Haha, the take it or leave it choice is common these days, I guess
Yeah, I know, I am quite alone on the FT AY ship. I guess it is me and Laajo left...
For NRT I'd love to go directly, ie SK. What has kept me going via HEL and AY is due to my "stake" in AY+ (ey! a loyalty program that works?!?
and the fact that via HEL is almost as quick. SK to NRT is about 11,5 hours, AY 12,5.
As OW emerald gives med first lounges, and *G doesn't, that is decisive. So I am a bit negative towards *A already because of that, and as SK is in more trouble than AY and serves even fewer destinations, i have not chosen them for preferred carrier. (Nowadays, when TK serves a few destinations I like, *A looks a bit better to me. TK is nice service, but hopeless when it comes to irrops or even being on time)