AY vs BA. A Side By Side Comparison in J.
Apr 9, 2013, 5:06 am
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AY vs BA. A Side By Side Comparison in J.
So. I recently took advantage of the AY super-promo fare ex-EU to SYD for around £1600. Even with the positioning I’d have to do and the hassle of travelling via HEL, at that price I told myself it would all be worthwhile.
As usual I parked at the T5 Valet and made my way over to the bag drop. I’d booked a Y return from LHR-AMS and BRU-LHR as my positioning flights for the AMS-HEL-SIN-SYD-SIN-HEL-BRU flight booked on AY. BDAGirl had kindly agreed to guest me into GF, so that made things a little easier before my first ever BA flight in Y.
I boarded via Fast Track without a fuss (I was Silver at the time), and took my seat in 9a. I’d been hoping for a POUG for this flight as I was chasing TPs, but also there was none to be had; just a £250 upgrade offer at check in when I enquired, which was politely refused.
My flight to AMS was uneventful. The usual elbow jostling and positioning battle ensued, as is customary in Y, but ultimately it was a 40 minute flight and I don’t remember much about it at all; so it can’t have been too traumatic.
I arrived at AMS and picked up my BPs to SIN (where I was stopping for 3 days), and headed to the lounge. AY use a Menzies lounge at AMS, and it’s poor. Really poor. No food, a feeble array of beverages, and quite crowded due to anyone with anything more than a Nectar card in their wallet being able to use it. I charged my phone on the off-chance I wouldn’t be able to do it on board the AY flight and then went for a wander around the airport. I was initially annoyed with AY for having such a poor outstation offering, but then I remembered the lounge I had to use at LAS when flying CW on BA and thought that perhaps I’d wait to see their HEL offering before making a judgement.
There were only two of us in J on the AMS-HEL flight, and as a result there didn’t seem to be any kind of priority boarding announcement. I managed to get on relatively early, but there was a lot of jostling and scrambling from men in suits. I joined in as I was concerned they were all in J and they knew something I didn’t, like a lack of overhead bin storage, but as it transpired they were just all in the mood for a good old fashioned Y ruckus.
I took my seat in 1A and took a tumbler of champagne from the stewardess (that’s right, tumbler). After laughing at it for five minutes, I took a sip and debated asking for a plunger to get my face back to its normal shape. Never have I tasted such sharp, sour wine. It was like a liquid version of those super-sour joke sweets you could get as a kid. I decided to stick to what I knew from that point onwards.
The seat itself was a standard Y seat. The same 3+3 set up as in the Y cabin, but the middle seat is left empty. That’s it, not even an attempt to wind in the middle seat as on BA. So for an empty seat next to you and a glass of face-melting vintage champagne, people pay 10x the price of a Y seat? I’m not surprised there were only 2 of us in the cabin. I promptly fell asleep and woke up on our approach.
My arrival into HEL was uneventful, though I did smile at the 6ft of snow piled on either side of the runway, and the ½” or so on the runway itself, seemingly making no difference at all to the operation of the flights of the airport. I also took note of the huge advertising boards around the airport for AY’s service from EU-Asia. This went some way to explaining the fare I’d paid, as they’re clearly looking to promote HEL as a hub for those flying east. From what I could see, they’d made the transit times from the EU flights coming in to the Asia flights departing as short as possible (between 60-85 minutes, from what I could see), and the result is that although you have to go further than if you were transiting onto LX, LH, AF, etc. the overall travel time is the same because of the short connections.
I made my way to the lounge and was told to head down towards the gate to a different AY lounge, as I’d be able to stay in there for longer as it was only 30 seconds from the gate for the flight. Dubious at first, I wandered down there, but found an almost identical lounge by the gate which was serving a hot dish (some kind of stroganoff) and had beers and wines available for self service. I was in there for less than half an hour before being called for my flight.
There was another Y ruckus going on at the gate here, but fortunately they had the sense to open a business class lane, and so I managed to bypass the marauding masses on this occasion.
