Blue1

Premium cabin on new 717s provides access to seating in the front of the aircraft and a meal service. Value for money is okay - the fare and upgrade charge were significantly lower than for other full service airlines. If you are a Star Gold customer this is simply not worth it as you already have access to the SAS lounges. LHR-HEL breakfast was a plastic box no refinements and free water in addition to free tea/coffee provided in Economy. A very basic meal with a small portion of hot food. HEL-LHR was better with a hot meal and courteous crew keen to refill drinks. Other Star members on similar flight lengths (Turkish Aegean TAP) do a much better job. This is basic flying at the low cost end of the alliance. I have flown SAS Business/Economy Extra in the past and found service to be better the overwhelming impression is of plastic reduced cost and service stripped down to the bare minimum. The 717 is configured for 115 seats in 2x3 and not 120 seats as some have commented; there is no seatmap available anywhere. Star Gold customers are given preferential seating.

LHR-HEL-LHR on MD90. Good friendly service each way. Flight out I was expecting to pay for food but had free breakfast tea/coffee ham roll and some chocolates. Free top ups of tea and water offered later in the flight. Seats with good pitch and comfortable. On way back had to pay for food but expected.

Helsinki - London. Boarding in HEL very disorganised with our flight boarding and another arriving in the same tiny area at gate 11/12. With nearly 150 pax waiting to board at about 5 pax a minute being checked (there was just one very flustered woman checked boarding cards/visas etc) so boarding took a while. MD90 was old but ok to fly. Exit rows 24A/F have 64 inch seat pitch but are slightly narrower than normal seats. Free tea/coffee/water. Staff friendly. GBP 50 each way so great value.

Brussels-Helsinki-Brussels. Brussels-Helsinki (2000) was cancelled. Rescheduled on Brussels- Copenhagen-Helsinki with SAS. When we arrivied at Copenhagen the flight from Copenhagen to Helsinki was cancelled. We had to stay overnight. Helsinki to Brussels flight cancelled. Recheduled on Helsinki-Copenhagen-Brussels. Excuse illness pilot. I had the feeling they just cancelled the flight due to low number of passengers.

Oslo-Helsinki economy. Flight landed a few minutes ahead of schedule. Friendly and helpful cabin attendants. Coffee tea or water included in the fare. Bought a delicious sandwich for EUR 4.50. Comfortable flight on my favorite type of aircraft - the quiet but rare MD90. My first flight on Blue1 but hopefully not the last.

HEL-ARN and back. Both legs were RJ85's but first plane was configured 3-3 and the second 3-2. I suspect they are changing to 3-3 to pack in more seats which means I will never fly with them again. 3-3 seat config was terrible (and this was row 2 in economy extra). Seats incredibly narrow and pitch very tight. Return flight in 3-2 config was much nicer. With care you can pick the 3-2 config flights over the 3-3 flights but I wonder when will all the RJ85's be 3-3. To the terrible seats the attendants forgot to serve drinks with the meal to the first two rows on the way out I heard cans being opened behind me but nothing for us in the first two rows When they came around with just tea and coffee after the meal they could not understand why I asked "when are you serving fruit juices and other drinks".

CPH-HEL in economy class. I have always been a Blue1 fan but after this trip I am not so sure anymore. The flights departed and arrived on time which is probably what you can expect from an airline these days. I think what really bothered me is that it was so uncomfortable on both flights (AVRO-85). Although I have flown CPH-HEL on Blue 1 quite a few times I cannot remember that I have ever been on a plane with a tighter seat pitch than these two flights. It might be that there has been a change in aircraft! In addition I think that the flights were expensive given that I got the lowest possible rate (about 250 EUR for a return ticket all inclusive) and the service provided. Next time it will be Finnair!

Have flown many times with Blue1 and cabin crew very helpful and friendly. The planes are good standard with good leg room. In addition the check-in routines are fast and efficient no matter how you do it.

LHR-HEL return. Aircraft an ex SAS MD90. Aircraft and cabin interior was clean and tidy although a little dated seat pitch was good. Flight attendants friendly and information from the flight crew was good. Only tea coffee is free on board - food has to be purchased. Flight to HEL was on time return to LHR was one hour late. Overall no major complaints and good value for money. Usual good Scandinavian hospitality.

HEL-RVN-HEL MD-90. The plane was new clean and with large seats. The crew was very professional and polite. Either in Helsinki and Rovaniemi we arrived ahead of scheduled. I recommend this airline even if sometimes the fares are not really low-cost.