Sunclass Airlines - a Nordic Charter Carrier
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We reviewed Sunclass Airlines on the routes from Helsinki to Madeira and Cape Verde. Subclass Airlines is a small charter airline that mainly transports Nordic travellers to destinations in Southern Europe and North Africa and some long-haul destinations. Please read our review to learn about this airline with four stars.
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Sunclass Airlines
Sunclass Airlines is Danish charter airline with its headquarter in Copenhagen. Originally founded in 1994, Sunclass Airlines has changed its name thrice. The airline was formerly known as Premiair A/S, MyTravel Airways and Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia before it was officially renamed as Sunclass Airlines in 2019.
Sunclass Airlines is a holiday carrier taking travellers from Nordic cities to holiday destinations, mainly in Southern Europe and North Africa, as well as some long-haul destinations. The airline is affiliated with nordic tour operators Swedish Ving and Finnish Tjäreborg which take tourists to leisure destinations.
Fleet
Currently, the airline has only nine narrow-body aircraft and four wide-bodies, but more modern aircraft have been ordered. The short-haul destinations are operated with Airbus A321-200. The capacity is 212 passengers. Long-haul destinations are flown with the Airbus A330 series, which can carry over 300 passengers onboard.
Route Network
Sunclass Airlines has destinations in Southern Europe, Northern Africa and Far-East Asia. The airline has hubs in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. In Helsinki, the airline has no hub even though it operates different routes from the Finnish capital.
Sunclass Airlines does not sell tickets on their website, but all flight tickets are being sold by tour operators, for example, by Ving. Usually, flights are part of a holiday package, but buying flights is possible only. The price level is moderate, but last-minute deals can be surprisingly low.
Travelling on Sunclass Airways
Travel Classes
Sunclass Airlines has two travel classes: Economy and Plus.
Economy class ticket includes a normal seat in the middle or rear of the plane. The entertainment system can be used free of charge with a traveller's mobile device. On A330 aircraft, there is also a personal screen attached to the seat. No extras are included free of charge.
Plus class ticket includes a seat in the front of the plane, free luggage allowance for a holiday package and a free meal. On Airbus A330 aircraft, the seat is also more spacious, and there is a personal entertainment system with headphones. If you have booked just a flight, there is no free hold luggage allowance.
On long-haul flights, meals are always included.
Luggage Rules
In Economy class, taking 6 kg of luggage into the cabin is only allowed. Luggage in the hold is an affordable extra service. The weight allowance is only 14 kg, and the traveller must pay a higher price for heavier luggage.
In Plus class, it is allowed to take 6 kg into the cabin and 20 kg to the hold free of extra charges. It is possible to combine weight allowance among travellers whose tickets are in the same booking.
Meals
Sunclass Airlines does not offer meals free of charge in Economy class on short-haul flights. A meal can be preordered, or snacks can be bought on board. In Plus class, a meal without drinks is included in the ticket price.
Sunclass Airlines has many kinds of menus that can be preordered. Sunclass menu is affordable, including a warm meal, dessert and coffee. No drinks are included. Premium menus also include a drink.
Entertainment
Short-Haul aircraft have an entertainment system with a traveller's mobile phone. You must connect to the onboard Wi-Fi and access the entertainment system with a web browser. The system includes movies, TV series, music and games. Using the entertainment system is free of charge. There is no internet connection available, not even a paid one.
Long-haul aircraft have a similar system, but personal screens are also attached to the seats.
Our Sunclass Experiences
In February 2022, we flew from Helsinki to Madeira with Sunclass Airlines. The flight was part of a tour package bought from Tjäreborg. The introductory price included only the flight, and we had to pay more for all extra services like check-in luggage and preordered meals while drinks were ordered and paid inflight.
During our 66-hour flights, there was a cart sale two times and a lottery ticket sale. The meals were distributed after the first cart sale.
The flights were on time. Sunclass Airlines lost all passengers who preordered tax-free shopping on the outbound flight. The safety card was missing from the seat pocket on the inbound flight.
It was possible to do the online check-in 24 hours before the flight. The process was simple, and the seats were allocated automatically. Only the luggage drop was done at the airport. Staff also printed copies of the boarding passes automatically during the luggage drop.
Trip to Cape Verde
In December 2022, we made a self-arranged trip to Cape Verde from Helsinki via Las Palmas, Spain, with flights from Sunclass Airlines. Because the flight duration was long, the aircraft made technical stops at Gran Canary primarily to refuel. Also, the crew was replaced there.