I was shown to my seat, and I had that sinking feeling. I knew it was highly unlikely to get the AY fully flat seats on the HEL-SIN route, but I wasn’t prepared for what I was presented with. The angle of the seat to lie flat as awful; unless you’re an 1000 year old Romanian vampire and you flip yourself upside down in the seat, you’re not going to be comfortable. The IFE had a total of 5 films which I’d heard of, and a handful of TV programmes. I also couldn’t find any sign of a plug for my laptop.
I’ve since been told that this was one of the ex-AF birds, which is the worst luck you can have when flying long haul on AY, but even so, it made AA’s old J product look like SQ F.
The flight attendants were abrupt to the point of being surly, and this is probably due to the size of the J cabin (on account of there being no F), and the amount of people they have to deal with (the flight was totally full). They offered pre-flight drinks by thrusting a tray of multicoloured liquids under my nose; I was sensible enough to opt for an orange juice on this occasion, and avoided the lemon Pledge-filled tumbler of doom.
My seat companion was not so fortunate, and had taken a large swig of fizz before I’d had the chance to shout “poison” and swipe it from his hand. As a result, his face contorted much like my own must have done, but the taste took him so by surprise that it caused him to cough, and much of the liquid came out of his nose; leaving him looking like a wounded dragon.
I realise I’ve been particularly harsh about the champagne on these flights, but it is honestly what sticks out in my mind when I look back on the flight; even above the Nosferatu inspired sleeping angle on the “lie-flat” seats.
I managed to get a few hours sleep after a forgettable meal, and we landed on time into SIN. My first experience of AY had not been particularly inspiring, however, and if I hadn’t been in need of the TPs on the return leg I’d have looked into Aviosing myself back from SIN on BA instead.
I arrived back into SIN to pick up my BA flight to SYD, and the difference was immediately obvious. The separate check in room flummoxed me for a while as I could only see check in desks for Y, WTP and Silver card holders, but I eventually managed to find the little private check in room. I then flew through security and passport control without having my bag screened, which seemed a little odd as most other people seemed to be going through some kind of check, but I shrugged it off and headed for the lounge.
The Quantas/BA lounge is currently shared whilst they are building the new ones (these may now be open as it was a month or so ago that I flew). For a shared J lounge, I thought it wasn’t bad. There were a couple of girls going around with Champagne topping up glasses (proper Champagne glasses, too, which was a novelty) and ensuring everything was OK. The food selection was lacklustre, but I asked if there was anything else and received a “Sure, what would you like?” response. I asked for a burger and fries and one was presented to me some 15 minutes later. Not sure if it was cooked out the back or if they sent someone to go and fetch it, but it was perfectly decent and I enjoyed it.
The lounge was fairly busy, but there were seats for everyone and the time passed fairly quickly. When it was time to board an announcement was made and I duly trundled off to the gate. Boarding was done in the right order and I was sat in 64K a few minutes later.
This was, without a doubt, my best UD flight ever on a BA flight. This was despite the fact that when I got on board there was a menu from the previous flight, a half drank bottle of water, and a headphone wrapper in my seat. There was also mould in the windows where the sealant had come away from the window frame. The reason I could overlook all of this was the crew. The two chaps working the UD were simply brilliant, and the took care of the 5 of us on the UD (incidentally the lowest load I’ve ever seen on the UD) perfectly. They were funny, professional and courteous, all in exactly the right measures. I was most impressed, and sent a ba.com/welldone as a result (I also sent a comment about the rubbish in my seat and the mould, and received 10k Avios compensation, which I consider fair).
We landed in SYD, and I went about my business before picking up a flight to PER on QF. Unfortunately no-one in my company seemed to have considered Australia when placing the “no domestic J travel, unless in the US” restriction on our travel policy. 5 hours in Y was not a great way to spend my day, but ultimately a dose of reality once in a while is probably good for me, and makes me appreciate premium travel a little more. As an aside, I have taken quite a few domestic flights on QF and not a single one of them has ever been on time.
I repeated the Y experience in reverse on the way back, and after spending a weekend in Sydney I arrived at the airport to pick up my flights back to BRU (and then onto LHR on my positioning itinerary). I arrived fairly early, and there were only a couple of people in front of me in the CW queue. I should digress a moment here to explain something about the ticket I was on: It was booked as a discounted I fare through AY, but as no I availability was there for the SYD-SIN leg when I booked, the confirmation came through in Y rather than I. I complained loudly to AY, who initially told me to suck a lemon (which I eventually did, out of one of their tumblers). I persisted, however, and made the usual threats, and the eventually acquiesced and a very nice manager called me to say that they had now moved me into CW, and this leg was in D fare bucket. Whether this had any part to play in what happened next is open to interpretation.
