but "there may be some issues with some of your seat assignments". Two pax board and #3 gets flagged... "sorry sir, you'll have to go on a later flight." #3 is none too happy but eventually moves away to be "taken care of later". We are in the first group of 20 or so to board and then catering arrives, stopping boarding. Five minutes of rolling carts in/out and schlepping up/down the aisle. The good news is that during the delay, all BP issues were apparently resolved and a steady procession of pax arrived so that we pushed back at 1540. Wheels up at 1550 and the captain announces a 5PM arrival.

Borderline inedible chicken snack...

We landed at 1703 and pulling into the tarmac position at 1708. No special treatment for F pax today but there was a special bus for LH432 as 15 pax were connecting to ORD. After the long trek to the A terminal, doc check and then passport control, we arrived at A-59 at 1733, just as final boarding was being announced.

Up next: LH432 and the new LH First Class.