Finnair Plus - Pre warning txt from finnair about the IFES not working!

Flying sin- hel tomorrow and just received the following e-mail/txt:

FINNAIR INFO: Dear Finnair customer,

unfortunately the in-flight entertainment system is not available in economy class on your flight AY082 Singapore Changi - Helsinki 22.08.2012 due to technical reasons. We are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience this may cause you. Kind regards, Finnair Customer Service

I am a BA executive silver card member( one world sapphire), as far as I am aware BA offers avios as compensation, what can I expect from finnair?
Any tips how to make this 12 hour flight more bearable without a working INflight entertainment system?

Thanks in advance!

Unfortunately I wouldn't hold my breath for any compensation..just take your own laptop/ipad/book whatever to keep you entertained...luckily the AY IFE is not very special anyway...the content is quite limited and most of the stuff is old. (No personal experience with the coach IFE but I'd be surprised if it's any better than the J one I'm referring to).

So it sounds like AY81 tonight and AY82 tomorrow is one of these old crap ex-AF A340s.

Really, really embarrasing. That kind of waste should lie in Mojave desert.

But hey, You got really good customer service, they let You know before Your trip that they offering crap tomorrow and their product is not competitive. :D

NoWindowSeat has it right. Were you an AY Gold or Plat and flying in J, you might have some hope of compensation. Being Y and BA means you have none.

Though it must be said that even on BA there'd be very little chance of compensation for AY card holders.

Cheers,
T.

So it sounds like AY81 tonight and AY82 tomorrow is one of these old crap ex-AF A340s.

Really, really embarrasing. That kind of waste should lie in Mojave desert.

But hey, You got really good customer service, they let You know before Your trip that they offering crap tomorrow and their product is not competitive. :D

Sure, it is a drag when something like this happens, but I actually think letting pax know about it beforehand is the decent thing to do.

Cheers,
T.

Sure, it is a drag when something like this happens,

What I have heard this IFE problem with crapEx-AF A340 came up 1-2 weeks ago and I wonder why they dont take care of it. Is it lack of money, lack of spares of IFE or what is going on?

What I have heard this IFE problem with crapEx-AF A340 came up 1-2 weeks ago and I wonder why they dont take care of it. Is it lack of money, lack of spares of IFE or what is going on?
It is once for a while the IFE does not work, or out of 16 channels 10 were disfunctioning (no show at all) and the rest were somehow seen between extra stripe features...arrrgg...
This is more of less "normal" for ex-AF birds, unfortunately.

Seems to be OH-LQG flying to Singapore today 21.8...

To my surprise Finnair offered all customers in Y a 20 euro voucher which could be spent on board or in Helsinki in the duty free shop!
Apparently they also offered this to all the outbound passengers as the majority of the onboard duty free goods were already taken!

Anyhow - a very pleasant surprise!

To my surprise Finnair offered all customers in Y a 20 euro voucher which could be spent on board or in Helsinki in the duty free shop!
Apparently they also offered this to all the outbound passengers as the majority of the onboard duty free goods were already taken!

Anyhow - a very pleasant surprise!


Good for you - and good for Finnair for doing the right thing.

Cheers,
T.

From what I can glean it is the ex AF A340 that has the regular problem with faulty IFE and particularly the HEL- SIN route. Is that correct or is it among all the A340s?

Does anyone know if Finnair have fixed the problem or is it just hit and miss?

Is it such a difficult thing to fix permanently? It is a recurrent complaint in various fora.

Dear Cosmos57,
We have some challenges on the "old" 340's you are referring to. The challenges of this aircraft are well noted by our service directors.
Unfortunately we don't know which specific aircraft will be on certain routes in January. And there can always be last minute changes on the aircrafts due to different situations.

Unfortunately we cannot promise you that this aircraft will not operate on this route, but I can assure you we do everything we can to ensure the comfort of our customers. These aircrafts have gone through a major maintenance and repair process. We hope that the travelling experience of our customers has improved due to these changes.

Best Regards,
FinnairPlusrep

From what I can glean it is the ex AF A340 that has the regular problem with faulty IFE and particularly the HEL- SIN route. Is that correct or is it among all the A340s?

Does anyone know if Finnair have fixed the problem or is it just hit and miss?

Is it such a difficult thing to fix permanently? It is a recurrent complaint in various fora.

Flying sin- hel tomorrow and just received the following e-mail/txt:

FINNAIR INFO: Dear Finnair customer,

unfortunately the in-flight entertainment system is not available in economy class on your flight AY082 Singapore Changi - Helsinki 22.08.2012 due to technical reasons. We are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience this may cause you. Kind regards, Finnair Customer Service

Unfortunately I wouldn't hold my breath for any compensation...If you've got to get there, for whatever reason, you've got to get there; grin and bear it. But if a passenger were in the (highly favourable) position that this was an entirely discretionary trip, then I wonder if this removal by the airline of one of the advertised / promised / (contracted?) features of the service that was paid for would allow the pax to cancel with full refund.

cheers,

Henry

Unfortunately we cannot promise you that this aircraft will not operate on this route, but I can assure you we do everything we can to ensure the comfort of our customers. These aircrafts have gone through a major maintenance and repair process. We hope that the travelling experience of our customers has improved due to these changes.

Best Regards,
FinnairPlusrep

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. Perhaps you will allow me to substitute 'older' rather than old.As I also fall into this category I'm sure you will not take offence. I am often in need of TLC too;)

I am looking forward to this first trip to OZ and will even write a trip report for this forum to (hopefully) let members know how much the experience has improved.

I am looking forward to this first trip to OZ and will even write a trip report for this forum to (hopefully) let members know how much the experience has improved.

^ Far too few AY TRs in FT. I know, I know, why haven't I written one? Maybe one of these days...

Just need some advice from seasoned AY travellers on Hel-Sin route. Our OZ trip is very close and it looks like we have the ex AF 'planes on both outward and inward leg according to expertflyer.:eek:

I am keeping my fingers crossed that IFE and service experience really have improved. I am keeping an open mind and look forward to writing a decent trip report.

However, I really would appreciate some input . It seems that some one world lounges are better than others in Singapore and Sydney. Which are the best lounges to opt for on this route? All advice welcome - thanks

However, I really would appreciate some input . It seems that some one world lounges are better than others in Singapore and Sydney. Which are the best lounges to opt for on this route? All advice welcome - thanks

Actually, both SIN and SYD are very easy cases...in SIN the BA/QF lounge and in SYD the QF Int'l lounge, both have J/F sections so access according to your status level/class of service. In Singapore AY has contract with the Skyview lounge but with status you can use the BA/QF lounge. If you have time you can do some lounge hopping in SIN.

Hey cosmos
My oz trip is also fast approaching... When you going? Am I right in saying that if the plane has 1A and C, it's not one of the ex Af birds?

Hey cosmos
My oz trip is also fast approaching... When you going? Am I right in saying that if the plane has 1A and C, it's not one of the ex Af birds?

Correct.

Thanks for all the tips. 'Lounge hopping' is definitely a new one for me.....

Given that we have several hours in Manchester can we 'hop' between terminals or is the Escape Lounge the only default option?