I’m finally on my way home. And this will then be my last trip until the end of December. And that’s a good thing. I spend the night at the Oslo Airport Radisson Blu, which is located right across the road from the terminal at arrivals level.

Check-in

Check-in is one floor up, escalators are located just off to the left when you enter the terminal building. The last time I was here, it was around the same time of day. But it was during Covid, so the whole place was deadly quiet. Today it’s a very different situation, and the place is very busy. Fortunately, fast track security is open. Security ejects you in the domestic part of the terminal. From there you still have to exit into the international part.

SAS Star Gold Lounge

My flight is departing from gate E 11. The SAS lounges are located above the dutyfree store. Access to the lounge is via a set of stairs at the start of the E concourse. The gold lounge is located within the main lounge. The decor is very IKEA, to the point that I’m wondering if perhaps it isn’t the real thing. There is an attractive buffet area set up with a nice selection of breakfast food. It’s also nice that there’s hardly anyone there at 05h30 in the morning.

Boarding

Boarding for my flight starts at 06h20. On the stand adjacent to ours there is another E2, this one belonging to KLM and headed for Amsterdam.

The Cabin & Seat

The cabin looks very modern. I’m on 2A, where the seat pitch is not so good. It’s very tight. Luckily the guy on 1A has mercy on me and doesn’t recline his seat. There are USB ports at every seat, but there is no wifi on board. As we board, I also notice that there is no cabin divider. However, once we’re airborne the cabin crew takes a curtain out of the storage area near the galley and hangs it in the aisle, behind the last row of Business Class. To me it just looks weird. I think then they should probably not use a divider at all.

The Crew & Service

There are three cabin crew on this flight. All of them have very thick eastern European accents when the speak German or English. They’re very friendly, and their appearance is professional. While we’re still on the ground, they hand out bottles of still water and packaged towels. The flight time to Zürich is two hours. As soon as we’re airborne, we’re treated to a spectacular sunrise.

The Meal – Breakfast

It takes a while for the meal service to begin. Passengers are served individually from the galley, instead of using a trolley. The meal is… strange. There is a square of spinach quiche, which is still frozen solid in the middle. A croissant and two rolls with butter and jam. And a Sprüngli box containing a cutting board. Three different types of cold cuts and pickles. It’s the same box you can buy in Economy Class for CHF16. To drink with that I have an orange juice and coffee. What with the ugly presentation, it’s unappealing content and the half frozen quiche, it’s a seriously underwhelming breakfast. It’s nearly as bad as the KLM Eurobusiness boxes!

Arrival

Our arrival into Zürich is quite unusual because we fly a straight in approach without making any significant turns. As a result, we land just before 09h00, twelve minutes ahead of schedule.

The flight was okay. I think the crew were great, but the E2 was just a bit too cramped to be comfortable and the meal was just a bit strange.