Furry

It seems that D8 is canceling HEL-DXB flights from January (at least I couldn't find any direct flights).. Can be that the prices for AY flights will increase over time as less competition on the route (only flydubai) - guess it wasn't really beneficial to sell 150-200€ r/t for the route

ffay005

The return flight yesterday was an equally good experience. No queues at check-in, although the agent could have been better-trained. Not only did he want to send me to the Y desk, he also said it’s a pity I won’t have time to go to the lounge since I checked in so late (1.5 hours before the flight). Well, I knew there would be plenty of time and there was no reason to argue. Ended up spending over half an hour in the lounge, which is more than enough for me.

No queues at passport control, maybe two people in front of me at security. No priority security, though, but in this case it wasn’t necessary.

The gates and lounge are a train ride away, so it takes a while to reach the gate area. The Marhaba lounge upstairs is opposite the BA lounge, which (according to oneworld.com) is closed when AY1962 departs. Marhaba is a Priority Pass lounge, and there was a dedicated First/Business queue when you enter the lounge so you don’t need to wait for PP holders to do their paperwork.

The main lounge was very busy, but AY Platinums are entitled to access to a private room in the back. I suppose the food and drinks are the same in both spaces, but the largeish private room was deserted and thus very peaceful. Much appreciated. There were hot and cold buffet items, good hummus, excellent seedles dates etc. Basic alcohol.

The flight itself was smooth. We had the same crew as on the Friday outbound, which sort of added to the experience since they all remembered me and I even had the same FA serving my aisle.

On yesterday’s AY1962, departing at 5:50 pm, I got:
- LH-J pillow and blanket
- LH-J amenity kit
- LH-J slippers ^
- socks available on request
- LH-J headphones
- 0.5 L water bottle
- LH-J size menu and LH-J wine list

No predeparture drinks, and this time no hot towels, either.

I was asked for my choice of main course when they took my aperitif order. Much appreciated since they ran out of choices later.

After the drink service, they served dinner. The one-tray meal was loaded at HEL and consisted of the following:
- an appetizer of roast beef and potato salad (fairly large and quite tasty)
- a choice of three main courses: Smoked salmon with creamy potatoes, Roasted chicken with porcini risotto, or Cannelloni filled with ricotta cheese and spinach (I had the salmon, where the size of the fish was rather small but the dish was good)
- cheeses: Peltola Blue and Vilho hard cheese
- two Godiva chocolate pralines
Again, I was satisfied with the meal. Simple and unpretentious but tasty food.

The midflight snacks again consisted of Fazer chocolates and minisize prezel bags, and these as well as drinks were offered proactively during the flight.

Didn’t check my watch, but maybe some three hours before landing, Häagen Dazs ice cream was served. You could choose between vanilla and chocolate salted caramel.

Dubai isn’t a favourite city of mine, but at these award rates and with this service concept, I could very well see myself spending another weekend there later this winter.

DALtoAAL

Is it just me, or do these main courses seem much nicer than some/most of the complicated dishes they offer on real long-haul flights? I'm a simple guy and much rather have a simple and tasty dish instead of emulsions, rillettes and other fancier stuff they have on their menus.

Ed Size

I thought the same when I read it.

ff_flyer

Aurinkomatkat(Suntours ltd) has been dumping the fares from HEL recently. Last Friday they had 3-day last minute deals aka 'äkkilähtö' at 115€.
The same story this week, 3 days Friday-Monday 125€ return, outbound on 359 and 321 back home, AY is sellng the same itinerary at 400€.

D8 is at 200€ with horrible timetables.

EDIT: 7 days Friday-Friday on 359 is 145€ return.

riku2

Do you know what booking class this goes into and whether it would qualify for BAEC earning? it does seem amazingly cheap.

ff_flyer

Books normally in A which is a meager 1000 points for a return (plus AY+ tier points) and AFAIK 25% for BAEC, 20 TP's each way but someone more knowledgeable should verify this.
My point was to highlight the current price level on this specific tour operator if looking for an alternative for a long weekend, this is certainly not MR territory.

ffay005

This is exactly what I said to OH-LGG during our flight. Simple but hearty and filling meals. Ingredients might not be the most expensive ones out there, but the food was tasty. I'd much rather have this menu than some "chef-inspired" food that is far from its best after having been reheated.

Kelju

Happy to report that couple of minor issues that ffay005 reported have been fixed at least on today's flight.

Slippers ready and waiting at the seat
Pre departure drinks served
Hot towels provided

Same food as reported should be served soon. Same inflight snacks and nice long haul beverage menu.

Very friendly and active cabin crew onboard today, definately worth extra trip to Dubai 😎

ffay005

That's good to hear! I guess the CC is still unfamiliar with this new concept as OH-LGG had also been served PDB on an earlier flight.

ffay005

Tomorrow, AY1961 is A32B. Wonder why.

OH-LGG

Monday and it's scheduled as 32B.

ffay005

kanamurva

since you guys know this right away: which days is the wide body plane to DBX?

ffay005