flaii

I just got back from a short trip to Helsinki, to visit some family. Normally I like to fly *A, but LH was over 60% more expensive than Finnair, and SK was a bit more expensive than Finnair but required lengthy connections and earned only 25% of United miles. My next choice is usually Skyteam since I have a few DL miles. Though KL also flies nonstop from Amsterdam to Helsinki, KL was a bit more expensive than AY, and earned absolutely no miles because of its fare class. So AY it was, with 100% mileage earning on AA.

I came away with a really good impression of Finnair. The flight attendants were all courteous (and well-groomed, unlike some flight attendants in the US), the planes were clean. And we were served a hot meal in both directions!

AMS-HEL
Airbus A319
Scheduled for 2 hrs 30 min, but flight time is only 2 hrs.

I checked in 36 hrs in advance, though I did pass by the check-in desk to drop off my bag. There was only one agent for AY in AMS, but there was only one group in front of me.

On board, it seemed like every row of this aircraft was outfitted with convertible seats (to make it 2-3 vs. 3-3 layout). I was lucky and the seat next to me was empty There wasn't any choice of meals, but still getting a spinach risotto meal was nice. On the tray was also a sun-dried tomato roll, small Snickers bar, and water cup. We were also offered other drinks (had more water), and coffee and tea came around after lunch. The spinach in the risotto was a bit sparse, but it was surprisingly not overcooked (still had texture and tasted like spinach), and overall the seasoning was good.



Helsinki airport was also really nice. Small, it doesn't take a lot of walking to get from one point to another. Bags come out quickly, and windows are large to look at airplanes, like Finnair's "retrojet"!



AMS-HEL
Airbus A320
Scheduled for 2 hrs 30 min, but flight time is only 2 hrs.

This Airbus was outfitted with what looked like newer slim profile seats, which don't convert to 2-3 seating even in business class.

The return flight was one where I was especially surprised to be served a hot meal. With a departure time of 4:20pm and arrival time of 5:45pm, this really wasn't within dinner hours in any country I know (unless you consider the time change, which makes it a 6:45pm arrival Helsinki time...). Still, we got penne with tomato-basil sauce and ham (had to stir it up to mix in the sauce), with the same sun-dried tomato roll as AMS-HEL (quite good, so glad to get it twice). A small Twix bar and coffee after lunch rounded out the pleasant meal.



P.S. I don't really understand why the pictures are of different sizes, I think it has to do with the way I uploaded them to my blog - but this is the first time I've successfully posted pictures in my trip report!

N830MH

No worried about your pictures. I think you should be just fine for now. I didn't realize know that I seeing the meal are so delicious and they have a pasta, too. I like a tasty with rice are so good! I could have one for me. I can see your photos are so amazing that I saw AY retrojet color scheme. It was so incredible to see old liveries scheme.

flaii

N830MH, thanks so much for your kind comments!

mymflyer

Nice meals for a short flight

N830MH

My pleasant to you.

chanp

Twix, yums, Havent seen a Twix on any flight I've ever been on. Thanks for the TR.

sobore

Good amount of food on a shorter flight! ^

Carfield

AY is possibly one of the few European airlines still offer a complimentary meal - not to mention a hot one on the two to three hours flight tier.

Thanks for the report and I agree with you that Finnair is pretty nice in Y on these short haul flights.

Carfield

flaii

mymflyer, chanp, sobore, carfield, thanks so much for reading and commenting!

I forgot to mention another couple of aspects that I liked about AY:
- I could select my exact seat when I booked. I seem to remember when I flew LH, JK, and LX, I couldn't select my seat when I booked online. When I called LX to make a selection, the agent gave me a seat but when I realized that it might be a non-reclining seat and wanted to change, she sighed heavily and told me I couldn't "cherry pick" my seat. Then again I just moved to Europe and haven't flown these airlines a lot yet, so not sure if it's always like this.
- Text message check-in on AY. My cousin told me that I could check in by text message, and I protested that I just had an old, regular phone (not a smartphone). He told me that it really is just a text message. Lo and behold, just a text message with no barcode of any kind. I was amazed!
- Miles posted quickly on AA

Unfortunately I don't know when the next chance will be for me to fly AY. I'm still rather loyal to Star Alliance, and my relatives will be moving from Finland next month

zcat18

Ah, this brings back some great personal memories of flying Finnair on a bunch of short segments (CPH-HEL, HEL-ARN, ARN-OSL) about 15 years ago during a trip to Scandinavia. It still sticks in my mind as probably the finest experience I've ever had in Y.

The FA's all wore black gloves and huge smiles, and the service was consistently elegant and attentive on each flight.

Thanks for the report! ^