The opening of SAS’ new lounges at Stockholm Arlanda

Welcome to the new lounge A large SAS delegation, as well as several special guests and the media, was in place in time for the opening ceremony. SAS’s lounge manager and project manager was, of course, in attendance, along with a large number of people from SAS management, including sales, marketing and various product divisions. A pianist entertained with live music and, as well as the lounge food, we were treated to some bubbly.

SAS CEO Rickard Gustafson’s opening speech Shortly before 1pm, SAS CEO Rickard Gustafson gave an opening talk and proudly spoke about the investments SAS has put into its lounges. At the beginning of the summer, a new lounge at Gothenburg Landvetter Airport opened, and in October, new lounges at Oslo Gardermoen Airport are also planned to be unveiled. Two cafe lounges are also due to open throughout the year at regional airports in Scandinavia.

The lounge is open!

The renovation

The renovation began in late spring and took place in stages. First, the SAS Gold Lounge was shut and by the end of July it was time for the SAS Lounge to also close its doors. During the summer there has been a Pop-Up Lounge in the F-pier, this has now closed. The expansion of the lounges was necessary as the number of visitors has increased in both lounges, which many frequent visitors have been able to testify when they have had difficulties finding seating. A major contributing factor is that SAS Plus now provides lounge access within Europe, previously only business class granted access, along with gold cards.

Reception area

The first thing you encounter in the lounge is the new reception area. What was formerly a rather small reception area has now become a large welcoming lobby with two reception desks and a service desk. There is also a self-service area, what SAS calls "Travel Self Service”, where guests can fix minor service issues via computers, the same concept recently introduced in the lounge at Gothenburg Landvetter.

Lounge lobby Otherwise, all is as before, SAS Lounge to the right and SAS Gold Lounge to the left. The glass doors that were here previously have, however, disappeared, and the lounges and lobby now blend together in a completely different way.

SAS Gold Lounge

SAS Gold Lounge, for gold card members, has been expanded from 408 square metres to 855 square metres. That means 447 extra square meters, more than twice the size it was before. This has been made possible by expanding the lounge straight out of the A-pier. Even for those who have visited the lounge many times before, it is difficult to recognise. It is a completely new lounge that has opened and there is not much left of what was before.

The significantly larger gold lounge Perhaps most anticipated in the lounge, in addition to the extra space, are the new large windows facing the apron of terminal 5 and the western runway. Besides a nice view, they also allow plenty of natural light into the lounge, something that the former lounge lacked.

Views of the airport Whilst the lounge is mainly composed of a large open room with seating for those making a short visit, further into the lounge there are separate parts for those who want to work undisturbed, eat properly or sleep. These sections are positioned so that there will be no automatic flow of visitors, meaning guests are actually able to work, relax or maybe even take a nap without too much noise. Other new features in the lounge include a large new toilet section in the middle of the lounge, directly to the right after the reception. It has separate sections for men and women, and the number of toilets has doubled compared to the previous lounge. Moreover, there are now two shower rooms in the lounge, which, according to SAS’ lounge manager, have exceeded all expectations in terms of use - “they became very popular right after they were installed.” SAS will, however, decide whether to create a queuing system with waiting lists, depending on how much demand there is.

New showers The buffet area has also become much larger with two large buffet tables. From this week, the bar area is also in place. It has been unveiled from behind a large black curtain that concealed it during August. The bar area has very attractive integrated lighting illuminating the shelves from beneath, the same concept recently introduced in the lounge in Oslo. Wine glasses now hang on the wall and are lit with spotlights.

The new bar area with built-in lights

New large buffet table Among other additions in the lounge, there is an oblong desk with electrical sockets at the back of the lounge that has become very popular. There are also four private phone booths where you can work or talk on the phone undisturbed. The lounge has also been given a relaxation area with four reclining chairs with matching tables. Another novelty is the stylish photo paintings found along the walls in both the gold lounge and business lounge. These work very well and create a warm atmosphere.

SAS Lounge

The SAS Lounge, for travellers in SAS Plus or SAS Business (business class) and during the summer and Christmas EuroBonus Silver, has also been expanded by 100 square metres from 440 to 540. It is the area in the back of the former gold lounge which has now become the business lounge. This has created a long rectangular room along the windows facing the departure hall.

The bigger SAS Lounge Otherwise, the differences are smaller here than in the gold lounge. The buffet is in the same place as before, with the familiar illuminated black wall behind it. However, the buffet tables are much bigger, which opens up the possibility to offer a greater variety of food in the future. The round tables and barstools have been replaced.

New buffet table A novelty for parents with children is the large playroom at the entrance, complete with toys, books, crayons and paper. The first playroom with the new concept opened in the start of summer in Gothenburg, and has been well received. The drawing wall where kids can put up their artwork is now full and the concept will be passed on to more lounges.

Playroom The big news in this lounge is, as I said, the new section at the back of the lounge, a section that was previously part of the gold lounge that has now been formed into the business lounge. To give some context, the seating area, which for several years was the business class corner in the gold card lounge, has now become part of the business lounge.

The new part of the SAS Lounge, formerly part of the Gold Lounge At the back you also find three phone booths where you can work or talk on the phone undisturbed.

New lighting and new art on the walls The business lounge has also received brand new toilets.

New toilets To mark the occasion, we were offered champagne, canapés and custom SAS macarons in both the lounges .

Offerings in the lounges