Finnair Plus - Finnair service on Mia - cdg - hel - hkg

My wife and I are flying for the first time internationally, and are considering Finnair out of Miami, connecting in Paris, Helsinki and finally to Hong Kong. There are shorter routes from the southern US to Hong Kong, but given the time frame we need to travel and the price, this seems like a good option. Is anyone familiar with Finnair or this route? Any thoughts, suggestions?

Thanks!

i've never flown finnair, but i suggest that if you do, you should consider sending the ff mi to aa.....

what cabin will you book?

edit to add.....the route is ~ 21k mi rt....

pps....there is a finnair forum in the mi & pts area.....

you may want to look there and/or ask the mods to move your thread...

I'm assuming you will fly AA from MIA to CDG? Are your trips in economy class?

IIRC, the last time I flew FinnAir long haul in economy, they did not have personal in flight entertainment and the food was mediocre. I can live with ok food, but I really hate not having AVOD on long flights.

If this is your first time traveling abroad, you will get pretty tired with this itinerary. If the price differential for flying MIA-JFK/ORD/SFO/LAX-HKG is not too high, I would strongly recommend you do that.

kam311, welcome to FlyerTalk. I'll move this to FlyerTalk's Finnair forum for more discussion. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

Yep, it's AA metal on MIA-CDG leg and you're most likely familiar with their service/product?

Finnair have personal IFE on A330/340 also in coach so you'd have that on the HEL-HKG leg.

With that being said, AY coach (if that's your choice of class) is really nothing more than the name suggest (coach) and I would seriously look at for example BA via LHR or AA/CX combo via LAX/SFO/JFK with only one stop...only as the last resort would I do that routing via CDG/HEL..but that's just me ;)

I have flown HEL-HKG (Y-class) on AY a couple of times and I have liked the experience. New aircraft, personal IFE (AVOD), nice crews... their meals were the weakest part but still edible. Helsinki airport is excellent for transit, I would avoid Paris CDG though.

I have flown HEL-HKG (Y-class) on AY a couple of times and I have liked the experience. New aircraft, personal IFE (AVOD), nice crews... their meals were the weakest part but still edible. Helsinki airport is excellent for transit, I would avoid Paris CDG though.

I agree that AY might be OK for point to point HEL-HKG but I still want to point out that BA/CX are far superior products and can offer the route with only one connection.

What is so superior about BA coach vs. AY coach? I have flown both, and don't think there is that great of a difference either way.

If we would be talking about Club then I might agree (at least if no flat-bed plane with AY).

As the OP said that the price seems to be right for him and he is aware that there are shorter connections, I'd say that if there is a clear price difference vs. one connection options the onboard products themselves there is no reason not to take this route.
My biggest gripe would be going through CDG, usually not the most pleasant experience, although doable.

What is so superior about BA coach vs. AY coach? I have flown both, and don't think there is that great of a difference either way.


I'm by no means coach expert (haven't flown in long haul coach in years) so you might be totally right as my view is based on what I hear/read..my peers are telling me that AY coach is very much charter like and that's also how it looks to me when walking through the cabin..also I've heard that the food portions are extremely small...if that's how it's everywhere today, well I rest my case.

If nothing else then the 2 transits with one being at CDG is my next argument against this routing :)

But like I said, that's just me, luckily people can fly what ever routes/airlines they wish...

I'm by no means coach expert (haven't flown in long haul coach in years) so you might be totally right as my view is based on what I hear/read..my peers are telling me that AY coach is very much charter like and that's also how it looks to me when walking through the cabin..also I've heard that the food portions are extremely small...if that's how it's everywhere today, well I rest my case.

If nothing else then the 2 transits with one being at CDG is my next argument against this routing :)

But like I said, that's just me, luckily people can fly what ever routes/airlines they wish...

In my opinion, AY coach is pretty "normal" compared to other carriers for longhauls. There are a few exceptions though: BKK, YYZ and JFK don't have free alcoholic drinks (*), which is pretty poor especially now when even AA has those for free.

(*) They are free only during the meal service

There are a few exceptions though: BKK, YYZ and JFK don't have free alcoholic drinks (*), which is pretty poor especially now when even AA has those for free.


