Finnair

Tel Aviv to London via Helsinki. Flight from Tel Aviv departed at 1.20am and arrived in Helsinki at 6am but they kept the lights on for the entire 4.5 hour flight. Bizarre and absolutely ridiculous. There were only 8 or 9 blankets on board and I think I got the only pillow by asking about them during boarding. The food on this leg was nice and the staff okay. From Helsinki to London the staff were friendly and active but the food was very plain. A tiny bun with cheese. Economy passengers have to pay 3 euros for a newspaper which is daylight robbery. Transferring in Helsinki was easy.

MUC-PEK and Shanghai (PVG) - VIE. Flight to PEK was ok new Airbus A330 with average seat comfort poor food. Check-in in Shanghai was complicated by ground staff. We were a family of 4 and had 4 pieces with only 65 kg of luggage. However we had to re-pack that it was a small but long box with sharp items which are not allowed for carry-on luggage. In the end we could re-pack with help (and money) of luggage packers at the airport which took us nearly 1 hour. In addition to this unfriendly treatment during check-in the flight from PVG to Helsinki was also very unpleasant. The aircraft was an old A340-300 with old IFE and very small screens. The worst was the food: 1st course: meat balls with noodles - consistency was terrible taste horrible. Before landing in Helsinki a "Lasagne" was served which was also not edible. Most people just returned the food - as we did! The worst food we have ever had! In the end you get similar prices with much better airlines!

BKK-HEL. Despite booking my ticket about 12 hours before departure the journey was remarkably good value. The lounge Finnair uses at Bangkok is very poor a limited selection of bad food and uncomfortable chairs. However after this the experience was far better. The plane departed promptly and we therefore arrived early in Helsinki. Seat was looking a bit tired but I didn't find it uncomfortable. TV controls lights etc. all seemed to work fine and I found the entertainment selection very good. Food was edible though not outstanding. That said there was certainly a lot of it. However what really stood out for me though was the cabin crew. I found them cheerful helpful and attentive far more so than on the equivalent British Airways flight I had taken the week before. For that reason in particular I'd fly them again.

AY22 - Delhi to Cantaa (Helsinki) - July 24. AY21 - Vantaa to Delhi - August 11. Not happy with our experience. On both legs of the trip we were given seats at the extreme rear of the plane right next to the washrooms. Non vegetarian food was unavailable when the food trolley reached us both for the onward and return journey and the staff seemed very nonchalant about it. Our request for extra bread/extra salad was also not entertained. This was while we saw some other passengers walking with full extra meals from the pantry! The flight was delayed by two hours on the return trip!

HEL-CKG in business class. The VOD system had too be reset half-a-dozen times before it worked (3 hours). Unfortunately the same system controls the power to the seat so for 1/3 of the flight (3 hours) I could not alter my seat position. When it eventually started working I discovered the seat was one of the old angled designs which was dreadfully uncomfortable to sleep on. The movie selection on the VOD system when it eventually worked was pretty poor - most of the movies were years old "classics" and I'd seen them all before. There was no power at the seat for my laptop for the entire flight. The food was mediocre - they seem to fous on quantity over quality there was little choice (a choice of three rice dishes) the food arrived still in its foil. The worst thing about this trip was the worst seat I have ever tried to sleep on (even worse than the concrete Lufthansa J-class seats) combined with poorly timed flights (departs afternoon lands 11pm UK time / 7am China time). When combined it seemed to conspire at maximising jet lag and tiredness.

Helsinki-Hong Kong. Husband and wife traveling together. Despite request made at time of booking for window/aisle initial seating was 20 rows apart changed to middle row aisle/inside seats. Check-in 4 hours before flight. No preference for OneWorld members. Advised preference was for transferring Pax from other European flights flight was full nothing could be done. Subsequent flight was most uncomfortable ever experienced. Economy exceedingly tight reclining chair in front took up all space. Extremely difficult to get out of seat. Video screen minuscule earphones next to useless AV choice pathetic "food" and service abysmal. A great sense of relief at end of flight. Never again.

LHR-HEL Airbus 320 European Business Class flight. First leg of a longer trip. However I was pleasantly surprised. Cabin was clean and fairly comfortable although I do maintain it is a bit of a cheek to call a seat Business Class when it is just in fact an Economy seat with the adjacent seat left free. However most European airlines do this now and Finnair is no exception. Cabin Crew however was very good and the food and drink offerings better than what I had experienced previously on British Airways' Club Europe service. Finnair uses Cathay Pacific's lounge at Heathrow which apart from the good views of the runway was nothing special. Finnair's own lounge at Helsinki was more impressive with some interesting design aspects and plenty of comfortable seating. Food offerings in both lounges were poor but that might have been because of the time of my flights. Overall I enjoyed Finnair's European Business Class product and would recommend them particularly in view of the price I paid.

Busy 35 minutes flight KUO-HEL. Plane was A319 full of passengers. Clean and comfortable cabin. I had seat in exit row so there was enough legroom. Complimentary coffee tea water and juice. Very professional and friendly cabin crew. They were very effective and all the time smiling on this busy flight.

Helsinki to Singapore Changi operated by Finnair although I booked with Air Berlin and I was disappointed. Check in was easy and service was good and polite. However the plane was in need of modernization or at least an update the leg room was small and for a 12 hour flight the choice of only four movies was inadequate. In fact I think I have had better inflight entertainment on board the flight from Malaga to Berlin on Air Berlin a mere 3 hour flight. The food however was perfectly acceptable and most definitely edible. However the drinks were infrequent. Served breakfast just before we were to land Singapore time 6pm meaning that when you got out of the plane you were ready for a whole day. Overall then I would not recommend.

TXL-ICN via Helsinki vacation in March-April. Very nice idea to have half of the staff being Korean on a flight to Seoul. A very good idea as well was serving Korean dishes on the way back: I had a "microwave" bibimbap but I found it very tasty. All flights on time even arriving some minutes earlier. Staff very nice and ready to help when needed. They welcomed all people on board and extra the "oneworld" frequent flyers which shows their active role they play in this alliance. Food was all right but I must say I was impressed about the organic sandwich we had in the short flight between Berlin and Helsinki. Good Entertainment in the long distance flight to Seoul (personal screen) and almost no commercials. The seat comfort was ok for the economy class. I could say the best "oneworld" airline I have flown with.