Blue1

On this not exactly Blue1 cheap flight (where you don't expect much) the service was terrible. We had two very small children with us and we didn't get anything for them (no greeting, no good seats, no extra-treatment) like we got at other airlines of the same price range and although it was a lunchtime flight (12-15pm) there was nothing to eat offered - only tea, coffee and water. Not even juice for the kids! And once the service started the stewardess skipped our row (the one with the 2 babies!) and continued the service further down and the other stewardess parked her cart right in front of our row for about 5-10 minutes (I'm not exaggerating) serving other guests, collecting something here and there while my kids were crying because they saw the water in front of their eyes and were thirsty. After waiting forever I asked the stewardess behind me whether I could please get some water, she told me to talk to her colleague. When I finally catch her attention, was so grumpy that I had complained that she looked like she wanted to pour the drinks on my lap. The worst service I have experienced.

HEL-OSL. Check-in was rude and dismissive but otherwise the flight had very nice crew and the plane was spotless clean as well. BOB meal is cheaper on Blue1 than on SAS due to the currency and I found the quality to be rather reasonable as well. On-time departure and arrival in Oslo. Ticket price was great as usual.

HEL-BLQ-HEL. Check-in in Helsinki was awful. We already had the boarding passes printed but before proceeding to baggage drop we had to queue at the self service check-in kiosk for the baggage tags. So why do they have check-in online in first place? The queue for the baggage drop starts right next to the check-in kiosks the departure hall is very small and people were standing between the two queues. As a result many people ended up queuing in the wrong line and no-one from Blue1 did even notice what was going on. So a ten minutes operation lasted almost half an hour. On the other hand the plane was a new and shiny B717. Light coloured leather seats plenty of legroom compared to other regional airlines and friendly FA made the flight pleasant despite the clumsy start.

HEL-ARN a very full flight operated by Golden Air for Blue1 (frequent airplane substitution). Economy Extra is at the back at the plane upon boarding. Seat comfort and space is poor even for Economy. I enjoyed the cheerful service and the nice fresh meal. Flight departed and arrived with a slight delay. This is nevertheless about the level of a competitor's regular Economy Class fare but priced a bit higher; the level of space especially is totally unacceptable for anything above LCC Economy.

BLQ-HEL which they fly 2 weekly during the summer. A bit of a random route but the flight was full due to very cheap fares. I got in on an OW for $107 incl. all taxes. Flight departed about 35 minutes late and a little time was made up en route. Plane was spotless-clean with Blue1's new seats. Service was generally OK but everything is now for-purchase including soft drinks! Not sure how they can call themselves a full-service airline like that. Bologna is a disaster of an airport with the construction and there was only one agent for check-in for the entire flight and nothing for *G. Well for the price this can slide.

Flew Stockholm to Helsinki. Booked a business class flight through Eurobonus miles to find that there is in fact no business class and was in fact in premium economy. The difference between this and economy on the 40 minute hop comprises a glass of wine or a beer. All pretty disappointing. The plane was on time I guess.

ARN-HEL on the standard B717. Clean and airy cabin legroom fine for such a short hop. Coffee/tea served for free. Courteous FA's gave out a stuffed toy for the baby in our party and took extra care explaining how the infant's seatbelt worked. Bags were on the belt in minutes at HEL.

HEL-MUC on tired MD 87. Took the Internet upgrade opportunity for 4900€ to "Premium Economy". Worth it on ground service (Quick check-in Fast Track at Security) as Economy Pax had a long queue for both. The SAS Lounge in Helsinki very basic. Cabin crew friendly nice breakfast. However no English newspapers available and no comments at all to the flight from the cockpit! The price for the upgrade is ok as I had 2 rows for me alone - in contrary to the Economy cabin which was 95% full. Otherwise you are flying Low Cost with a high economy fare.

Short trip Arlanda to Helsinki. Very nice people working on board. Cold but nice meal nice experience.

HEL-CPH-HEL. HEL-CPH on Avro RJ85 on-time both ways. Clean aircraft crew and service are nothing special but seats comfortable and spacious in the 3x2 configuration. CPH-HEL on B71 food for purchase in both directions drinks free. In general this is competitive to SAS on the same sector but definitely a low-cost feel without a particularly low-cost price.