SAS has some really low fares right now

SAS is not trying to replace Norwegian; they have had 2 direct flights from Chicago to Copenhagen and Stockholm for as long as I can remember, they have always had sales like the one you see now. They were my go to airline to Europe as their prices were always lower than other legacy airlines (they've been around since 1946 as the flagship carrier for Denmark Norway and Sweden) I had stopped flying them when Norwegian and now defunct Wow Airlines came on the scene with ridiculously low fares. And you can have bad experiences on any airline; this is not a barometer. People raved about Lufthansa and the first time I flew them they cancelled fairly soon before the trip.

I’ve seen these really low SAS fares. The only thing that has prevented me from booking our trip in September is the 14-3/4-hour layover in Copenhagen on the flight home. The open-jaw fare for SFO-MUN-CDG-SFO is unbelievably low, $465! The next cheapest fare is AF at $1178. As much as we love flying AF, $731 (x 2) difference is a lot of money. It’s tempting but what does one do for 14 hours at the airport? Would you do it?

I wonder if SAS is trying to replace Norwegian as the trans-Atlantic
low price leader, or is this just a random sale, but I've seen these
prices for awhile now.

As mentioned, SAS has flown across the atlantic for a while, actually even since before the airline was founded. Connecting a number of North American cities to their hubs in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo. I don't know what their strategy is, but they sometimes have very good offers on intercontinental flights.

It’s tempting but what does one do for 14 hours at the airport?

I would spend a day in Copenhagen. Great city well worth a day.

I'd do it if I could get a room at an airport hotel or even a room in town. That's a lot of money.

For around five euros a person, and 15-20 minutes for the train ride, I would go into Copenhagen.

I wonder if this is a product of SAS doing what Finnair has done—add flights to NA because they can't operate their Asians routes? (Between ongoing lockdowns and the loss of overflying Russia, the routes just arent feasible.)

I really miss Norwegian Air Shuttle, as we did about 5 European trips with them. They're still operating in Europe, and I assume they're the third largest budget carrier there.

$600's is very good for European flights right now. I saw someone last week in the $500's, but paid no attention since we have flights booked in a month into LHR for $604.

We just continue to pray for competition. Because without competition, we'd be destined to do vacations in the U.S. And there are few places here we care to visit anymore.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. The problem however, is that the flight arrives in Copenhagen at 9:30pm, then departs at 12:15pm. I don’t think we’ll have the energy to do anything but sleep☺️. I did some research and there’s a Clarion Hotel connected to Terminal 3 by covered walkway, a viable option.

Wow, just saw 13 nights to Venice in August and September for $518 from Chicago. 2 hour layovers in Copenhagen. Got to leave on a Thursday though.

Used SAS 10 years ago for a quick trip to Venice and it worked out great.

The problem however, is that the flight arrives in Copenhagen at
9:30pm, then departs at 12:15pm. I don’t think we’ll have the energy
to do anything but sleep☺️.

Spend the night at the airport hotel, and visit the aquarium Den Blå Planet (https://denblaaplanet.dk/en/) in the morning the next day? It is within walking distance of the airport. Or take a short trip to central Copenhagen, there are fast and frequent trains and metros.