What is considered a cheap flight?

Did a sample booking on the SAS site and it allowed me to choose the "lite' going over and the 'smart' coming back for $620

You could put an empty duffel bag in your carry on on the way over and fill the duffel with your 'loot' and make it the carry on on the way back and check the carry-on bag on the return trip

Congrats on planning your first trip!!! You're in for a great adventure!!

$600-700 is a reasonable price for flights to Europe these days. Not a DEAL, but if would be hard to expect much better.

Be careful about booking a "carry on only" fare on a European airline. They often have smaller allowances for carry-ons, including weight limits, and sometimes enforce them strictly. Details should be on the websites.

You didn't mention how you found your fares. I like to use flights.google.com You'll want to change the 'round trip' to 'multi-city' for your search. And only buy the ticket directly from the airline—not any third party/online travel agency. Those things can go haywire.

Hi @scudder!

It is directly through SAS! Also I figure only valid third parties would be okay? Like Expedia and booking.com. I also have a chase travel card, and I get point if I book directly through them so I was considering doing that as well.

I have heard of bad experiences with SAS within the last year, including lengthy delays on flights and poor customer service in response. You get what you pay for with a discount carrier which I personally would not put up with on a long-haul flight across the pond. Better to pay $200 more and fly on more reputable carriers such as Delta, BA, AF, KLM, Lufthansa or Turkish who generally treat their clients better.

I don't think of SAS as a discount carrier. It has been in business at least since the 1970s, before airline deregulation. It's the major carrier serving Scandinavia.

I do think it's better to buy the ticket directly from the airline. The benefits of doing otherwise are not likely to be worth the risk. Even with legitimate third-party ticket sellers, there will be extra aggravation if you have to deal with a schedule change or flight cancellation.

The allowed sizes and weights of the carry-on bag and personal item are critical. Research those carefully on the airline's website, and measure your carry-on accurately, including handle and wheels.

I think the fares you've found sound good. The tip to try booking a basic fare outbound and a fare allowing a checked bag on the return is a good one.

SAS is not a budget airline, it is the flagship carrier of Norway, Denmark and Sweden and is considered in the same vein as KLM, BA, Finnair et al. Many of the major European airlines have been experiencing difficulties post Covid including poor customer service along with the budget ones so I wouldn't use that as a basis for discounting them. Personally I would have no problem with flying with SAS.

I think that's a great price from the west coast. Especially with gas prices so high right now. My last five trips, from the east coast, have been at or under $500 round trip and I'm not expecting to match that this year (haven't purchased yet for a planned late August flight into Stockholm and back from Copenhagen).

The only caveat I'd offer is pay attention to what the airline allows. What is considered an acceptable carry-on bag keeps shrinking. European carriers are generally quite serious about the limits. I believe I was on SAS when the gate people walked around the boarding area and weighed/measured bags that looked stuffed. If they were too large/heavy, and the gate people were generally correct, the passenger had to pay to check them - which adds a lot to the cost of the flight.

Booking.com is fine but you will often find they will say no rooms available when you try to book. This is because they are only allocated a certain number of rooms by the hotels. If you make a reservation directly through the hotel’s website you have access to all the available rooms. Make sure your hotel reservation allows you to cancel; it costs slightly more but gives you some flexibility if your plans change. Many hotels include breakfast, in Europe this is, coffee or tea, croissant or pastries. Maybe some fruit or yogurt, juice and occasionally something like ham or hard-boiled eggs. It’s fun to venture out to a cafe for breakfast as the usual hotel breakfast gets boring.

I don't think of SAS as a discount carrier. It has been in business at
least since the 1970s, before airline deregulation.

Founded in 1946 actually, through the merger of the three Scandinavian airlines SILA, DNL and DDL. The oldest of the three, DDL, dates back to 1918. So yes, SAS has history and is not a discount airline. In addition, Copenhagen is a great airport for transfer.

That being said, Go Light is their cheapest fare class that is designed to compete with low cost airlines and you don't get a checked in bag.

Kaitlynca14 - Expedia, booking.com, and Chase's travel booking are all "Online Travel Agencies". That's fine most of the time, but if anything goes haywire with your flights—delays, cancelations, etc, the airline can tell you to "call your travel agency". And nobody answers the phone when you call Expedia.

Those sites are fine for hotels, but really, for flights, I'd stick with the airline directly. Just in case.