intuition

After a voluntary hiatus *) of 13 months (402 days but who's counting) from Finnair I was back in the saddle. It actually kind of felt like a saddle, up there on row 1 on OH-LXB (a 12 y.o. A320 that certainly has seen its best of times).
Maybe I should jot down a few notes, I thought to myself, so I can bore some FT'ers with my thoughts later on. Or at least to be able to summarize for myself if AY have changed over the last year, and if it has changed for better or worse.




*) Early in 2012 I decided to start sample other airlines to see if there is anyone out there that better fits my needs. AY serves me well when it comes to schedules and short total travel time, but fails in service and value for money. During the year I tried and decided against BA and LH. QR gives me all I ask for in service, but has long layovers in DOH as major disadvantage. With only a few months left in my AY-platinum membership year and exactly 0 miles in the account, it was surely time to decide to stay or go.

intuition

First thing I noticed was that the boarding pass showed the correct lounge (with name and directions!) and also the correct number of people for each invite. In the past I've complained a lot over AY failing to present accurate individualized info on Boarding passes and in the "before your flight"-mail, but now they actually got it right. So somethings have changed for better! Bravo!
Now AY, how difficult can it be to implement the same database query to "Manage my booking"? Maybe next year?


AY668 out of CPH was delayed about half an hour. Not at good way to start on a tight connection itinnerary. Also, AY staff acted wery casual about it. No information regarding the delay and no one seemed to really care.
I hate if delays are becoming a part of the AY culture - it is the SK-way of the 00's. (Instead of getting to the root, they just added 10 minutes of flight time to every flight so it would appear they were on time. Not a crowd-pleaser, I can tell you).


Once airborne it got better. Food, which is one of the things I have been hearing bad things about, was right up to the normal standard, as I recalled it. A hot meal, a beef stew with peas and rice, was pretty decent. The rice had started to dry up again from the extended heating due to the delay, but other than that it was good. Peas were actually very nice.
Also due to the delay, we were very hungry and the meal went down very quickly!

Alcoholic beverages were offered, and I noticed that even though we were only a few in J, they loaded the trolley with a substantial amount of bottles and cans. I like this, because it shows that they are gladly offering what ever they are offering. In these days of cost cutting in euro-traffic, it is not always the case.
Also, they did try to anticipate needs, something I never seen before on AY short haul. Junior was served a refill of drinks without asking. (He later leaned over to me and asked "Why did the lady give me another coke, I am not thirsty anymore" but that is another story!)

There were 6 or 7 rows (!) of J, not something we see every day in intra euro traffic. Half full, and most J-pax in transit.

No local languages were spoken, even though most CAs had multiple flags on the chest, indicating they speak most scandinavian langugaes. A few years ago, AY staff always very quickly picked up nationality and happily spoke local language. Now it seems to be english all the way and I think some personal touch is lost then.

Summary: Not bad at all. I feared AY's fierce cost cutting would be painfully visible but I didn't see any signs of it, and service was on par with what can be expected. In air even better than what it used to be.
Some worrying signs though regarding time keeping and deteriorating language skills.

intuition

Transit in HEL was bad.

Helsinki is touted as "Designed for smooth travelling" and all my previous experience agrees. But this time it was different. Some in the entourage holds non-EU passports, so we needed to go through normal immigrations channels.
The lines were long and the border police were grumpy. One line serving EU-nationalities, and one line serving others. The EU-line was empty, since most EU-passport holders use the automated gates, but the official serving this line refused to take even one Asian traveller. And there were hundreds to serve. Now I understand some of the complaints heard from non-eu-travellers about HEL-transfer. It was not just professional strictness, it was rudeness and hostile body langugae. I can understand if HEL border police comes across as racist.
In the past many times I've recommended HEL as the perfect transfer airport, but frankly I cannot do that anymore. It was a sad experience.


The late incoming AY668 and the extremely slow and undermanned border check made us late and we were last to board AY69, just a few minutes before scheduled take off.


Summary: Bad. HEL is apparently not always that efficient transfer airport as I remembered it to be.
One of AY's selling points is the short total travel time, which is in part accomplished by easy and quick transfer. In all my years flying AY I never missed a connection in HEL. This was the first time I even felt like I would and I didn't like the feeling.

intuition

My first time to meet with the brown paper envelope.

This is the new "amenity kit" onboard AY - the most basic amenities are presented in a paper envelope. It felt tacky upon presentation. Also, it was well glued, so no way to open besides tearing it up. Not much of a premium feeling, ripping a brown paper bag open to find my "free" amenities.

