Interview: news, thoughts and changes in SAS’ on-board concept - We meet Stephanie Smitt Lindberg and Johan Mägi

Customer Journey - what does it mean?

Stephanie Smitt Lindberg is responsible for a new department within SAS which was created at the start of the year - Customer Journey. It includes all concepts, both on the ground and in the air, products, SAS’ loyalty program EuroBonus, and SAS’ digital channels. Customer Journey is about tying together the entire travel experience and making it seamless. The work involves catering to passengers from the time they have the initial thought that they might want to travel, to them landing at a destination. "Tying together the whole trip" is thus their catchphrase, to keep the experience consistent and to create appropriate products and services. In the same spirit, she thinks there are several possibilities for the future, including services before the actual flight. It could be to arrange a taxi to the airport, or for frequent travellers with a regular travel pattern to always have a taxi taking them to at the airport as well as one waiting outside after landing. Stephanie has a background in the travel industry, including experience with Scandic, the hotel chain, where she was Marketing Director. She sees her experience in the hotel industry as beneficial because the hotel industry is, overall, quite advanced in this particular area; hotel concepts are implemented on a number of individual hotels spread across a large geographical area, so there is certain level of consistency while also being natural.

Stephanie Smitt Lindberg, Vice President of Customer Journey, SAS

SAS Plus - Overall, a popular product

The existing cabin classes, SAS Go and SAS Plus, were launched in spring 2013 as a replacement for the previous three cabin classes, Economy Class, Economy Flex and Business Class. The decision to remove business class in Europe was based largely on the reduced demand. The share of business class travel on European flights had, in a few years, gone from 30% to just over 2%. The current SAS Plus is basically a merger of the former Economy Flex and Business Class. On the ground, the same benefits are available as were previously in Business Class; priority check-in, fast track and lounge access. While in the air, the product is more similar to the former Economy Flex. According to Johan Mägi, SAS Plus is a highly valued product, and he points to the statistic that SAS Plus has increased 12 percent in the first quarter. Many business travellers are choosing to fly with Plus for flexibility, speed and simplicity, as well as the oppotuity to work at the airport while waiting for departures. These are some advantages which SAS have tried to offer with the SAS Plus product. They are also trying to further develop these conveniences with new lounges and fast tracks at more airports At the same time, Johan admits that the market is tough. Low-cost airlines have come in and lowered the general level of service, and there are also others who have improved their service somewhat. It has tightened in both directions, and at the same time price competition is intense. In this current position, he believes, above all, that the whole package is what is most important.

New food concepts underway in Europe

An interesting new feature is the review of the food on European flights which is underway, something both Stephanie and John confirmed. The review is in its early stages but some initial ideas are aimed toward healthier, real food on board. Increased variety and more brands are also avenues to be explored. The review is also about providing an improved overall travel experience. Generally speaking, the food and service on board is a huge part of the travel experience, as well as an expression of the entire concept, says Johan. Recently, a review of service in business class on long-haul flights took place and a new concept was introduced. The basic idea was for service to be more of an experience in itself. They looked at how restaurants on the ground operated, with a more individual service and focus on the customer, rather than seeing service as an area to be time efficient. The response has, according to SAS, so far been very positive, while the new approach is practically manageable for the cabin crew. On European flights, the service concept is understandably a little differently and routines must therefore be adjusted accordingly. However, the hope is to take some inspiration and lessons from long-haul flights.

Local producers - something for the future

A few months ago, SAS launched its new cooperation with a Danish brewery, Mikkeller, who provided beers to be experimented with on-board. Their beer later became a new drink option in business class on long-haul flights, and as the new beer was so well received, it is now available in all cabin classes as well as on flights within Europe. Stephanie sees the cooperation with Mikkeller as an example of the type of partnerships they would like to focus on in the future, with local and unique food and beverage producers. This corresponds with a significant part of SAS’ audience who appreciate good food and drink.

Reservation of food in Europe

Recently, SAS also offered the possibility for passengers to pre-order food in SAS Go. Initially it was only breakfast on flights over an hour, and sandwiches and salads on European flights over three hours. We took the opportunity to ask what their thoughts were regarding this news. -So far it’s only a test, says Johan. We have started with a limited version to test the concept and we will then make an evaluation. It is not as simple as it might seem, there is much that needs to be perfected, from all the different sales channels to the logistics at airports, and of course the practical logistics on board.

SAS breakfast box How to proceed with pre-ordered food in the future is largely based on how well the test works, as well as feedback from customers. Either way, the hope is that the future will lead to a more personalised service that can continue to be developed. How a potential future food selection will look is hard to say, but Stephanie thinks it will gradually develop into a natural variety of offerings. She also sees the opportunity in the future to offer a wider range, larger meals, and perhaps combination ordering (bundling). She also points out that with pre-ordering, passengers are guaranteed to get what they want. On a full flight, a particular salad or sandwich can easily run out, a problem that would not happen with pre-ordered food.

Three alcoholic beverages...

One of last week's talking points was regarding a statement in the new summer menu on board that said the number of alcoholic drinks in SAS Plus in Europe is limited to three per person. This created quite a reaction with some travellers. We asked SAS what they thought of the new rule. - We have not made any product change, only the way we communicate regarding alcoholic drinks, which was a mistake by us, replies Johan. Customer reactions have been negative and we understand that we are perceived as being square, and we would like, of course, our customers not to perceive us this way. Johan believes that SAS has always been generous with their beverage servings, but it is important they respect their responsibility that it is ultimately about safety on board. He explains that the statement on the menu came about as SAS staff had problems with customers who had drunk too much during the recent summer months, something that might be perceived as quite unexpected for those travelling in SAS Plus throughout the year on its popular commuter departures. After the reactions, SAS has now decided to remove the text on the menu, and this will be undertaken promptly. SAS will distribute new summer menus without the statement during the next few weeks.

Smoothies on long-haul flights

Another topic of conversation has been about crisps and smoothies on long-haul flights in SAS Plus, which, unlike in SAS Plus in Europe, have to be paid for. This is something many judge as both strange and illogical. - This has been a mistake, says Johan. He believes that there was an internal, logical decision within SAS which focused on cargo and logistics, but is completely illogical to the passengers, something he can fully understand. He explains that SAS made the decision to change this too and that these products will now be included in SAS Plus on long-haul flights as well. This will change as soon as possible, however, it requires some tweaks in processes and logistics, so it may take a while before the change is fully implemented.

The Gothenburg-London route

Another piece of last week's news was that the SAS will, in October, move the route Gothenburg-London from Heathrow Airport, to the west of London, to Stansted Airport, north of London. We asked why this is being done. The hardly surprising answer was that it is due to the parking spots at Heathrow that SAS sold at the beginning of the year. However, the precise reason that the Gothenburg route is being moved is, according to SAS, that there is a fairly large demand in the Gothenburg area for trips to North London, while putting larger aircraft on the remaining routes to Heathrow, primarily Airbus A321 and Boeing 737-800 aircraft, will mean 50,000 extra seats per year. SAS will, however, have competition in north London as Ryanair also fly to Stansted from Gothenburg Landvetter. In addition, British Airways/Sun Air have a route from Gothenburg to Cambridge, a route that was started specifically for the pharmaceutical industry in the two regions. We finished up by asking Stephanie and John if there is anything else going on at SAS. Stephanie says that EuroBonus will soon pass four million members, something that SAS plans to acknowledge. On Johan's part, of course work with European concepts is as important as ever, however, we must be patient and wait until the autumn before we get more information about what this will mean.