The lady at the check in desk was dealing with an incredibly obnoxious DYKWIA in front of me, and I eventually had to make a comment that perhaps he’d like to extrapolate himself from the check in area as other patrons were awaiting the assistance of the lady whose time he was monopolising*. She smiled when I arrived at the desk, which I assumed was a thank you, and she proceeded to check me in. I’d chosen my seats online and unfortunately the UD was completely full, so I was actually keen to see what my first LD experience would bring. Alas, it was not to be. As the flight was completely full, she was very sorry but I’d have to take a seat in F. Always hard to hear.
So since booking I’d gone from a Y seat, to a CW seat, to an F seat. It turned out to be OF, though, so I guess every silver lining has a cloud.
I made my way to the QF F Lounge which reminded me a lot of GF, with the exception of the dining area. It was quite crowded and very ‘open plan’ though, which made me think that if I were actually flying F on QF, I would be wishing for a CCR equivalent at SYD. Still, it was perfectly nice for the hour or so I was in there, and I made my way to the plane feeling refreshed and well watered.
I was shown to my seat, and immediately felt unsure about the cabin. I think this was more to do with the fact that not only was it my first experience of OF, it was also my first time in F on a 747. The two combined made the cabin feel small, worn and just ‘not quite right’. It’s difficult to put my finger on it, but it just felt very full, even in comparison to a full F cabin on the 777.
Despite this, I happily settled in and got chatting to a young Aussie sitting across from me who had also received an OPUP, but was unsure why. I ventured that perhaps it was a young male check in agent who dealt with her at the CW check in desk, and her blushes confirmed my thoughts.
The flight itself was excellent, and the food was the best I’ve had on a plane for a while. I stuck to the seafood option (some kind of seafood salad followed by scallops) and the wine pairings which the crew recommended. It was excellent. I did have a slight concern after dinner when I asked for a Scotch and was given a Bourbon. I questioned the FA who quietly confessed she was unsure of the difference, and could I point out which ones were which on the menu. I was a little astonished at this, as surely you’d need to know your drinks to work in F? Still, I have no problem educating people in the evils of bourbon and so I completed my task with relish.
All too soon we landed in SIN, and I prepared myself for the ordeals of AY. I couldn’t help but feel incredibly jealous of the Aussie girl who was continuing to LHR in CW, but my hunt for TPs had to go on.
I made my way back to the BA lounge and presented my inbound F boarding pass, and my onward AY J one. The chap on the desk then told me that I should head down to the AY lounge as it was much closer to my gate and very similar in amenities to the BA one anyway. I duly took his advice, only to find myself being carried back to the BA lounge minutes later in a haze of my own incandescent rage after finding that the AY lounge was just the Skyview lounge in SIN, which is a truly awful lounge.
Fortunately for us both, the guy who sent me to the AY lounge was no longer on the desk, and my fury subsided somewhat when the young girl apologised and said I was more than welcome to use the BA lounge. I grabbed a shower, a bite to eat, and then made my way to the gate to catch my flight to HEL.
Unfortuantely, the tight connections at HEL are all well and good, but a slight delay (such as the 1hr delay I experienced at SIN) coupled with fully laden, old planes which are incapable of making up the time, means that it’s very easy to miss your connecting flights. For the 12 hour duration I was sat debating whether I could make it to my next gate (I had a 90 minute connection) before it closed. I’d resigned myself to the fact my bags wouldn’t make it, but I could deal with that in BRU. The flight was mostly a blur as I re-watched all the films from the first leg, and argued with myself about the time it would take to get across HEL airport.
As it happens I did make it, quite literally by the skin of my teeth as I skidded into the gate just as they were closing the doors. Astonishingly, after getting off the flight (a Flybe plane, which actually ended up having better service than the AY plane on the outbound) and bidding goodbye to the MEP I’d been sat next to, I went to baggage claim only to see my luggage trundling around on the carousel. Absolutely unbelievable that they could get my bags off the inbound flight and onto my connection in less than 20 minutes. LHR, DXB, ORD... You have much to learn.
