Finnair

I've been negligent in writing this review. I reviewed Finnair about three months ago and gave them a terrible rating which was true of my experience at that time. This flight was already booked otherwise there was no way I'd have flown them again which was very fortunate for me. The equipment was their new airbus and made all the difference. This was an excellent experience and compares with prior ones that I've had with Finnair. I'm happy to report that they deserve their 4 star rating. In my prior review I would not have given them a three. I flew Bangkok to Helsinki and then on to Madrid return in business class. I would recommend them highly and especially so with their excellent pricing. The seat was a little tight. I found it somewhat difficult to to get up for breaks. Definitely tight. I'm 5'10 and of below average weight. Other that that a very great experience I'm happy to report.

We recently flew from London through Beijing and back. Being our first time on the airline we did not really know what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised. First it is important to note that Finnair like many other airlines has quite back on the "frills" involved with their service. So if you are expecting something much more fancy you will be disappointed. But for us the flight went just fine. Very punctual with all parts of the trip and very friendly staff at all ends. The one thing we were disappointed with is that once you pay for your flight then you have to go in and pay additional for any seat you select not just upgrade to an aisle seat. We were charged an extra fee for even selecting a middle seat. Really wish that these charges would be included upfront.

I flew SIN-HEL on 23 November returning on 9 December. I transferred from a Silk Air flight at Changi. The person at the transfer desk at Changi came across rather terse but not unfriendly. Flights departed on time both ways. On the return journey baggage drop at Helsinki was smooth no queuing at all. Cabin crew couldn't have been more efficient and pleasant. I had vegetarian meals which were surprisingly tasty. Seat comfort was as good as you get on long-haul flights. The in-flight movie selection appeared rather limited so I opted for reading instead. Overall very pleased with the flights and the service.

Heathrow Helsinki and Bangkok out 7/11/14 and return 18/11/14. Online check in and bag drop at LHR nice and easy. CP lounge in T3 which was ok mid morning and not too far from gate. On to plane and welcomed by friendly FAs. Enjoyable light meal and fair selection of wines. Arrived in Helsinki on time and short stopover in lounge before long haul to BKK. Early evening into overnight flight so straight to sleep after meal. Didn't use the entertainment system at all. Arrived on time in BKK and used Priority pass through customs but in all honesty the airport was fairly quiet that time of the morning. return from BKK mid morning departure. CP lounge in Zone G was a bit average really. Small selection of nibbles and coffee. Spirits and beer yes but no fizz for my juice. Flight left 25 mins late and we only had 45 minutes in Helsinki anyway so it was going to be tight to make our connection. during the daytime flight watched a couple of films and listened to a small selection of music slept a little and generally felt comfortable and relaxed throughout. Food was good. Purser spoke to all passengers with onward connections and we were diverted to the short connections security check and whizzed through and on to our plane to LHR in under 15 minutes. All very efficient. Bussed to the LHR flight which pushed away on time and landed about 5 minutes late. Our bags were first to arrive on the carousel back in T3 and we went from plane to our car in under 30 minutes! This was my first experience of flying business on a long haul and we were totally satisfied with the product supplied by Finnair. All staff were friendly courteous and carried out their duties efficiently.

Recently flew GVA-HEL-NRT return in business class. Was very impressed. The short-haul flights are a bit of a joke in business class as you have the same seats as economy the only difference being that a full meal is served. The long-haul flights were excellent the seats are comfortable particularly if you can grab one of the solo seats. Meals were good and snacks served half-way through the flight. Connecting in HEL is great. It's a small airport. On my return trip we had a 50 minute connection in HEL and I was a little concerned but amazingly 10 minutes after doors open on the long-haul flight I was through security passport control and waiting at the gate for the short-haul! On the way out it was snowing lightly and there was a light dusting of wet snow on the ground enough to bring airports like LHR to a grinding halt. At HEL it was business as usual. On the HEL-NRT flight they closed the aircraft doors about 10 minutes in advance of scheduled departure and within those 10 minutes de-iced the plane so that we pushed back bang on time.

