Rami Tamimi

Thanks, if any of the AY forum regulars have any questions/ problems with RJ or S7, you know who to contact!


on22cz
Thanks for clarifying, I will keep this in mind on my next AY/ Norra LED flights.

Helsinki Flyer

Thanks, noted for any future flights/trips on AY and Finnand!


remymartin

Hahaha, you cant imagine how many lounge hosts on the OW network have I introduced to the Espresso Martini. Indeed, the first time I tried this cocktail was in the CX HKG lounge!


econometrics

Just don't arrive there too early. 1:45h before departure would be the best!

econometrics

^ Very helpful. My colleagues and I were JUST discussing when to leave our hotel on Nevsky in order to arrive with the right amount of time.

Rami Tamimi

Btw, I just realised one very cool advantage of being in Y Comfort (you correct me if I am wrong). I think the pax in that cabin have the highest chance of an empty middle seat. I mean, how many Platinum/Emeralds would go for a middle seat in Y Comfort, as opposed to a normal aisle/window seat further back... and how many people would actually PAY for the privilege of sitting in the middle seat?

Of course you have the families who might get a window and the middle seats, leaving you in the aisle and you might get an absolutely full load in Y overall, but still, the chances are much higher than in the "normal" airlines in Y. Does that seem to be the case for Plats regularly flying long-haul Y?

SPBanker

Yes, you are correct. For this reason I prefer D or H seats if in Y.

remymartin

Which begs the question - are OWEs still able to seat co-travellers in Eco Comfort on a complimentary basis? That would be the natural use case - seat your partner in the mid seat and hope the [window/aisle] seat remains empty.

SPBanker

Last October colleague and I were on the same reservation and I was able to do just that. When the chief of cabin realized he was with me, he got a glass of champagne as well.

FFlash

I don't quite understand?
Of course I would place myself on A and spouse on C, leaving B empty which nobody will take anyway. Or if someone then chooses B, that person will absolutely swap his/her B to an A or C, or then I would even look for an empty row elsewhere for a free middle-seat.

remymartin

Depends on the nature of the relationship at the time of the flight, no?

Rami Tamimi

UPD: So as my first experience with AY was close to amazing, I am going to give them another try as I just booked a LED>HKG return tiket for next month. I hope the HEL lounge hosts will be able to entertain my requests for Jekku Battery/ Kossu Vichy and the Original Long (kindly suggested by Helsinki Flyer).

I also learned from another FT member that apparently AY does not send their pax to a normal HX lounge in HKG, but they send them to the VIP section of the lounge. Indeed all the video and text reviews I had a look at always refer to the general HX lounge and I am yet to come across a review/photo of the actual section I was "invited to". I don't know if AY sends all their pax to the "VIP section", or if it's just for Emeralds, but it's an impressive nonetheless.



I accept that after 10 trips to Asia on AY, there is a chance that I will have some issues/complaints, but as of today I can safely say that AY is the most convenient choice when it comes to flying to HK (and probably the rest of Asia) from St Petersburg.... sadly I am not getting any miles for that from RJ.

remymartin

Thanks for the update, Rami! As someone who was debating between RJ or AY status, I'm very curious to understand what you mean here?

WilcoRoger

Careful here - IIRC RJ has a minimum own metal requirement.

Rami Tamimi

Sorry for being somewhat unclear earlier. What I mean, is that I am not getting any miles for these 2 AY trips credited to the RJ account because RJ only credits (50%) for N/T/S/V economy buckets and 125% for C/D/J/I business buckets and nothing else for the rest of the fare buckets. I don't care too much about the status maintenance, because I already secured RJ Platinum till June 2021 (RJ qualification period is 3 years and status is then also awarded for 3 years), but it's a bit sad not to get any award miles.

As for AY vs RJ status debate... RJ status is very good for me (as a person who flies a lot of RJ long haul Y), but I am not sure what your travel patterns exactly are to assess how useful it would be in your situation personally. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about the RJ FFP.

remymartin

Thanks for the clarification and sorry to hear earnings are zilch! That kills it for me. Why don't you bank the miles elsewhere and build up on new status meanwhile?

on22cz

It's time you opened an AY+ account and joined all the crazy AY+ folks here. To keep benefiting from your RJ Emerald, while still receiving some miles / points, you have at least 3 options:

1. Get boarding passes with RJ Emerald and then switch to AY+ number (immediately / during OLCI / at gate). Unlike BA's boarding passes, AY's are not invalid once updated ones are issued.
2. Fly as RJ Emerald to get on-board benefits and then credit miles to AY+ (it might be good to submit the AY+ number to the reservation and then switch to RJ; just to have it in the reservation track record).
3. Fly as AY+ member and get your benefits by just showing your RJ Emerald card (you will miss on-board welcome by a purser a possibly have troubles getting through fast track security; this is probably the least suitable option).

Rami Tamimi

Thanks a lot for the suggestion. What I do with S7 when I have tickets which are not eligible for RJ mileage accrual is I send them a screenshot of the 0 miles accrual from the RJ account every few months. S7 is quite cool with that and they award the miles manually. I am not sure if AY will be equally understanding. I signed up for an AY Plus account after my first flight with them, but apparently, they don't award miles for flights taken before registration. I guess I might send AY a letter and ask if it's possible to credit the miles for these 2 trips (we are talking about 9K for each trip).

That said, for me, the main aspect of the FF Programme is the status because I always travel in Y. Y Comfort seats, lounge access (especially F class in HKG), [limited] op up potential etc is worth much more than the 9k miles per trip.

One thing in common between RJ and AY HKG flights is that they both have teams who only operate those flights (RJ has a base in BKK and the BKK base crew only operate HKG and KUL flights), so on RJ@HKG flights, I have a 100% guarantee that I will know the crew. It's not so much about the "enhanced" service, but about the "home" feeling you get, which is much nicer than those scripted purser greetings. I guess if I keep flying AY to HKG, I will get to know most of the HK crew quickly.