Once in BRU, I made my way to the lounge (I’d taken a CE €69 upgrade when OLCI opened) and enquired as to the whereabouts of the showers. There were none. I was banking on this, as after 16 hours in the same clothes, coupled with the sprint across HEL airport, I was beginning to smell like the inside of a false leg. I duly dragged myself to the toilets for a strip wash, so as not to inconvenience any other pax and then settled down to wait for my flight. The selection in the lounge was mediocre; a few pastries followed by a limp looking salad. That said, I was just glad to be there after the near-miss at HEL.
The flight back to LHR wasn’t particularly memorable, but the extra TPs from the CE upgrade had pushed me over the 1500TP threshold, so I’d now made it to Gold in under 6 months, with 3 of those months spent grounded due to a new baby, and despite saying that I wasn’t going to chase status on BA as I’d only be using them to go west as I’d continue with EY for eastbound travel.
Ultimately this trip made me appreciate the BA product a little bit more. Perhaps I’ve been a little over critical of them, as I’ve been pitching them against the likes of EK and EY. I think a more fitting comparison is against other European airlines, and after seeing AY’s offering, I think BA is in a whole other league. The side by side comparison from those HEL-SIN and SIN-SYD legs really made me appreciate what I’ve got with BA, and it would take one hell of a promotional fare to get me flying long haul on AY again, and risk coming into contact with that tumbler of doom.
* These may not have been my actual words, though the sentiment was very much the same.
As usual I parked at the T5 Valet and made my way over to the bag drop. I’d booked a Y return from LHR-AMS and BRU-LHR as my positioning flights for the AMS-HEL-SIN-SYD-SIN-HEL-BRU flight booked on AY. BDAGirl had kindly agreed to guest me into GF, so that made things a little easier before my first ever BA flight in Y.
I boarded via Fast Track without a fuss (I was Silver at the time), and took my seat in 9a. I’d been hoping for a POUG for this flight as I was chasing TPs, but also there was none to be had; just a £250 upgrade offer at check in when I enquired, which was politely refused.
My flight to AMS was uneventful. The usual elbow jostling and positioning battle ensued, as is customary in Y, but ultimately it was a 40 minute flight and I don’t remember much about it at all; so it can’t have been too traumatic.
I arrived at AMS and picked up my BPs to SIN (where I was stopping for 3 days), and headed to the lounge. AY use a Menzies lounge at AMS, and it’s poor. Really poor. No food, a feeble array of beverages, and quite crowded due to anyone with anything more than a Nectar card in their wallet being able to use it. I charged my phone on the off-chance I wouldn’t be able to do it on board the AY flight and then went for a wander around the airport. I was initially annoyed with AY for having such a poor outstation offering, but then I remembered the lounge I had to use at LAS when flying CW on BA and thought that perhaps I’d wait to see their HEL offering before making a judgement.
There were only two of us in J on the AMS-HEL flight, and as a result there didn’t seem to be any kind of priority boarding announcement. I managed to get on relatively early, but there was a lot of jostling and scrambling from men in suits. I joined in as I was concerned they were all in J and they knew something I didn’t, like a lack of overhead bin storage, but as it transpired they were just all in the mood for a good old fashioned Y ruckus.
I took my seat in 1A and took a tumbler of champagne from the stewardess (that’s right, tumbler). After laughing at it for five minutes, I took a sip and debated asking for a plunger to get my face back to its normal shape. Never have I tasted such sharp, sour wine. It was like a liquid version of those super-sour joke sweets you could get as a kid. I decided to stick to what I knew from that point onwards.
The seat itself was a standard Y seat. The same 3+3 set up as in the Y cabin, but the middle seat is left empty. That’s it, not even an attempt to wind in the middle seat as on BA. So for an empty seat next to you and a glass of face-melting vintage champagne, people pay 10x the price of a Y seat? I’m not surprised there were only 2 of us in the cabin. I promptly fell asleep and woke up on our approach.
