For me, it's:

- The great service and food in European biz class. I can't think of a better summer meal on a plane than smoked salmon, pike perch Russian style and rye crisps. :)

- The Silver Wings lounge at HEL with the nice views over the tarmac and the signature fruits and yoghurt offerings. How about a sauna to counter the Molton Brown spa at LHR? :D

- The professionalism of AY pilots (many ex-air force) and ground staff when encountering difficult weather conditions. With the exception of one Finncom (partner airline) HEL-DUS flight I've never felt uneasy when flying Finnair.

How about a sauna to counter the Molton Brown spa at LHR? :D

What? They have sauna there?

- The professionalism of AY pilots (many ex-air force) and ground staff when encountering difficult weather conditions. With the exception of one Finncom (partner airline) HEL-DUS flight I've never felt uneasy when flying Finnair.

Few years ago I was told that whenever the weather gets bad in Gothenburg then SAS stops flying but Finnair continues. This was told by a Swedish person ... He was very happy that someone still flies when others stop already (airport not closed for business still).

+ They are still relatively punctual, though the frequent cancellations on the JFK route bother me. But whenever I look at the Departures/Arrivals board @ HEL, the flights with a red square on the right are usually non-AY flights...

+ The service is far better than it was, say, ten or fifteen years ago. In the air and on the ground it is very often friendly, and genuinely so, and if needed, they really go out of the way to help you (if you act nicely as well). On other airlines, I have heard "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do" a lot more often.

+ Their European Y is among, if not, the best. International J is also fine, although after trying the new Club World seat on BA the AY seat feels kinda crappy.

+ I am not ashamed to admit that I like Finnair because it is Finnish. The longer the trip and the more exotic the destination, the better it feels to enter a Finnish Finnair plane and greet with "Hei!" upon entering knowing that you can speak your mother tongue and will encounter no cultural differences at all. Might sound stupid in a globalising world, but that's just the way it is for me.

+ On charters, water is still free and service friendly. These are not self-evident pros!

- The biggest downside is the poor AY+ programme. If I could use AA miles for upgrades on AY flights, I wouldn't need the AY+ programme for anything.

- The telephone service is terrible: the calls are expensive and the waiting times long. (Once you actually get to speak to an agent, service is friendly and more knowledgeable than on many airlines.) I wonder how many airlines would survive with a telephone service that costs $4/call in the US!

- The 757-charters' seat pitch is terrible. Absolutely terrible. On the other hand, scheduled flight seat pitch is quite all right.

- The Internet site charges 20 e booking fee, whereas smt.fi charges only €9.


What you two wrote about AY, SK and GOT holds true in ARN as well. It's almost a legend among many Swedes that when everyone else stops flying, AY will still land and take off, maybe a little late, but they'll do it.

+ Non-stop flights
+ Much improved service
+ "Fresh-baked" pulla with brekkie on inbound longhaul J
+ Younger FA's with an almost wicked sense of humor
+ The panda ads
+ Food and wine standards
+ Good availability of upgrade awards

Cheers,
T.

+ I am not ashamed to admit that I like Finnair because it is Finnish. The longer the trip and the more exotic the destination, the better it feels to enter a Finnish Finnair plane and greet with "Hei!" upon entering knowing that you can speak your mother tongue and will encounter no cultural differences at all. Might sound stupid in a globalising world, but that's just the way it is for me.

But I think Finnair still tries to treat all the passengers similarly, even if they do not speak Finnish. I have sometimes experienced that you get better service if you speak native language of the airline but with Finnair it seems that they try to provide similar service to everyone.

I actually use English so much that sometimes I forget Finnish words; and I liked how the Finnish FA just had fun when I was flying back from Shanghai and I started the sentence in Finnish and finished it in English.

And plus, I really like the international crew in the Asian routes. Of course other airlines are doing the same but Finnair seems to handle that also very well, their non-Finnish crew members are providing excellent service.

- The Internet site charges 20 e booking fee, whereas smt.fi charges only €9.


And aa.com charges $0 ;) (and sometimes slightly lower taxes). Unfortunately, it's not possible if you only have a Finnish credit card:


However, if you would like to make your reservation and purchase your tickets online, you must have a valid credit card with a billing address in the United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, the United Kingdom, or in the following Latin American and Caribbean countries:

The point about the silver wings lounge is a good one - I really enjoy watching the planes before departing. I wonder why they don't do build lounges like that more often... In NGO there's a nice sentoo spa, where you can see the tarmac (and hear the planes).

But I really like their intra-European product. I mostly fly in economy (full-fare and discount), because it's the company policy to do so. It's still nice that you get that beer and the meal. It's not that I would find the meal a great gourmet experience, but it keeps you occupied. Also, it's nice to see the flight path from the screens (not in E70/90 though :( ). So far, I like AY intra-European Y more than SK, KF, LH, BA, OK or TP, which I have had the opportunity to try out during the last two years. My few flights on TG intra-Asian were not any better than AY, but maybe the QF intra-Australian was nicer, although you have to pay for the beer in Y.

