After being on AY1961 today, I have to say that the soft product has been hugely downgraded from what it was last season, just like the reports here prove. And even if I knew what to expect, it was still a letdown.
Furthermore, while I understand that AY's costs have increased with the current situation in Iran and they probably don't want to spend any extra money, I still can't help but to compare HEL-DXB (flight time today 7 hours) to HEL-DEL, which has (almost) full-service J. On the other hand, prices on the DXB route are significantly lower, both in euros and in points, so maybe a comparison isn't fair.
Today's flight was A330. OH-LTP came in an hour late from BKK but departed more or less on schedule to DXB. The cabin was a lot less worn out than many A330s.
Predeparture drinks consisted of plastic cups of water.
No memory foam pillows. No socks. No water bottles. For the two last ones, the FAs blatantly lied and finally brought me the socks that weren't an issue last year. Of course they have socks on board, it's not like they remove them after the plane gets in from BKK... The 0.5 L water bottles I saw an FA carrying were apparently not meant for
Ffay005, and there, I didn't argue, but instead asked for a big glass of water. Well, the FA brought me two small glasses because apparently that's all that is loaded.
New Amenity Kit, old blue and white slippers (perfect combo, those PET slippers feel terrible), longhaul bedding and headphones.
The menu is nothing more than a funny meme. They talk about "the best that the forests and lakes of the North have to offer" and then they ask me to accept their appologies if my
choice is not available. And, ta-dah, what I get is a deep-frozen German-produced industrial product, with no
choice whatsoever.
Considering the fact that all J pax have probably had breakfast in the lounge, I also don't like this season's breakfast + roll concept. Last season's chiabatta + lunch was a lot better (and would not cost a penny more). However, the crew agreed to heat my breakfast up later, so I ate it about three hours before landing. That's a big plus ^
The second service, ie a drink and a small roll (think ARN J roll), were served about 75 min before landing, and that's when I got my Plat talk. Better late than never, I guess.
On landing, the purser reminded us that it's forbidden to take photos at the airport "here in Saudi Arabia". Okay?
If I hadn't flown this route last year, it probably wouldn't have felt so meh today. Comparing makes me sad. But of course it's still great value for 51k points + €45.
I'll be flying six hours to KGL on WB tomorrow, a red eye, in paid J. Let's see how Rwandair compares to AY.
The best part of today's AY experience took place at 7:13 pm, when I was swimming in the pool at my hotel in Deira, and saw OH-LTP taking off and flying back home.