My arrival into HEL was uneventful, though I did smile at the 6ft of snow piled on either side of the runway, and the ½” or so on the runway itself, seemingly making no difference at all to the operation of the flights of the airport. I also took note of the huge advertising boards around the airport for AY’s service from EU-Asia. This went some way to explaining the fare I’d paid, as they’re clearly looking to promote HEL as a hub for those flying east. From what I could see, they’d made the transit times from the EU flights coming in to the Asia flights departing as short as possible (between 60-85 minutes, from what I could see), and the result is that although you have to go further than if you were transiting onto LX, LH, AF, etc. the overall travel time is the same because of the short connections.
I made my way to the lounge and was told to head down towards the gate to a different AY lounge, as I’d be able to stay in there for longer as it was only 30 seconds from the gate for the flight. Dubious at first, I wandered down there, but found an almost identical lounge by the gate which was serving a hot dish (some kind of stroganoff) and had beers and wines available for self service. I was in there for less than half an hour before being called for my flight.
There was another Y ruckus going on at the gate here, but fortunately they had the sense to open a business class lane, and so I managed to bypass the marauding masses on this occasion.
I was shown to my seat, and I had that sinking feeling. I knew it was highly unlikely to get the AY fully flat seats on the HEL-SIN route, but I wasn’t prepared for what I was presented with. The angle of the seat to lie flat as awful; unless you’re an 1000 year old Romanian vampire and you flip yourself upside down in the seat, you’re not going to be comfortable. The IFE had a total of 5 films which I’d heard of, and a handful of TV programmes. I also couldn’t find any sign of a plug for my laptop.
I’ve since been told that this was one of the ex-AF birds, which is the worst luck you can have when flying long haul on AY, but even so, it made AA’s old J product look like SQ F.
The flight attendants were abrupt to the point of being surly, and this is probably due to the size of the J cabin (on account of there being no F), and the amount of people they have to deal with (the flight was totally full). They offered pre-flight drinks by thrusting a tray of multicoloured liquids under my nose; I was sensible enough to opt for an orange juice on this occasion, and avoided the lemon Pledge-filled tumbler of doom.
My seat companion was not so fortunate, and had taken a large swig of fizz before I’d had the chance to shout “poison” and swipe it from his hand. As a result, his face contorted much like my own must have done, but the taste took him so by surprise that it caused him to cough, and much of the liquid came out of his nose; leaving him looking like a wounded dragon.
I realise I’ve been particularly harsh about the champagne on these flights, but it is honestly what sticks out in my mind when I look back on the flight; even above the Nosferatu inspired sleeping angle on the “lie-flat” seats.
I managed to get a few hours sleep after a forgettable meal, and we landed on time into SIN. My first experience of AY had not been particularly inspiring, however, and if I hadn’t been in need of the TPs on the return leg I’d have looked into Aviosing myself back from SIN on BA instead.
I arrived back into SIN to pick up my BA flight to SYD, and the difference was immediately obvious. The separate check in room flummoxed me for a while as I could only see check in desks for Y, WTP and Silver card holders, but I eventually managed to find the little private check in room. I then flew through security and passport control without having my bag screened, which seemed a little odd as most other people seemed to be going through some kind of check, but I shrugged it off and headed for the lounge.
The Quantas/BA lounge is currently shared whilst they are building the new ones (these may now be open as it was a month or so ago that I flew). For a shared J lounge, I thought it wasn’t bad. There were a couple of girls going around with Champagne topping up glasses (proper Champagne glasses, too, which was a novelty) and ensuring everything was OK. The food selection was lacklustre, but I asked if there was anything else and received a “Sure, what would you like?” response. I asked for a burger and fries and one was presented to me some 15 minutes later. Not sure if it was cooked out the back or if they sent someone to go and fetch it, but it was perfectly decent and I enjoyed it.
The lounge was fairly busy, but there were seats for everyone and the time passed fairly quickly. When it was time to board an announcement was made and I duly trundled off to the gate. Boarding was done in the right order and I was sat in 64K a few minutes later.
