Inauguration of SAS's new oil route, all-business class, Stavanger-Houston

All-business class with only 44 seats on board 

The Boeing 737 aircraft has 44 seats on board, 11 rows in a 2-2 configuration. The seats are, so-called, angle-flat business seats.

SAS and Privatair Boeing 737 - the seat The aircraft lacks traditional in-flight entertainment and instead offers all passengers an iPad with more than 35 films, documentaries, television programs, as well as several hours of music and an anti-stress channel, 'Meditainment ". All seats also have electrical sockets.

SAS and Privatair Boeing 737 - reclined seat The seat has a total of five buttons. Two to raise and lower the seat, one for the table, one for the lamp and one for lumbar support. It takes some time to recline the seat, but it gets there. The most comfortable sleeping position is when the seat is not quite reclined all the way. This gives better support for your legs and thighs. When the seat completely reclined, it is fairly easy to slide towards the floor. There is also a foot rest that can be folded out at the bottom of the seat.

SAS PrivatAir Boeing 737 the cabin A nice detail is that the inaugural flight was also the premier of SAS’s collaboration with Hästens, and their new pillow and blanket. It will, however, take until 2015 before they are introduced on other long-haul flights, in business class.

Seat controls SAS PrivatAir Boeing 737

Service on board

The service arrangement consists of, champagne, water or juice before departure, after take off, cocktails are served, followed by a three course meal with three choices of main course. There is also a cold option on the flight. Before landing in Houston, a cold meal is offered, and before landing in Stavanger, breakfast is served. In between meals, sandwiches, fruit, snacks and hot and cold drinks are also available. Service is from a rolling table decorated with a table cloth. You can see all the choices as well as various beverages.

New lounge at Stavanger Sola 

Next to gate 8, at the end of the non-Schengen part of the transit hall, in Stavanger Sola, there is a gated area that SAS uses for passengers travelling the Houston route. The area is utilised two hours prior to departure and two hours after departure. It has comfortable sofas and armchairs as well as light refreshments, such as beer, wine, coffee, tea, soft drinks and snacks.

Mini SAS lounge at Stavanger Sola

Six departures a week 

Flights go everyday of the week except Saturdays. From Stavanger, flights depart at 4:00pm and arrive in Houston at 7:40pm. In the opposite direction, departure is at 9:35pm, with arrival in Stavanger at 2.20pm. Connections are available from, among others, Oslo, Bergen, Copenhagen and Aberdeen. The flight time is 10 hours and 40 minutes to the USA, and 9 hours and 45 minutes back to Stavanger. The departures are the last of the day, which means that you get a full day in either Stavanger or Houston before your departure. This is also convenient when travelling from other scandinavian cities.

Chartered aircraft from the Swiss company, PrivatAir

The aircraft is being leased from the Swiss company, PrivatAir, but is painted in SAS’s traditional colours. The cabin crew are primarily from PrivatAir.

The happy cabin crew from SAS and PrivatAir On each flight, there are two pilots and four cabin crew. During the inaugural flight, there was also a fifth crew member, from SAS, to provide some extra services.

Privatair cabin service director

Is there a market?

According to SAS, there is believed to be a large market for this route. 424 companies in the Stavanger region were questioned, of which 47% were in the gas and oil industry, as to where would be their preferred destination. Houston came in first place as, with 44% of companies reporting that they often travel to Houston. Of the big companies, 35% expect an increase of 5-25% in travel in the coming years, due to increased international activity and some forthcoming large projects. We asked Eivind Roald, SAS Vice President of Marketing & Sales, about how things were turning, and he was happy. During the next oil exhibition, in a few days, all flights are fully booked. The premier flight had 34 passengers (out of 44).

The aircraft's new name

There is one person who, more than any other, has driven the development of this route, SAS Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Eivind Roald. He got a little surprise the morning of the inauguration, when colleagues at SAS secretly christened the new aircraft, Eivind Viking. He was very amused.

Not everyone has an airplane named after them BusinessClass.co.uk also had an interview with Eivind Roald about the new route and the result of the changes made last year, i.e. EuroBonus and the service concept, and what will happen during the final months of 2014, and in 2015. This will be published in a separate article.

SAS CEO Richard Gustafsson cuts the ribbon