It is not only a tacky presentation, it is a very impractical container. I usually put my socks and other small personal things into the amenity bag during the flight, but that is not possible anymore. AY's 340s has very few (0?) places to store small things during the flight and now it is worse.

Inside the envelope is nothing more than socks, ear-plugs and white eye-shades. Why even bother? And who ever came up with the idea of using white shades? They are semi-see-through!
Also, no amenities what so ever in the toilet. You need to ask for everything; toothbrush, lotion et.c. Not only is it very cheap, it also makes the CA work harder, since people are now and then asking to get their stuff. Instead of dispensing everything to all at one time, they now have to dispense the things one by one. Not very effective.



Amenities in brown paper. Next up - will the drinks be dispensed from brown paperbags too?




At least there is a list of what is left out...




Second thing I noticed was that the menu presented for food selection at MMB did not match the actual menu onboard. From MMB you can actually select your meal, which is a smart thing, making it easier for AY to not run out of the choices. But when the info on the website isn't correct, it gets problematic. I'd hate to be the sorry person who chose "option 2" and gets something completely different.

So, the troubles with AY's information systems are still present. I cannot understand why they keep on presenting detailed information, when it is wrong most of the time. Stop announcing the menu if you can't get it right!

One novelty was found on the menu - Scandinavian shrimp sandwich. Nice! Sounds like a really great snack, with some decent champagne and then off to sleep! But if that is your main course for the evening, then I am not so impressed.

Third thing I noticed that Cantonese was second language onboard, after English. That is clearly a change in priorities, moving it up from last place where it were before. Finnish was third language, and Swedish number 4. (No Swedish speaking FAs at all in the cabin, only recorded Swedish messages).
Another change possibly done for Chinese market was the extreme high temperature kept in the cabin. I have valued Finnair for keeping the cabin at a normal indoor temp, and now it seems this advantage has gone.

No status recognition whatsoever. Also, quite a few stuff have been removed from the service since last time - no refill of drinks, no second hot towel, no after dinner candy, no cinnamon buns.

The pre-ordered reindeer was actually perfectly cooked though. I've seen many complaints on this one, but today they got it right. If they manage to make it this great every time, this could be a signature dish on AY. (Maybe it is. It has been on the menu as long as I can remember)
They had spilled some of the sauce on the linen, which is exactly what they did last time I eat reindeer with AY. I laughed silently a bit over this, thinking nothing ever changes.


Summary:
Noting much had changed. Food and drinks were to my liking, and service was OK, like it usually is. It felt like just another flight that I will not remember. Not sure if that is entirely good...
The paperbag, cost-cutting disguised as environmental care, was pathetic. The temperature was much to high for me. If this is the new standard, then AY night-flights are not for me anymore.

intuition

Just a few words on the newly re-opened Wing F.
HK is one of the airports I visit most times during the year. I really like this airport and I like the lounges. I spend some long layovers here, and I sometimes go early to the airport to unwind before getting on the flight home.

The Wing F has been closed for renovation a long time. They have even been teasing me, presenting every lounge invitation during the renovation period in "the Wing renovation" folders, making me very curious of what it will look like. And just in time for this trip, renovations finished.

To me it was underwhelming. The lounge is very well staffed, but mostly with not so experienced staff. They were attentive, but lacking in confidence and anticipation that only experience can give you. I really missed the old Cantonese man who "always" worked there, he kind of felt like an old friend.
The haven (table dining) was to me a downgrade since last. Design over function, all hard solid materials and noisy. Very much like the Finnair Helsinki via lounge, wich I detest.
It is shielded from natural light, and has only design lights everywhere. Ambience is not at all what I expected from a F lounge table dining area. Foodwise an it is better now than before, but the salmon was served without mustard sauce, a small disappointment.


AY still does it best to distance itself from oneWorld. They offer "the traveller's lounge" and issue lounge invites without guest privilege. This is what the casual business traveller will have to accept. But for an emerald, one would think AY would promote the wealth of all CX-lounges at HKIA. But no, you will need to know the OW rules by yourself, because AY will never guide you to them. This is just like before.


Can you get any lower than that? I petty the statusless business traveller!



I dislike the traveller's lounge very much and rarely go there. However, I found a few mitigating facts this time. One - they had some really nice Hong Kong style noodles. Two - the lounge computers have flash installed. These two facts saved the day for the entourage!

By the way, AY still uses the designed BPs in HK. I never see then any other place, since you must print your own in scandinavia. But they are really nice. They give me a nice feeling!