This was, without a doubt, my best UD flight ever on a BA flight. This was despite the fact that when I got on board there was a menu from the previous flight, a half drank bottle of water, and a headphone wrapper in my seat. There was also mould in the windows where the sealant had come away from the window frame. The reason I could overlook all of this was the crew. The two chaps working the UD were simply brilliant, and the took care of the 5 of us on the UD (incidentally the lowest load I’ve ever seen on the UD) perfectly. They were funny, professional and courteous, all in exactly the right measures. I was most impressed, and sent a ba.com/welldone as a result (I also sent a comment about the rubbish in my seat and the mould, and received 10k Avios compensation, which I consider fair).
We landed in SYD, and I went about my business before picking up a flight to PER on QF. Unfortunately no-one in my company seemed to have considered Australia when placing the “no domestic J travel, unless in the US” restriction on our travel policy. 5 hours in Y was not a great way to spend my day, but ultimately a dose of reality once in a while is probably good for me, and makes me appreciate premium travel a little more. As an aside, I have taken quite a few domestic flights on QF and not a single one of them has ever been on time.
I repeated the Y experience in reverse on the way back, and after spending a weekend in Sydney I arrived at the airport to pick up my flights back to BRU (and then onto LHR on my positioning itinerary). I arrived fairly early, and there were only a couple of people in front of me in the CW queue. I should digress a moment here to explain something about the ticket I was on: It was booked as a discounted I fare through AY, but as no I availability was there for the SYD-SIN leg when I booked, the confirmation came through in Y rather than I. I complained loudly to AY, who initially told me to suck a lemon (which I eventually did, out of one of their tumblers). I persisted, however, and made the usual threats, and the eventually acquiesced and a very nice manager called me to say that they had now moved me into CW, and this leg was in D fare bucket. Whether this had any part to play in what happened next is open to interpretation.
The lady at the check in desk was dealing with an incredibly obnoxious DYKWIA in front of me, and I eventually had to make a comment that perhaps he’d like to extrapolate himself from the check in area as other patrons were awaiting the assistance of the lady whose time he was monopolising*. She smiled when I arrived at the desk, which I assumed was a thank you, and she proceeded to check me in. I’d chosen my seats online and unfortunately the UD was completely full, so I was actually keen to see what my first LD experience would bring. Alas, it was not to be. As the flight was completely full, she was very sorry but I’d have to take a seat in F. Always hard to hear.
So since booking I’d gone from a Y seat, to a CW seat, to an F seat. It turned out to be OF, though, so I guess every silver lining has a cloud.
I made my way to the QF F Lounge which reminded me a lot of GF, with the exception of the dining area. It was quite crowded and very ‘open plan’ though, which made me think that if I were actually flying F on QF, I would be wishing for a CCR equivalent at SYD. Still, it was perfectly nice for the hour or so I was in there, and I made my way to the plane feeling refreshed and well watered.
I was shown to my seat, and immediately felt unsure about the cabin. I think this was more to do with the fact that not only was it my first experience of OF, it was also my first time in F on a 747. The two combined made the cabin feel small, worn and just ‘not quite right’. It’s difficult to put my finger on it, but it just felt very full, even in comparison to a full F cabin on the 777.
Despite this, I happily settled in and got chatting to a young Aussie sitting across from me who had also received an OPUP, but was unsure why. I ventured that perhaps it was a young male check in agent who dealt with her at the CW check in desk, and her blushes confirmed my thoughts.
The flight itself was excellent, and the food was the best I’ve had on a plane for a while. I stuck to the seafood option (some kind of seafood salad followed by scallops) and the wine pairings which the crew recommended. It was excellent. I did have a slight concern after dinner when I asked for a Scotch and was given a Bourbon. I questioned the FA who quietly confessed she was unsure of the difference, and could I point out which ones were which on the menu. I was a little astonished at this, as surely you’d need to know your drinks to work in F? Still, I have no problem educating people in the evils of bourbon and so I completed my task with relish.
All too soon we landed in SIN, and I prepared myself for the ordeals of AY. I couldn’t help but feel incredibly jealous of the Aussie girl who was continuing to LHR in CW, but my hunt for TPs had to go on.