Quite shocked at sudden fall in service! I flew LHR to HEL last week and all was fine. We were served a sandwich soft drinks coffee and tea plus the lovely touch of some chocolate prior to landing. 4 days later I flew back and there was no free food no free soft drinks. Only tea coffee still water (no sparkling!) and inexplicably only blueberry juice! There was heavy sell of food from the selection they have on the price list. Even that little piece of chocolate is now gone! It is all fine and well to charge for food but this completion of transformation of this national airline is not reflected in their fares going down. Finnair is now on par with the declined SAS albeit SAS is even one step down from Finnair as you don't even get a glass of water for free. Sad state of affairs. And it happened almost overnight!

MAD-HEL-RIX return economy. Flight to/from Madrid to Helsinki on a A321 seat pitch ok but a bit cramped for a 4hr flight. Check in ok on all sectors no line. Boarding by groups. Nice FA on all legs. Food for purchase always only free water provided. Food prices ok food choice nice. Helsinki transfer is easy but between 4 to 6pm the airport is very crowded making it difficult to fine a nice place to wait. Even the business lounge was very busy. Made my connection without any problem both ways even with only 40 min connection time on my way to Riga.

HEL-PEK / XIY-HEL Leisure flight. Connected at Helsinki Airport. Very easy airport to connect at and all flights were on time. Seats were comfortable (XIY-HEL flight was 1/2 full so me and my partner had 4 seats between the two of us). Food was good service very good. The inflight entertainment is okay but not great. Definitely one of the better European flagship carriers.

BNE-SIN-HEL-BER and return in Y. BNE-SIN/SIN-BNE legs were code-shared Qantas flights. SIN-HEL/HEL-SIN operated by Finnair using "vintage" A340-300s which have the advantage of being relatively quiet. Flight to HEL used plane which had a newer cabin good seats with an OK IFE system (good screens but relatively small selection of content). Return flight to SIN on old plane uncomfortable seat cushions and tiny IFE monitors - but clean. I understand that Finnair will retire some of its A340s soon with the introduction of the A350 next year. This should greatly benefit their cabin product even in Y. Flights were mostly punctual and without incidents. Crew are professional and friendly. Meals were below the standards of most Asian and Middle-East carriers but edible. At the time of booking Finnair was the cheapest option. That being said it was good value for money carriers like Emirates or Singapore Airlines were both substantially more expensive. Stopover in HEL was thankfully short as it is an airport with very few options to spend time in.

VIE-HEL on Oct 9 and return HEL-VIE on Oct 12 both legs in Economy. VIE-HEL on an A320 and HEL-VIE on an Embraer 190 both flights on time. Service on the VIE-HEL was lacklustre and it took the FA's almost an hour to get the service started. Sandwich (tuna or turkey and cheese) was actually quite large for airline standards and tasty one round of drinks served beer and wine for purchase only. After collecting the trash FA's went pretty much again into hiding mode. The aircraft on the return flight was changed from an Airbus to a smaller Embraer 190 “ operated by Flybe. Information was given only during check-in. Not sure what 'operated by Flybe'” means in practical terms but it was a Finnair plane with a Flybe sticker beside the aircraft door with Finnair service and Finnish flight crew. Probably just a move to bring salary costs down. I find Embraers to be very comfortable planes and flight crew was attentive on the flight back to VIE. Catering was a substantial green and noodle salad again tasty. Web check-in was smooth although during the check-in process for the return flight we were asked if we would volunteer to give up our seats as the flight has obviously been overbooked. But no further information was given regarding alternative flights and compensation so we obviously denied. Boarding in HEL was a bit chaotic and delayed with no information given. However staff managed to board the plane very fast so flight was actually on-time. AY uses a shared lounge in VIE which is spacious with a decent drink and hot food selection. However the snacks offered are of extremely poor quality. Schengen AY lounge in HEL has greatly improved with the renovations almost finished. Now that the lounge is substantially larger it has still been well visited but was not over crowded. Food and drink selection has improved as well and was quite good. All in all excellent product by AY but according to their in-flight magazine the free food and drink service will be replaced by a 'to purchase' product on European flights as of November.