Design BP. And see! They printed the lounge invitation on the BP! Wow, that is AY high-tec!


More design BPs - Beech leaves and Blueberry.

intuition

Didn't start boarding in time (quite a surprise for HKG!) and did not do any priority boarding of Business. Actually, BP scanner "broke" and J boarding was delayed a bit.
Coats were collected very promptly, which is much better than last year. (Many are the times I have been sitting on AY metal, trying to pass my coat on and being ignored). But the offering of pre-take-off drinks is not as prompt. It takes quite a while before any service appears and it turns out that only one FA is servicing the whole J cabin.
The plane is one of the newer A340s (OH-LQC), but still in pretty bad shape despite this. Broken stuff is tape:ed back on, all toilets are out of order, due to malfunctioning water pressurizer system. It feels very familiar, and very sad at the same time.


Yes, that is the trademark of a design airline!



I am in 1H, which can be a bit annoying seat because passengers tend to switch aisles in front of 1H. Today even staff does this, being to lazy of taking the path through the galley. It turns out that off-duty-staff and their kids are hanging out in the galley!
J is booked solid, but apparently off-duty staff doesn't need a reservation to fly AY and to bring the kids. The kids are seated in the galley area during the entire flight, using FA seats. This explains the slow service a bit, since staff is occupied talking to off duty colleagues and showing the kids around, bringing coffee and food... I must say this is one of the most unprofessional things I've ever seen on AY. On any airline, in fact.



"We are having a party in the galley. Hope you don't mind if we put the paper trolley on your feets." Terrors of 1H.



Techs are called to fix the water system, and we can take off just 15 minutes delayed. It takes 40 minutes in the air before any service starts, also a sad and familiar feeling. Only 2 FAs are visible in the cabin and they start with hot towels, but then stops the service mid-stream, and turns to dressing up the toilets! Eh, what?!?

Finally, more staff arrives, and one of them turns quietly to me and asks for our food preferences. We are the only ones in the cabin who gets to chose food at this time, so this is clearly a new status-recognition thing.
Also, we are serviced by the only Cantonese FA, and she is very very professional and nice. She speaks mandarin and english without cantonese accent, not that common in HK, so I am guessing she is not Hong Kong based. Anyway, she stays in servicing us for the duration of the flight, and we don't have to deal with any of the Finnish staff at all.

1 hour after take-off we finally see our meals. A small amount of sauce have spilled on the table cloth, yet again a familiar feeling. It seems they always have to tilt the trays to get them out of storage/owen, because this seems just so common! The beef is a bit over cooked, the potato mash is really nice, despite the look. The port wine sauce is tasteless.


Not sure mashed potatoes is so smart. Looks not too good, but taste is good.




Same procedure as last year? This one (poppy seed panacotta) has been on the menu a while. Maybe they can improve and give it some taste 'til next year?



It is clear that AY are nowadays understaffed in J. I have finished my meal when the first drink refill is offered. And even then, they are only offering one sort of wine, no second offer on anything else (water, sodas, other wines).
After (!) this single wine offering comes a bread-topup-round, even later in the game. Normally, the bread and drinks topup should come early in the game, and it is a bit sad to see this kind of service. It is not the FA's mistake, clearly AY have decided to put too few FAs in the cabin.

The paperbag is as tacky on this flight as it was the first time. But when one in my entourage is asking for toothbrush, this Cantonese FA is service minded and brings brushes for all of us and a few other things she believes we may need. ^^

After dinner, I get asked if I intend to eat breakfast. Last year, AY usually woke everyone in the cabin 2,5 hour before landing and pushed the breakfast out and cleared tables in half an hour. Very annoying if you wanted to sleep. But this time I can choose time and the Cantonese FA agrees to wake me at about 1,5 hour before landing. As far as I can tell, only I get asked. I am not sure if it is a new status recognition policy or if it is the Cantonese FA who is just this good. She also very gently tucks me in later in the night, and very gently wakes me up at the right time and then allows me to wake up and do morning routine before serving breakfast. ^^

This is a first-ever for me on AY, and this is just the kind of things I really, really appreciate. If this is a consistent new service level (or new status recognition policy) then AY has come a long way.



Summary: A few small status recognition things were much appreciated. If this is a new standard then I am happy. Quality of the airplanes is still unacceptable. The cost savings are really showing, AY cannot keep up normal J service anymore, it is even slower than last year (no speeding tickets back then either), timing is all wrong and everything is far from plenty.

intuition

At HEL they usually let me use the non-schengen lounge as an arrival lounge due to my plat status, but today we chose to go through border control before going to lounge. That means going to the schengen lounge "Silver Wings".
I hate this one quite a bit, as it is hysterical white, almost completely void of food and usually packed like Taipei MTR. Today it is not very crowded and I can find a corner of the lounge where everything is not white, but actually normal colours and fabric. Nice!
However, the food served is "Gruel of the week". No thank you.