The long-haul is another story, but when the MD-11s go, that should be better as well.. Still waiting for the first A343 flight (due in Sep).

Most of the pilots seem to be very experienced, which is a plus. When I hear their voice from the loudspeakers, the first thought that comes to my mind is often "Now that's a guy I trust to take me home safely". I find LH pilots to belong in the same category.

And aa.com charges $0 ;) (and sometimes slightly lower taxes). Unfortunately, it's not possible if you only have a Finnish credit card:

I have not tried it with aa.com, but in quite a few instances Amex works with a made-up US address. So in theory, it might be possible to use AA online booking with a Finnish Amex.

Cheers,
T.

For me, its the fact that they still operate the MD 11. A great plane.

For me, its the fact that they still operate the MD 11. A great plane.

Count me in. Love the MD 11 as well. The last of the three-holers, I am afraid.

Cheers,
T.

Let's see:

+ Excellent service aboard, both in economy and business. Hot meals on European Airbus flights in both classes, free beer & wine etc.

+ Great newish planes, Airbuses and Embraers. No danger of getting stuck in cramped RJs (unless you count the few oddball FC flights).

+ Very competitive pricing nowadays.

+ They are Finnish. So am I. I do like to support my countrymen.

+ Excellent flight network from Helsinki, far superior to for example the direct SK network out of ARN.

As for AY Plus, I have one thing that I especially like:

+++ Ability to upgrade *any* paid fare class (even the lowest Z fares).

But I really like their intra-European product. I mostly fly in economy (full-fare and discount), because it's the company policy to do so. It's still nice that you get that beer and the meal. It's not that I would find the meal a great gourmet experience, but it keeps you occupied. Also, it's nice to see the flight path from the screens (not in E70/90 though :( ). So far, I like AY intra-European Y more than SK, KF, LH, BA, OK or TP, which I have had the opportunity to try out during the last two years. My few flights on TG intra-Asian were not any better than AY, but maybe the QF intra-Australian was nicer, although you have to pay for the beer in Y.

The long-haul is another story, but when the MD-11s go, that should be better as well.. Still waiting for the first A343 flight (due in Sep).



I don't consider AY longhaul to be anything special compared to two of my other favourites, JL and OZ. My intercontinental flights are mostly to China, Japan and Korea and on these routes I mostly prefer AY only on the Europe-China flights. The prices are good from Europe, not so much from Asia.

But the European biz (and Y to some extent) makes up for that big time. One of the best things is to avoid molochs like CDG, FRA and LHR when transiting from Asia and getting to my final destination in comfort and safely.

- The great service and food in European biz class. I can't think of a better summer meal on a plane than smoked salmon, pike perch Russian style and rye crisps. :)

Seconded. I love AY. BA is my 'home' airline and I'm very loyal to them for the most part - but I always prefer to book the AY operated flights to HEL. In J the food, champagne, other drinks and general (read: multi-top-up ;)) service is outstanding and in Y the hot meal and multiple service runs beat BA's "chuck you a drink and a sandwich then hide" approach by a mile. Had a little 'falling out' with AY on principle with the crappy new J seats but now they block the middle then provided I can get 1C or 1D it's back to being a no-brainer over BA.

Have only done AY longhual once in the old J seats but again the service was fantastic. Plus HEL is so easy for connecting if you need to - truly the airport where 10 minute connections are a breeze!

Still have to praise the generous upgrade policies. :) Used points for mom to move to J on European s/h from her campaign Z fare and everything went smoothly without any complaints from AY.

BA, take note...

I am a fan of Finnair.

Question for AY regulars.... On the last three shorthaul trip, my luggage has appeared at my destination very quickly and have been tagged priority. Are they trying to woo this AC Elite member or do the AC gold coloured tags look similar to AYs Elite tags?

I might be inclined to fly AY to Europe if they flew to Canada with some consistency - I have no desire to transit through JFK.

I am a fan of Finnair.

Question for AY regulars.... On the last three shorthaul trip, my luggage has appeared at my destination very quickly and have been tagged priority. Are they trying to woo this AC Elite member or do the AC gold coloured tags look similar to AYs Elite tags?

I might be inclined to fly AY to Europe if they flew to Canada with some consistency - I have no desire to transit through JFK.

I wouldn't break out the champagne quite yet...the so called priority tags have very little, if nothing, to do with the speed you'll get your luggage after an AY flight. They are there just to make you feel more important...

Still have to praise the generous upgrade policies. :) Used points for mom to move to J on European s/h from her campaign Z fare and everything went smoothly without any complaints from AY.

BA, take note...Yes, just did the same, only from a full Y fare :) Only 10K points one-way and possible with a TA-issued ticket (which BA doesn't allow :mad:).

Born and raised in New York (and now living in Montreal), I have loved Finnair ever since living in Finland as a teenager. Several years ago I took a late Sunday flight from HEL to FRA in C class after visiting friends at their summer home. Feeling a bit worse for wear, the flight attendant offered me multiple servings of a "gourmet" version of lihapiirakka. One look at me and she said "These are very good for the hang-over."

