Review of SAS flight from Stockholm to Athens in Economy

SK1833 / ARN-ATH

After arriving from London Heathrow the night before (you can read my report on that flight on my profile), I spent around six hours at Stockholm Arlanda Airport, sleeping on some benches to pass the time before my next flight at around 6 a.m. to Athens.
I arrived at the gate, F37, at least three hours before boarding and was the first there. It was completely empty at that time, which allowed me to do some work before boarding started.

Boarding was split by cabin: passengers in the forward half of the aircraft used the jetbridge, while anyone in the rear half, including myself, exited the jetbridge at its base and walked around to the rear door, which I preferred.

My aircraft for the day was an SAS Airbus A320, registration EI-SCB, a fairly new aircraft delivered in November 2023, just under two years old at the time of flying. It was in SAS’s new livery. I boarded at the rear door, where I was greeted by a friendly member of the cabin crew, and took my seat at 19A on the left side of the aircraft.
The seat was a basic European layout: sleek-looking, functional, with no IFE. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but nothing special — just the standard features you would expect.
The flight suffered a minor delay, but we departed only seven minutes later than scheduled, which was not a problem. 
We took off from runway 19 and banked slightly to the right to avoid the city of Stockholm, then maintained a mostly straight course south across Europe. The route took us over Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Greece.

I slept for around an hour or two of the flight. Shortly before beginning our descent, a set of complimentary drinks was served, I chose tea, as is usual on SAS. 

As we approached Athens, we executed a curved approach around the Saronic Gulf, with Piraeus visible to my left throughout. The approach offered excellent views over the water and city.

We landed smoothly on runway 03L at Athens Eleftherios Venizelos Airport. The airport was extremely efficient: I literally walked off the aircraft, up some stairs, saw the baggage claim right in front of me, collected my bag, and left the airport immediately. Being an inter-Schengen flight, this process was extremely quick and hassle-free.
Overall, it was an uneventful early-morning flight, with the main highlights being the smooth airport arrival and the beautiful approach over the Saronic Gulf.