British Airways vs SAS
SAS scores 8.8/10 against British Airways at 8.3/10 on seat, screens, lounge and fare.
By Jon Miksis · cabin data verified · fares for travel November 8–14, 2026
Best product each one flies
Scored on what can be verified. Service, food and ground recovery are absent deliberately: they need someone in the seat, and they live in the reviews rather than here.
One caveat on the Value line, stated rather than buried: the cabin scores describe a business product and the fares behind Value are economy. A carrier that prices economy aggressively generally prices business the same way, but they are different products. Read Value as how an airline prices against its competitors, not as what its business seat costs.
British Airways
A350-1000 / 787-10 / 777 (Club Suite)
- Seat
- 10/10
- IFE
- 8/10
- Lounge & bags
- 10/10
- Value
- 5/10
- Product score
- 8.3/10
SAS
A330-300 / A350-900
- Seat
- 8/10
- IFE
- 8/10
- Lounge & bags
- 10/10
- Value
- 9/10
- Product score
- 8.8/10
Dimension by dimension
Seat: British Airways
10/10 on the A350-1000 / 787-10 / 777 (Club Suite) against 8/10 on the A330-300 / A350-900.
IFE: level
Screens, connectivity and power: 8/10 against 8/10.
Lounge & bags: level
What the fare includes before you board: 10/10 against 10/10.
Value: SAS
Median premium over the cheapest carrier on the same route: 5/10 against 9/10.
Where both were priced on the same dates
Every fare is November 8–14, 2026, so a difference between two rows is a difference between two airlines and nothing else. These are economy fares, while the cabin scores above describe the business product — read them as how each airline prices against its competitors, not as what its business seat costs.
| Route | Cabin | British Airways | SAS | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JFK → CPH | economy | $781 | $583 | SAS by $198 |
| JFK → MAD | economy | $706 | $609 | SAS by $97 |
| ORD → ARN | economy | $745 | $625 | SAS by $120 |
| BOS → LHR | economy | $823 | $636 | SAS by $187 |
| JFK → KEF | economy | $700 | $640 | SAS by $60 |
| JFK → LHR | economy | $796 | $664 | SAS by $132 |
| ORD → DUB | economy | $1190 | $685 | SAS by $505 |
| JFK → MXP | economy | $871 | $686 | SAS by $185 |
| LAX → MXP | economy | $908 | $686 | SAS by $222 |
| BOS → MLA | economy | $949 | $713 | SAS by $236 |
| LAX → ARN | economy | $802 | $713 | SAS by $89 |
| ORD → BUD | economy | $1049 | $718 | SAS by $331 |
| JFK → PRG | economy | $755 | $721 | SAS by $34 |
| JFK → EDI | economy | $958 | $723 | SAS by $235 |
| ORD → MAD | economy | $754 | $723 | SAS by $31 |
| ORD → CDG | economy | $1210 | $730 | SAS by $480 |
| JFK → MAN | economy | $896 | $732 | SAS by $164 |
| LAX → CDG | economy | $826 | $738 | SAS by $88 |
| LAX → PRG | economy | $831 | $742 | SAS by $89 |
| JFK → OSL | economy | $759 | $748 | SAS by $11 |
| LAX → DUB | economy | $841 | $750 | SAS by $91 |
| BOS → MXP | economy | $1066 | $760 | SAS by $306 |
| BOS → ATH | economy | $836 | $769 | SAS by $67 |
| ORD → BCN | economy | $774 | $778 | British Airways by $4 |
| JFK → HAM | economy | $1139 | $780 | SAS by $359 |
| ORD → LHR | economy | $1707 | $787 | SAS by $920 |
| ORD → ATH | economy | $913 | $795 | SAS by $118 |
| LAX → LHR | economy | $1331 | $813 | SAS by $518 |
| ORD → PRG | economy | $983 | $818 | SAS by $165 |
| LAX → AMS | economy | $831 | $901 | British Airways by $70 |
| BOS → MAN | economy | $1266 | $836 | SAS by $430 |
| JFK → MLA | economy | $934 | $837 | SAS by $97 |
| LAX → LIS | economy | $927 | $848 | SAS by $79 |
| LAX → CPH | economy | $858 | $863 | British Airways by $5 |
| LAX → HAM | economy | $1103 | $861 | SAS by $242 |
| ORD → EDI | economy | $1056 | $865 | SAS by $191 |
| LAX → FCO | economy | $980 | $879 | SAS by $101 |
| ORD → MAN | economy | $1217 | $893 | SAS by $324 |
| LAX → EDI | economy | $988 | $902 | SAS by $86 |
| LAX → MAN | economy | $930 | $911 | SAS by $19 |
| LAX → MUC | economy | $1002 | $931 | SAS by $71 |
What happens if the aircraft swaps
Both carriers are paying-the-same-fare-either-way propositions on some frames. The worst product each one flies:
British Airways
787-8 / some 787-9 (old Club World)
- Seat
- 5/10
- IFE
- 8/10
- Lounge & bags
- 10/10
- Value
- 5/10
- Product score
- 7/10
SAS
A330-300 / A350-900
- Seat
- 8/10
- IFE
- 8/10
- Lounge & bags
- 10/10
- Value
- 9/10
- Product score
- 8.8/10
British Airways: The outgoing yin-yang cabin: eight seats abreast, half of them rear-facing, and window seats requiring a climb over a stranger. A materially worse product at the same fare.
SAS: Thompson Vantage XL in a staggered 1-2-1 on both widebodies, so the product does not change with the frame.
Common questions
- Is British Airways or SAS better to Europe?
- SAS scores 8.8/10 against British Airways at 8.3/10 on seat, screens, lounge and fare. On the four dimensions we can verify, British Airways wins 1 and SAS wins 1. Service and food are not scored here because they cannot be read off a spec sheet.
- Which is cheaper, British Airways or SAS?
- On the 41 routes where both were priced for the same week (November 8–14, 2026), British Airways was cheaper on 3 and SAS on 38. Every pair of fares is the same departure and return date in the same cabin, so the difference is the airline rather than the dates or the cabin.
- Does the aircraft change the answer?
- Yes. British Airways scores 10/10 on the A350-1000 / 787-10 / 777 (Club Suite) and 5/10 on the 787-8 / some 787-9 (old Club World). Check the equipment on your date before deciding.
- Has Jon flown either of these?
- Neither, so this page is product facts and fares only. Any review we publish of either will be labeled Researched until that changes.
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