Finnair

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.

Fly often HEL-LED-HEL. Flights are operated by Flybe. Extremely expensive tickets no service. When Finnair operated the leg they gave juice or water for free. Nothing now. You just buy a ticket from A to B. Huge potential in LED but sometimes flights are empty.

We were initially a little apprehensive about booking with Finnair but the friendliness of the cabin staff convinced us it would be ok. The Business Class seat were quite comfortable and I slept soundly most of the flight. Food was good and appropriate for a late night flight from Singapore to Helsinki. Our return flight was Helsinki to HK and was equally good. I would have no hesitation in choosing this airline again.

AY081 Y 30 Sep HEL to SIN. Late evening departure got on board and wow that seat looks well used - 23 D and E. Glad we got seats so close to the front of the Y Cabin seats were old well used and most uncomfortable - the aircraft is old but I do understand it being replaced soon. I'm certain once the newer aircraft come on line the comments will be better for this particular route. Inflight service from the crew was good to very good food quality was OK for Y Class staff themselves were friendly and we got from A to B without incident and on time. Paid the extra to get access to the Finnair Lounge (EUR48.00 per person) but found it well worth it for the 5 hour transfer time that we had. First time on AY in Y Class Rating 6/10 they will get better I'm sure with the newer long haul aircraft arriving soon.

AY842 J 28 Sep AMS to HEL Biz cabin was full service attentive and friendly. Food and drinks as expected for a 2.5 hour flight. Not that keen on the Y seating with centre seat kept free for a hugely higher airfare but a little better inflight service. Aircraft A320 was clean. Lounge access at Schiphol Menzies lounge granted but limited food and beverage choices - something can be learned from some other airlines on this one - needs improvement.

Flew HKG-HEL-LHR and return. All flights were pretty good. Despite some of the complaints on this page I found the food to be excellent and much better and tastier than the Qantas leg SYD-HKG. My only real complaint is the design of the new business class seats. In my view spaciousness between seats has been sacrificed on the altar of float beds. A flat bed is not the be all and end all in my view - certainly not when you cannot move your feet. The leg room when fully reclined for one of the single seats is so small you have to have your feet at a perfect 90 degrees to your legs with no more than the width of a shoe box at the foot end. The double seats are the converse - they have better leg room but not so wide for the body and the seat next to the window is very claustrophobic. Despite this Finnair presents excellent value for money. And on time performance is second to none.

LHR/HEL/BKK- Business. Very average. Seating poor food poor plane old. Entertainment was dreadful. When I complained they gave me a tablet which had even less on it! Only good thing is very generous with drinks and one very helpful female attendant. Male ones just seemed like they didn't want to be there. I ended up on this as using up BA air miles. There is a reason it's a cheap business class fare and that is because in comparison to most business class cabins today this is not business class. Message is simple. If you can afford to fly business class don't spend your money on Finnair!

I travelled from Singapore to Helsinki Helsinki to Copenhagen from Munich to Helsinki and from Helsinki to Tokyo. What I like is that everything they do is with measure no pressure relaxing staff and excellent pilots. Friendly and respectful staff.

Amsterdam to Singapore via Helsinki. Approached this flight with some trepidation after reading a lot of negative reviews on this product. Well it's definitely not Emirates but it also was not a bad experience for me. The connecting flight from Amsterdam was fine. A tiny curtained off Business section with economy seating with middle seats left vacant. A pleasant dinner good Champagne and on time. From Helsinki to Singapore was one of the old A340s (OH-LQA in this case). First impressions were favourable with the cabin being spacious and clean. We had pre flight drinks and a snack and left on time. Once seated I tried the seat out and it's more of a recliner but seemed ok. Menus drinks and dinner all happened smoothly and quickly. I thoroughly enjoyed my supper. It's a bit of a no frills offering but enjoyable and had nice wines also. IFE is poor. The screens are tiny and the offering is limited and old. Didn't really matter as I wanted to sleep as much as possible and despite the seat being at quite an angle I managed a few good hours. Breakfast was simple but tasty. So overall the experience was a good one - on time fed and slept well. If you want the deluxe business experience it's not this but as a lower priced business option that keeps me out of economy it does the job admirably.