Why do AY have separate service on some routes, pax don't know what to expect..really strange??

Why do AY have separate service on some routes, pax don't know what to expect..really strange??

It is pretty confusing, especially because the drinks (at least in my experience) on the JFK route are free before the meal. I would imagine that people who are unaware of this will be pretty surprised that something that used to be free early on the flight suddenly costs something.

So remember, the optimal strategy is to stock up before and during the meal, and then live off that supply for the rest of the flight ;)

...
BKK, YYZ and JFK don't have free alcoholic drinks (*), which is pretty poor especially now when even AA has those for free.

(*) They are free only during the meal service

Argh, maybe someone never finished "Brand management 101". :o
To build brand loyalty you really should make sure there is a consistent image of what to expect from that brand. If you don't provide the same service, don't give it the same name.

The routes don't have free alcohol drinks in economy. I flew today from GRU-LHR-HEL and only water, coffee/tea, soft drinks were free. it is a common practice now of days.

Depends what you want. Kindly refer to www.amadeus.net web pages.

In brief: MIA-ORD-HKG, 1 change, total time 16h.
MIA-LHR-HEL-HKG, 2 changes, total time 31h 25 min.

I agree that AY might be OK for point to point HEL-HKG but I still want to point out that BA/CX are far superior products and can offer the route with only one connection.

...I'm by no means coach expert (haven't flown in long haul coach in years)



You haven't flown in long haul coach in years but you still "want to point" that BA/CX are far superior products?

In my experience BA and CX have better meals in Y but I prefer AY's Airbusses over 777/747. They all have had good service IMO.

The routes don't have free alcohol drinks in economy. I flew today from GRU-LHR-HEL and only water, coffee/tea, soft drinks were free. it is a common practice now of days.

Hmm, which carrier did you fly with? At least BA should still have free alcoholic drinks - at least beer and wine. Granted, I haven't flown World Traveller for some time, but they still advertise complimentary bar service.

Dear fellow. How much are you planning to drink? Is the alcohol free drink as qualification do the airline? Apologize for black/whitening the discussion but does the drink cost really make you the difference?

I is not clear based on the discussion with booking class or dates you are intention to travel.
Kindly refer to e.g. www.amadeus.net

You haven't flown in long haul coach in years but you still "want to point" that BA/CX are far superior products?

In my experience BA and CX have better meals in Y but I prefer AY's Airbusses over 777/747. They all have had good service IMO.

That is the general consensus in a wider FF community, AY board might be different, though.

You can still have opinions based on information gathered from different sources, can you?

Dear fellow. How much are you planning to drink? Is the alcohol free drink as qualification do the airline? Apologize for black/whitening the discussion but does the drink cost really make you the difference?

I is not clear based on the discussion with booking class or dates you are intention to travel.
Kindly refer to e.g. www.amadeus.net

And the carrier on GRU-LHR was...?

You can still have opinions based on information gathered from different sources, can you?

Sure but I think second hand opinions and your personal experiences should kept separated... I believe most of us value the latter onces more.

Sure but I think second hand opinions and your personal experiences should kept separated... I believe most of us value the latter onces more.

Fully agree on that and we also have to understand what is OK/good for some might be total torture to others, it's all about your personal preferences etc. and that's why all opinions on a web forum like FT have to be put into context, and most importantly all opinions are of equal value, imho.

Let's take an example, I know people who are forced to fly (AY) long haul coach on a weekly/monthly basis and they think (just like you) that it's OK but they have no other options so they have to live with what they got. Do I need to value their opinions more just because they have more recent experience or no choice available and think I should be OK with it as well? No way, I will never be "ok" with LH coach again regardless what others might think.

As a side note: at least some 10-15 years ago people could accumulate some decent points from long hauling and get status/udgrades...today if you are forced to fly cheapest whY it takes forever just to earn one LH upgrade..

Just to clarify alcohol service on AY and BA economy classes:
- on AY all alcohol on European routes are for a charge
- on AY beer and wine are free on intercontinental routes, hard liquors always for a fee (except JFK, BKK and YYZ wine/beer free only during first meal service, YYZ flown by B757 charter version without business class... extremely cramped and not suitable for scheduled flights!)
- BA serves free alcohol including drinks on both European and Intercontinental flights