I made my way back to the BA lounge and presented my inbound F boarding pass, and my onward AY J one. The chap on the desk then told me that I should head down to the AY lounge as it was much closer to my gate and very similar in amenities to the BA one anyway. I duly took his advice, only to find myself being carried back to the BA lounge minutes later in a haze of my own incandescent rage after finding that the AY lounge was just the Skyview lounge in SIN, which is a truly awful lounge.
Fortunately for us both, the guy who sent me to the AY lounge was no longer on the desk, and my fury subsided somewhat when the young girl apologised and said I was more than welcome to use the BA lounge. I grabbed a shower, a bite to eat, and then made my way to the gate to catch my flight to HEL.
Unfortuantely, the tight connections at HEL are all well and good, but a slight delay (such as the 1hr delay I experienced at SIN) coupled with fully laden, old planes which are incapable of making up the time, means that it’s very easy to miss your connecting flights. For the 12 hour duration I was sat debating whether I could make it to my next gate (I had a 90 minute connection) before it closed. I’d resigned myself to the fact my bags wouldn’t make it, but I could deal with that in BRU. The flight was mostly a blur as I re-watched all the films from the first leg, and argued with myself about the time it would take to get across HEL airport.
As it happens I did make it, quite literally by the skin of my teeth as I skidded into the gate just as they were closing the doors. Astonishingly, after getting off the flight (a Flybe plane, which actually ended up having better service than the AY plane on the outbound) and bidding goodbye to the MEP I’d been sat next to, I went to baggage claim only to see my luggage trundling around on the carousel. Absolutely unbelievable that they could get my bags off the inbound flight and onto my connection in less than 20 minutes. LHR, DXB, ORD... You have much to learn.
Once in BRU, I made my way to the lounge (I’d taken a CE €69 upgrade when OLCI opened) and enquired as to the whereabouts of the showers. There were none. I was banking on this, as after 16 hours in the same clothes, coupled with the sprint across HEL airport, I was beginning to smell like the inside of a false leg. I duly dragged myself to the toilets for a strip wash, so as not to inconvenience any other pax and then settled down to wait for my flight. The selection in the lounge was mediocre; a few pastries followed by a limp looking salad. That said, I was just glad to be there after the near-miss at HEL.
The flight back to LHR wasn’t particularly memorable, but the extra TPs from the CE upgrade had pushed me over the 1500TP threshold, so I’d now made it to Gold in under 6 months, with 3 of those months spent grounded due to a new baby, and despite saying that I wasn’t going to chase status on BA as I’d only be using them to go west as I’d continue with EY for eastbound travel.
Ultimately this trip made me appreciate the BA product a little bit more. Perhaps I’ve been a little over critical of them, as I’ve been pitching them against the likes of EK and EY. I think a more fitting comparison is against other European airlines, and after seeing AY’s offering, I think BA is in a whole other league. The side by side comparison from those HEL-SIN and SIN-SYD legs really made me appreciate what I’ve got with BA, and it would take one hell of a promotional fare to get me flying long haul on AY again, and risk coming into contact with that tumbler of doom.
* These may not have been my actual words, though the sentiment was very much the same.
Last edited by Wozza2404; Apr 9, 2013 at 5:16 am
Apr 13, 2013, 3:37 am
#5
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: coastal Croatia
Programs: BAEC Gold, M&M Senator
Posts: 2,179
Made me smile. Thanks for the report; good to note that not all J is created equal. Somehow I would have expected more from AY but maybe they need to renew their seats. The Finnair website isn't very descriptive.
Apr 13, 2013, 4:34 am
#6
Ambassador: Finnair Plus
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: HEL
Programs: AY+ Plat, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Discoverist, Priority Club Plat Amb, Miles and Smiles Elite
Posts: 5,277
If you get one of the ex-AF 340s (like the OP, apparently), things are pretty bad.
Apr 13, 2013, 4:55 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: BHX
Programs: BA GGL CCR GfL, SQ Gold, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond, Marriott Plat, Cafe Nero Loyalty Card (7 Stamps)
Posts: 7,325
Thanks all. I think I was unfortunate with the aircraft I was lumbered with. I'd give them another chance if I could guarantee their fully flat product.
