On the last day of the meeting, I make a slight detour on the way back to Haugesund. Visenes is a small settlement that was once home to the workers in one of Europe’s largest copper mines.

The mine’s claim to fame is that it provided a substantial amount of the copper that was used to build the Statue of Liberty. A miniature copy of it commemorates the occasion.

Across the bay from Visenes, you can see Haugesund Karmøy airport. But don’t get you hopes up. There’s hardly any traffic, so there isn’t much to see.

Getting to the Airport

The next day, my flight to Oslo departs at 15h20. There is an airport bus, but that takes nearly two hours to make the journey. So, I order an electric cab instead, which takes about thirty minutes. Norway offers excellent incentives to car owners to switch to e-cars. There certainly are more of them on the road here.

My driver is this young Eritrean guy, and he’s really funny. We drive up to the terminal building, which is deserted. He must notice me looking sceptical, so he tries to reassure me, “don’t worry, they’ll be waking up soon…”. The guy has a point.

Check-in

And it really is a dinky little airport. There are seven check-in counters, but only the three baggage drop counters are open. I count five passengers, including me, and seven airport staff in the building.

Security is an absolute delight. It’s not often you’re the only person in the queue

Behind security is a large kiosk that also sells hot dogs, salads and panini.

I park myself by the window with a bottle of water and wait. And wait… Sooner or later there will be a movement on the ramp.

At 14h50, the aircraft from Oslo glides down and lands at Haugesund airport.

I think it’s rather cool being able to watch the marshaller as she guides the aircraft onto its stand. As a kid I always figured that would be my dream job when I grew up.

Boarding

One thing I’ve noticed here in Norway is that passengers tend to board and deplane quickly. There’s no faffing about, it’s a swift process. Also, as far as I can tell the cabin is not cleaned before the next set of passengers board.

At 15h05, boarding starts with a delay of five minutes. I count about 100 passengers on the flight.

The Cabin & Seat

I’m seated on 4A, which is just slightly forward of the engine nacelle. It’s a good view.

As on the previous flight, there is a guy sitting on 4C, but the middle seat stays empty. However, even if it had been taken, the seat pitch is excellent and very comfortable.

At 15h21 we push back on time. Another thing I’ve noticed here in Norway, is that they only every push aircraft back and off their stand, but they don’t turn them onto the taxiway. I’m guessing it’s got something to do with icy conditions in winter ops.

The flight time to Oslo is 45 minutes.

The Crew & Service

There are three cabin crew on this flight. The purser is an elderly lady who is assisted by a young man. And I think I now figured out again how the service works. So, coffee, tea, and still water are complimentary for all passenger in both classes. In addition, there is a small menu with a limited selection of drinks and snacks that are available for purchase in Economy Class and complimentary in SAS Plus. I mean, it’s not the height of sophistication. But from what I can tell, most Norwegians are quite happy as long as there’s free booze available.

The Snack

When the trolley reaches my row, I order a sparkling water and a packet of crisps. I know, I know. They’re not good for you. But I haven’t had crisps in a very long time and these are simply divine!

Arrival in Oslo

We spend a very short time in the cruise before we begin our descent into Oslo. It’s a lovely autumn day here. It’s quite windy though, and you can feel the aircraft being pushed from side to side.

The aircraft comes to a stop on the side of the terminal that is usually used for international flights. However, the terminal is on two floors and the upper level of the pier appears to be for domestic arrivals. I check on flightradar, which tells me that the aircraft will next be heading from Oslo to Düsseldorf, which explains the stand allocation.

Okay, one more. And then I’ll finally be done.