ffay005

You probably had the butter chicken on VIE-HEL. I've had it once and liked it a lot, too. If only all their meals were equally tasty.

If you need anything mid-flight, just be brave and use the call button. AY crews are seldom very proactive, and that's what the button is there for. I like to get up and stretch my legs and fetch a few chocolates from the galley, but they are perfectly happy bringing you snacks or drinks mid-flight.

MDWCommuter

First time flying AY. We flew PE on AY10/ORD-HEL and then J on the return.

PE on the outbound
Was generally disappointed at not being able to commandeer an upgrade using known AY methods. Even on the way to the airport AY app was showing 2 open seats in J so when I arrived at the counter and mentioned I was looking for a cash upgrade, was surprised that the agent told me they had just sold the last one. This despite being at the counter 3 1/2 hours before departure. But alright, went with it.

Couldn't bear the thought of the Terminal 5 security line at ORD, plus now no lounge access. So went over to Terminal 1 where we have much easier security lines and United Club access. Then took the intra-terminal bus when the time came. It drops you at M13 - AY gate was M37 so super long walk.

Boarded in an orderly fashion, although surprised by the picture taking as you board. No mention about where that goes or what Finnair does with it. Got to 21L, PE cabin was full. Seat was fine, although narrow compared to UA PE (maybe an inch narrower?). Legroom was good and definitely better than in the rows behind the bulkhead row. Inflight service would have been disappointing if not for the super friendly crew, but meal was not great. Sad little lemon muffin upon landing was also quite disappointing.

Something odd happened as we arrived at 10k feet. The gentleman sitting next to me in 21K was approached by a flight attendant and he jumped up and the two of them went forward into the J cabin. He never came back, not even for landing. Where did he go? The J cabin was purportedly full so it couldn't have been to an empty seat there.

Overall I'd give AY Premium Economy a C+. Won't go out of my way to fly AY in PE again, it's not substantially worse or better than other carriers.

J on the Return
On return flew J on AY9/HEL-ORD. AY was clear about 3+ hour arrival time at HEL due to staff shortages. We didn't experience any problems and sailed right through the priority line and into the Lounge near Gate 52. Nice lounge, offering was substandard but seats were comfortable and beverage selection broad.

Boarded into 5L and the infamous non-reclining J seat. I have to say I *really* wanted to like the seat, but for a daytime westbound I wasn't going to sleep until at home. So I was upright for 9 1/2 hours and it really wasn't comfortable. Tried a variety of sitting/reclining positions throughout the flight and never really found anything that worked for longer than about 20 minutes.

Meal was fine but not at all memorable. The hockey puck thing upon landing was awful. On this flight crew did not distinguish themselves and I struggled to recognize them as we deplaned.

I'd give J on AY a C- on this leg, and also won't go out of my way to fly this cabin again.

Finland, however, was marvelous and can't wait to return.

ffay005

Say, if you decide to return to Finland and your options are a nonstop ORD-HEL on AY or a one-stop ORD-LHR-HEL on BA/AA, and the price is virtually the same, which one would you choose next time?

Furthermore, say your options are AY nonstop for $3400 in J or BA/AA one-stop for $2800, which one would you go for?

Thanks for your experiences. Sounds very very familiar (although I do like the new J seat, but that's very divisive, some hate it and others love it).

mpkz

The picture is not AY specific, it is US thing. Had the same with AA and DL for example. Apparently they just identify you based on a match to your passport photo (which is in the database from when you entered the country / the photo you took when you were issued your passport) or in some cases a photo taken at check-in.

ffay005

Does this happen at other AY destinations in the US as well? ORD was the first time I experienced this, but I haven't been to other US airports this year.

CPH-Flyer

The face recognition boarding happens in many airports across the US. I don't know if airlines have opt in, but it is relatively common by now.

SPBanker

I've had it in DFW as well.

Jorma

I think i had it first time at LAX 2020 already.

ffay005

Interesting. I departed LAX on AY in August 2022 and no photo was taken.

Jorma

I was referring to facial recognition boarding gates, not pictures taken at checkin.

work2fly

What's the point of presenting your passport at a facial recognition gate? Docs have already been checked and identity confirmed by the facial recognition. No big deal when traveling solo, I guess...but it seems a simple BP scan should suffice.

CPH-Flyer

At the boarding gate you present neither passport nor boarding pass. You just walk through.

work2fly

DFW required both BP and passport early last week. They also didn't accept AA's doc check from check-in for the inbound flight, so we had to queue for that even before boarding started.

CPH-Flyer

The system is not always used. Then it is the usual old fashioned way when it is not.

It is very rare for airlines to rely on the doc check of other airlines, unless using a common system like verifly

another_shot

XXX-HEL-SIN-HEL-XXX in J
I had to go on the short notice to SIN and while I was looking at the options, LH and LX went sold in J, so I have ended up paying EUR 5000+ for AY roundtrip in J. The last time I flew AY long haul was back in 2018 I recall it was quite a positive experience. I don't have the status on OW.
XXX-HEL was a Norra ATR so nothing to write about. Non-schengen lounge in HEL is quite OK and was not very busy, although SIN flight is one of the last departures and it was 100% full in J.
The seat was great for sleep and both long haul legs were late evening departures so that's fine, but I don't think I would like to spend 10+ hours in it during a day-time flight as it is non-reclinable.
The food was bad both ways and it was the first surprise compared to my 2018 memories. The drinks were even worse, apart from one brand of champagne (oh, at least it is still champagne) and one brand of cognac, remaining selections of beverages is strictly one-of-kind and most of them are produced by the same Finnish company. Finns are great in many things but whiskey had a terrible taste. Also there was some wine selection, not great but not particularly bad. 20 years ago this kind of drinks and beverages were available in economy.
I was travelling together with a colleague, he was on the same flights but we had a separate bookings, directly with Finnair. Now, here is something I've seen for the first time ever on long haul J - Finnair wanted EUR 150 per leg to select the seat!!! In the end the check-in lady at airport has managed to seat us together but she also told computer tells her to collect 150 euros and she had to call the supervisor to clear it out. It was a business classic fare with 5000+ per ticket. Really???
The last disappointment to mention is SIN lounge. AY directed us to Marhaba lounge, which is an airport-run lounge accepting all kind of cards and cash to enter, overcrowded, poor choice of meals and drinks and just generally dirty, so we just turned back and went to some restaurant nearby. I would understand that in an airport where you have little presence and no partners, but in SIN T1 there are British, Qatar and Qantas lounges all of them being OW partners of Finnair. Was it too difficult or too expensive to agree with one of them?
Summary - big disappointment, but at least all the flights were on time. I very much doubt I will fly Finnair long haul J any time soon.