Apr 14, 2013, 5:36 pm
#8
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: NYC
Programs: AA LT G (1MM);DL G, UA GM
Posts: 2,028
I have no comparison to BA biz class, but having flown AY a number of times, twice in biz class, it seems to me that AY and possibly Finns in general just don't "get" premium service. I had no complaints about the lie-flat seats with plenty of storage space and even a primitive back massage setting. On both flights the service was warm and the FAs sweet and helpful (once I lost a pair of eyeglasses within the seat and seemingly the entire crew pitched in to look for them. I left the plane without them but retrieved them from the GA at my connection, so they really followed through.
But the food is basic at best, almostly ridiculously so, including in the fancy non-Schengen lounge in HEL, and the cabin had a very bare-bones feel to it. The amenity kits, now packaged in paper bags ("eco"), don't even include toiletries, which however may be taken from a basket at the front of the cabin. With the exception of the wonderful spa ex-Schengen at HEL--now closed, sob!--AY does not exude a sense of comfort and luxury. I think that's partly a reflection of Finnish culture. Clean, well-designed, simple, but never luxurious.
As a thrifty miles-seeking AA EXP I've flown AY to Western Europe a few times for the low fare-extra miles combination, and I've not seen op-ups when there are even one or two empty seats in Y and the rear J cabin is completely empty. Y always seems to have a lot of small children regardless of day of the week or time of year.
But the food is basic at best, almostly ridiculously so, including in the fancy non-Schengen lounge in HEL, and the cabin had a very bare-bones feel to it. The amenity kits, now packaged in paper bags ("eco"), don't even include toiletries, which however may be taken from a basket at the front of the cabin. With the exception of the wonderful spa ex-Schengen at HEL--now closed, sob!--AY does not exude a sense of comfort and luxury. I think that's partly a reflection of Finnish culture. Clean, well-designed, simple, but never luxurious.
As a thrifty miles-seeking AA EXP I've flown AY to Western Europe a few times for the low fare-extra miles combination, and I've not seen op-ups when there are even one or two empty seats in Y and the rear J cabin is completely empty. Y always seems to have a lot of small children regardless of day of the week or time of year.
Apr 14, 2013, 8:52 pm
#9
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: DXB / WAW
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 726
I have flown both too. Both on the ground (Gallery Lounge at LHR) and up in the air BA wins hands down with great seat layout in business and flat beds. AY doesn't impress much neither when it comes to lounge at HEL or biz seats. However the food while on the plane is much better in AY to my taste.
Since LX is launching ZRH-SIN in May, I think I am going to fly with them next time, full flat beds and service get good reviews.
Since LX is launching ZRH-SIN in May, I think I am going to fly with them next time, full flat beds and service get good reviews.
Apr 15, 2013, 7:44 am
#10
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Arizona, USA
Posts: 2,403
As a 1,000-year-old vampire with a taste for face-melting champagne, I'm relieved to know that at least one airline has seats that will suit me. Thanks for the tip!
I only flew Finnair once from Helsinki to New York, and I remember their remarkably abrupt (read: "crabby") flight attendants. They were very kind on the ground, borderline evil in the air. I don't know if they're vampires themselves, or perhaps they are vampire victims. Either way, it's not making them charming.
I think that "European Business Class" is slowly going by the wayside. We all complain about the dismal service on the US carriers, but we usually get a 36 to 38 inches of pitch and 20+ inches of width in domestic first. The European "nobody is sitting the middle seat" plan just doesn't cut it.
I only flew Finnair once from Helsinki to New York, and I remember their remarkably abrupt (read: "crabby") flight attendants. They were very kind on the ground, borderline evil in the air. I don't know if they're vampires themselves, or perhaps they are vampire victims. Either way, it's not making them charming.
I think that "European Business Class" is slowly going by the wayside. We all complain about the dismal service on the US carriers, but we usually get a 36 to 38 inches of pitch and 20+ inches of width in domestic first. The European "nobody is sitting the middle seat" plan just doesn't cut it.
Apr 16, 2013, 3:59 pm
#13
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: DXB / WAW
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 726
Apr 17, 2013, 12:17 am
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: BHX
Programs: BA GGL CCR GfL, SQ Gold, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond, Marriott Plat, Cafe Nero Loyalty Card (7 Stamps)
Posts: 7,325