The not-so-hysterical-white-section!



Oh, there's a rug too! And chairs not made of polished plastic! And no one around! It may very well be my favourite corner from now on.


So nothing much to eat, but a few minutes to sit down, relax and do some online chores was all we needed at this point. Junior hogged an imac and slayed a few dragons while we were at it.



Now comes my next disappointment with HEL airport. The flight is announced as boarding so we leave the lounge to get to the gate. Sometimes it is bus-gate for these short Scandinavian connections, so one really needs to be on ones feet when boarding is announced. But arriving at the gate, I find they are not boarding at all. 10 minutes later the GA announces that boarding will commence "soon" and 5-10 minutes later it actually does.
The conclusion is that HEL now is announcing "Boarding" based on a fixed number of minutes before take off, instead of announcing when the gate actually have switched to boarding. That is really annoying and bad service. Again, I hate tech systems that doesn't utilize data that is easily available.

Also, they didn't do any priority boarding at all.

This flight is delayed a few minutes too, no apparent reason (and no information given). It seems AY is not very bothered to fit their slots.

intuition

This was supposed to be my first BE flight ever.
One of the things that have made me stay away from AY is their outsourcing strategy. If I wanted to travel low cost, I would have chosen a low cost carrier. I cannot see the point of travelling on a legacy airline and receive LCC-service level. Anyway...
The flight was booked as AY643, and changed to 'AY2643 op by BE' when they transferred the whole scandinavian network to BE. So it was unavoidable unless I was prepared to cancel the ticket. But to my surprise, the flight number changed back to normal AY operated flight some days before take off.

Anyway, the service onboard was miniscule and could hardly have been any less with BE. FA does very promptly take care of my coat and offers newspapers, and this is better than it used to be. But food offering is a pre-packed sandwich and nothing more. I can very much understand why we are the only ones in J. AY are killing off the intra-scandinavian J class by charging 700€ for a 45 minutes flight and offering nothing onboard. The plane is actually scary empty, and all other passengers are seated in the far back of the plane to keep it balanced.



"Yessir, that is a business class meal! This, and the fact that you can chose your seat, is what make us charge 700€ for a 45 minute flight"

intuition

I am kind of undecided still.

There are signs of improvement, where status is recognized and where service is personal, professional and caring. Almost CX-style.
But there are signs of deterioration too. Language skills have gone out the door. Organization in the cabin is poor, staffing is inadequate, there is "always" a technical issue, it seems. The con-list is still long.

I am leaning towards renewing plat status on AY never the less. AY platinum still holds a few good perks for me. When QR joins OW and if they can schedule shorter connections when they get higher capacity at the new DOH, then AY is out. OTOH, if AY can shape up their status-recognition and service game, then maybe they can do a comeback.
The date when QR becomes full OW member is not set yet, but will probably not be during 2013. So maybe I renew with AY and see what happens next year.


AY has for many years waited for the A350 to arrive. So have I. But I realise now, that new metal will not change AY that much. AY really needs to learn "who makes an airline". It is not Airbus.

aw

Thanks for this informative report on AY's product. As a Oneworld member I have always wanted to try AY J service but don't feel so enthusiastic about it after reading this. I knew about the environmentally friendly amenity kit but the meals seem rather disappointing as well.

I can't help but think that the amenity kit and meals that I received on TK were so much better than AY and that was in economy, so we are not even comparing apples to apples.

intuition

I am a tough critic, and food on AY is decent. On intra-euro-flights I think TK wins clearly, and maybe on longhaul too, but then not so clearly.

HadesNL

Thanks for your tripreport!
Quite an insight, actually i have been lured to try out AY.
Here in NL they did some heavy promotions as being THE alternitive to get to asia via HEL. I like the seats you showed but i think it's a shame the overal product is not consistent.

tsastor

On the other hand Finnairs on board service is more organized IMO. And at least to India TK has only one meal at least in Y, while on Finnair there is a snack before landing. Besides, I think I have enough amenity kits already.

But, on TK I will get my GT for free, even in Y.

intuition

Unless you are on one of the increasing numbers of dry destinations on TK...

tsastor

Yeah, on Turkish domestic I know. Are there others?