Our recent Cape Verde flight experience with Sunclass Airlines was even better than our previous Madeira trip. The food had the same price, but the meal was more versatile. On the second leg of the flight, a snack was served, but that did not increase the price. Also, the customer service was friendly on these flights.
Rating
Aircraft
We have flown with Airbus A321-200 of Sunclass Aiways. The aircraft were moderately new, and the cabins appeared clean, in good condition and decorated with neutral colours. The temperature inside was perfect for the entire duration of the flights.
Seat
The seats have not been as tight as expected. There has been enough space even for a tall person. The pitch between the rows is 30 inches, more than many low-cost airlines. Even though the seats are still not spacious, they are good enough for a short flight in Economy class. People who prefer having more legroom can purchase a seat with extra space.
Seats are allocated automatically during the online check-in. They cannot be changed. Pre-purchasing a seat is the only way to secure your preferred seat.
Lavatories
A321 aircraft have three lavatories in the plane's rear for economy passengers and a lavatory in front exclusively for Plus passengers' usage. During our flights, we had no issues to complain about, as there was a constant supply of hygiene products like hand soap, toilet paper and towels.
On our flight to Cape Verde, one lavatory was out of order.
Staff
Flight attendants have behaved in a friendly way and handled all their tasks well on our flights. Some of them spoke Finnish, and the rest spoke at least English. Most likely, the staff have been from Nordic countries.
Distributing the preordered meals has been a little inefficient. The meals have not been distributed row by row but in quite a random order from an outsider's view. That takes a lot of time and looks confusing.
Some of the pilots have spoken Finnish and some English. On our flights, they gave an intermittent announcement about the progress of the flights.
Food and Drinks
Before the meals, drinks have been sold from a cart. The basic Sunclass Menu does not include drinks in economy class, but drinks are included in premium meals for Plus class passengers. The usual drink selections are soft drinks, water, juice, and alcoholic drinks. The prices have been moderate.
Our preordered Sunclass Meals have been surprisingly tasty. We were served beef patties with chocolate mousse on the outbound flight to Madeira. On the flight back, we had chicken risotto with strawberry mousse. The meals could have included bigger portions.
Entertainment
The aircraft had flight information screens installed above the seats in every 4th row. They have shown only real-time flight information with a map and technical data. The entertainment system could have been availed using one's mobile phone.
To use the entertainment system, a user needs to connect to the aircraft's Wi-Fi. Logging into the service works smoothly, making connecting to the system easy. The entertainment system gave options to listen to music, watch movies and TV series and check your flight information free of charge. Also, a few games and Sunclass information pages are available; for example, travel-related information about the city destinations of Sunclass Airlines can be watched in low-definition videos.
Overall Experience
We rate Sunclass Airlines as a 4-star charter airline. Almost everything has been smooth, except the preordered sales service on the Madeira flight, which disappointed most passengers when tax-free items failed to be delivered due to logistical problems, as they claim. Otherwise, all steps of the flights from check-in to landing have worked well. There is room to improve the existing service, but the airline is already a good choice for holidaymakers. Everything went smoothly for our latest return flights with the airline from Helsinki to Cape Verde. With the improvement from our previous flights, they truly deserved to be Europe's best airline in 2022. The airline garnered the award Best Airlines Europe in April 2022 besting the other nominees including Air France, British Airways, Finnair, KLM, Lufthansa, SAS, Swiss, TUI Fly Nordic and Turkish Airlines.
Common Questions
- Where is Sunclass Airlines from?
- The headquarters of the airline is in Copenhagen
- Where can I buy tickets for Sunclass Airlines?
- The flight tickets are being sold only by tour operators
- Does Sunclass Airlines provide tasty meals?
- Yes, they do. But the meals are not free in Economy class. They need to be ordered separately.
- Where does Sunclass Airlines fly to?
- The airline flies to holiday destinations in southern Europe, Africa and Asia.
- What is the fleet of Sunclass Airlines like?
- The airline has Airbus A321 and A330 aircraft.
- Is there entertainment onboard Sunclass Airlines?
- Yes, there is. You can connect to the entertainment system with your mobile phone using Wi-Fi.
- Are the seats onboard Sunclass Airlines spacious?
- They are not, but they are also not too tight. It is possible to reserve a more spacious seat with extra fees.
Bottom Line
Our Sunclass experiences have been better than we had expected. The flights departed on time, the service was good, and we had tasty meals. The inflight entertainment systems have worked well. The airline follows a low-cost model, so you need to pay separately for every extra.
The meals were satisfying. However, the order of serving the meals could have been more organized. Despite this minor issue, the overall experience with Sunclass Airlines has been excellent.
Have you flown with Sunclass Airlines? Tell us about your experience by commenting below!
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