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before having to show my passport . For a while , I thought I had somehow bypassed customs , but it eventually all made sense . I was greeted at Passport Control by a smiling young woman who happily welcomed me to Denmark .
RETURNING
After a whirlwind 24 hours in Copenhagen , I boarded my return flight at 01:40 local time . Due to headwinds , this flight would take close to 10 hours , arriving in Atlanta around 05:00 local .
This return flight was a near repeat of the outbound experience , although totally in daytime . Departing out of CPH , it was fascinating to see lines of hundreds of wind turbines out at sea ( we still don ’ t have any in the US ), and , later on , we flew over southern Norway , where I could see the coastline and fjords .
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This time , I chose the chicken entrée ( which was very good ) and declined the coffee . And as before , the food , service , and ride were top-notch . Rather than breakfast , we were offered a light meal of pasta salad , salmon and kale , with a roll and cheese and crackers . Later , we had the option of choosing a snack of a veggie wrap or packs of nuts and crackers .
SAS Plus passengers are wellfed on these flights .
One thing I noticed , which I thought was fantastic , was that one of the cabin crew was wearing hearing aids . As someone who is hearing-impaired , I saw this as a wonderful example of inclusivity . I asked her about it briefly as we deplaned . “ I can hear everything ,” she said . “ It ’ s fantastic .” A big thumbs up to SAS for this .
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BACK IN ATL
In ATL , it ’ s a long walk from the gate to customs . And after a 15-minute wait in line , I was met at Passport Control by a scowling vest-wearing police officer who grudgingly nodded me on after asking a few rudimentary questions . The experience was quite different from the one I had had in Denmark .
As an Atlantan , I was embarrassed . Is this how we welcome travelers to our city ?
But it was an excellent round trip on SAS ’ s part . With the level of service and comfort achieved on this route , it seems likely that all parties involved , the airline , the airport , and the two cities will move toward their goals of mutual cooperation , business success , and enjoyable tourism .
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15 A second SAS Plus meal of pasta salad , salmon , kale , with a roll and cheese and cracker . |