How could I not love Finnair all the more after that? :)

(And by the time we landed in FRA, I was feeling much better with four lihapiirakka in my belly.) ;)

Absolutely great s/h Christmas flight to HEL with AY in Y.

I asked the AY Plus service centre to book myself and the missus seats together and they did - on exit row. :) My jacket was taken to hang before departure and newspapers offered without hurry. The special Christmas warm dish was pretty tasty and the cabin crew really did everything to make pax feel comfy.

Water, wine and sparkling wine were offered more than three times on the two hour flight. And after a gate arrival, our priority tagged luggage was first on the belt.

Great job, Finnair ^

Add another great shorthaul biz flight to the list.

Great food (SFML) that is getting a to be bit more refined and with less calories. Also very nice presentation (even the dessert in a designer cup) and impeccable service by the (ahem, quite attractive) lady purser.

And of course it was an AB319 with the good old seats. :) If flying could just always be like this...

And of course it was an AB319 with the good old seats. :) If flying could just always be like this...


I might make a bit dangerous statement by saying that Finnair's A319 J product might just be the best one available in Europe as of today.

(Naturally not counting long haul a/c making an intra European hop as well, like LAN for example)

Finnair is one of the most generous airlines with upgrades. If they didn't have those generous upgrades as a part of the Finnair Plus program, I would have been a BA FF already long time ago. Finnair, do not change that system!

Finnair is one of the most generous airlines with upgrades. If they didn't have those generous upgrades as a part of the Finnair Plus program, I would have been a BA FF already long time ago. Finnair, do not change that system!

I looked into this more carefully - the 8 free Eur upgrade vouchers for Golds (12 + 4 longhaul for plats) seem quite generous. After I hit SEN with Lufthansa on my next flight, I'll start to work on keeping Finnair Silver this year and going gold in 2009 :-)

The upgrades for points on longhauls don't seem so generous (90k for FarEast return) but as we know the earn/burn ratio is rather poor on AY.

What I do like though, is the 50% point discount when redeeming for under 18 kids, even when they would be paying adult fare (ie over 11 years)

The upgrades for points on longhauls don't seem so generous (90k for FarEast return) but as we know the earn/burn ratio is rather poor on AY.


You need to keep in mind, though, that Finnair operates in kilometers, not miles. The 90 k is actually less than 60 k in miles. Furthermore, AY does run campaigns in which the upgrade limites are lowered -- for instance, this year at least the upgrade cost for Indian and Korean flights has been 40 k R/T.

Cheers,
T.

You need to keep in mind, though, that Finnair operates in kilometers, not miles. The 90 k is actually less than 60 k in miles. Furthermore, AY does run campaigns in which the upgrade limites are lowered -- for instance, this year at least the upgrade cost for Indian and Korean flights has been 40 k R/T.

Cheers,
T.

Now these offers are good value.

Calculating in miles, km's, points (as AY actually does) or beans doesn't really matter, as long as the earn/burn ratio is good. I am quite convinced, that this ratio on AY is rather disadvantegous - especially that ever more booking classes in Y fall into the "50%" earning bucket.

But I DO like the ability to qualify with fixed number of int'l flights flown. HEL-TLL sells often for 60-80€ r/t. 18 of these gets you silver, 36 of these gets you to gold (must be one of the cheapest elite levels anywhere) - meanwhile earning a measly 15000 points or less :-)

Anyone remembers Finnair Plus campaign (in Finnish) "vauhtietu"?

It's about 4 yrs now I had this personal campaign and the offer was 2000 extrta points for European flight (oneway) and longhaul offer was 4000 extra points in Y oneway.

Is there any AY Elite who had this kind of campaingn let's say about in 1-2 years?

Anyone remembers Finnair Plus campaign (in Finnish) "vauhtietu"?

It's about 4 yrs now I had this personal campaign and the offer was 2000 extrta points for European flight (oneway) and longhaul offer was 4000 extra points in Y oneway.

Is there any AY Elite who had this kind of campaingn let's say about in 1-2 years?

I remember these, yes, not from the last few years, though. My understanding was/is that they "gave" ("offered") this as short cut for members who had problems reaching the required points for renewing their current membership level. Good if they scrapped these as the fewer tier members there are the better :D

Last time I had this "vauhtietu" I had AYSilver so I upgraded my status for Gold with flying to HEL-TLL-HEL about 10 times.
Oneway leg accrued 750 basic points in cheap Y(summer sale offer) also and 2000 extra points.

I liked it like that. :D

Anyone remembers Finnair Plus campaign (in Finnish) "vauhtietu"?
Is there any AY Elite who had this kind of campaingn let's say about in 1-2 years?

Campaigns like this (i.e targeted and highly personalized) were supposed to be the core reason for the new Plus IT platform and CRM upgrade, at least that was what was stated in some interviews before the project was started. As we all know how well that thing turned out to work I'd reckon it'll be at least 2 years before anyone starts receiving any kind of campaign offers... :)