Finnair

Amsterdam-Helsinki-Bangkok Business. Finnair get pretty mixed reviews so I was pleasantly surprised by my recent trip. The 2 hour flight Amsterdam-Helsinki was standard with the centre seat blocked but there were only 4 of us in Business so the service was attentive with very chatty crew. Lunch was hot and reasonably tasty and plenty of drinks. Helsinki airport was really busy but the lounge was peaceful if busy. A very limited range of food but enough and good showers. A330 to Bangkok was new looking and very clean. With only 5 people in Business I had plenty of choice of seats. The seat converted to a fully flat bed with decent sized pillows and nice thick duvet. Choice of TV and films wasn't huge but enough. The food was really good and tasty if simple. Again the cabin crew were very professional and friendly.

CPH-HEL-PEK-HEL-CPH. Very efficient a bit reserved but friendly no fuss easy transfer in HEL. Comfortable A330 on long legs. Plane delayed one hour out of PEK due to heavy traffic that gave me only 25 minutes transfer in HEL. Made it and so did my baggage! Will definitely fly Finnair to Asia again and love the human scale of HEL airport!

Three of us bought tickets from Finnair. Our connecting flight was late about 10 minutes on arrival to Frankfurt leaving us only 50 minutes between flights. We rushed from one terminal to another passing security and passport control. We were at the gate about 2-3 minutes after closing while plane was still at the gate and connected by the tunnel. Of course they couldn't let us on board. We explained the situation later at the counter desk but we got reply that 45 minutes is enough and we had 50 between flights so they just cancelled our tickets including return tickets and asked 750 EUR to put us to the later flight that day only to get to Helsinki.

LHR-HEL-HEL-LHR. Quite shocked at the decline in services with this airline. Flights were on time. Dismayed at time of booking asked to pay for seats yet no good seats available. When checking in online all front economy rows had available seats for free. Nothing is free any more with this airline. No newspapers of course no free alcoholic drinks anymore either. The crew seemed a little indifferent and resigned to half service. On way out no announcements from the captain which was odd. On return had to fight for my seat as the airline had moved me from my chosen seat on row 6 to row 18! Only after much arguing was I reinstated to row 5. Food was ok way out (a sandwich) but bizarre on way back - something called chicken curry salad - no sauce so very dry! Not impressed even at low fare.

BKK-HEL-GVA-HEL-BKK in Business Class. Excellent flights in all respects especially the wonderful service food and wines and clean cabins. FAs extremely gracious and elegant and make a point of keeping eye contact. Helsinki Vantaa remarkably efficient for quick transfers and a major improvement over past years. Return GVA-HEL sector was operated by Flybe and apart from a tight squeeze in the small business cabin was also fine. I would rate my Finnair flights as 5-Star standard.

HEL-LPA-HEL. B752 is to be avoided even for 6hrs flight. Poor legroom old cabin and poor seat cushion results back ache. Catering poor. Crew ok and attentive for selling goods and refreshments. What they have improved now they don't aggressively demand passengers separate waste at table tray to make job easier for crew. Both flights were ahead of schedule luggage came in 30min which is also a slight improvement for Finnair flight.

Helsinki to Funchal Madeira and back. Aircraft seemed old and shabby. The crew very insistently coaxed us to change seats to get more leg room for my boyfriend yet in the new seats the leg room wasn't any better and we had to sit on either side of the aisle. Cold condensation water fell on me several times during the flight very unpleasant. On the return flight my shoes were ruined because of a used bubble gum that stuck to them apparently from under another seat. I have found the customer service very disappointing.

HKG-HEL-VIE-HEL-SIN. Outbound HKG-HEL sector was an old A340 (OH-LQG). This aircraft is best avoided but there is no way of finding out in advance. IFE broke down but was given a Finnair shop voucher. Flight smooth cabin clean quiet and seat comfortable. HEL-VIE-HEL on A319's. HEL-SIN was a much newer A340 (OH-LQD). All flights on time. Service good. Planes clean. For price QF-AY (both oneworld) is recommended over middle eastern carriers. Very smooth transfer through Helsinki which is another plus point.

HEL-DEL-HEL on A330-300 in March 2013. Finnair has improved: both flights ahead of schedule tasty and filling meals with an Indian vegetarian meal option both ways good selection of IFE for a short flight (5 hrs 50 mins) on the way to Delhi and the fact that the plane leaves 10.45am on the way back to Helsinki (7 hrs) instead of midnight makes a big difference. Moreover the new Delhi Int'l Airport was pleasant and hassle- free both ways which added to the positive experience.

AGP-HEL. Plane was an old Boeing 757. Very small seat pitch. I paid 8 euro extra for an exit seat but behind me was a tall man which made it very uncomfortable for me. Cabin crew indifferent. Two of five flight attendants very nice and friendly chatting with passengers one male and one female FA very unfriendly. Catering poor just a tiny chicken sandwich without any taste. Not free newspapers like a low cost carrier. Very different flight as flight from Helsinki to Malaga couple of days earlier.