lkrt

By the looks of it, it was suspected that the retrofits are currently halted.

And done in HKG.

Besstrashny Boug

Have anyone tried the new J front row seats on 333? I am curious about the footwell. Is there any difference up front? I have flown in 6L on a daytime trip HEL - JFK. Napping was fine but was wandering if the front row is better space-wise.

Also am curious about the same for the new 359 J...

Thanks!

mpkz

I am quite sure the footwell is larger, though I have never been in something other than the first row on the new A333. I'm tall and have big feet and found it perfectly fine. The only annoying thing is that the footrest has a bit of a weird angle compared to the rest of the seat, which restricts how much space you actually have (i.e. the footrest is facing a slightly different direction than the rest of the seat)

Besstrashny Boug

Thanks for the info. Any difference between window vs middles isle seats in the front row?

kenaxfin

My voucher update request was not confirmed for AY010 (ORD-HEL) and now it seems that it offers PE for that flight. I think the plane will have the new J/PE. I need to contact CS to try to get the J up going or at least PE.

kenaxfin

PE confirmed, at least I'll get to test that!

EagleP

I'm flying to US in a few weeks with 350.
Which row in Y would be the best? 31?32? Or back in the exit door row? 🤔
​​​​Thanks!

mpkz

No idea, never flown in the middle seats

kq747

I am also curious if the first row has more space as I can select it for my flight but opted for second row to avoid galley and lav noise. Anyone have experiences/opinions on first row vs others?

mpkz

Is this new config? Is it new config that still has economy comfort seats (some don't seem to)?

If so, your choice between economy comfort and exit row is pretty much a function of whether you expect someone next to you or not. Exit row = more room forward, but unmovable arm rest, so it is best for a full flight. On the other hand, if you have an empty seat next to you, economy comfort is usually better. If you are short, economy comfort might be the best anyway.

I am too tall for bulkheads myself so always take 22/32 instead of 21/31.

EagleP

New config, yes. HEL-DFW and return.
Thanks for the tip, I was curious if the new config charged anything at all in Y cabin, hopefully upgraded though.
Now the testing is gone, I'm already excited lol

mpkz

I posted about this earlier. Obviously Y was pushed back further and some planes don't have Y comfort anymore, but it seems the new Y seats are better cushioned but at least in Y comfort, legroom was worse. Was comfortable enough for HEL-AMS, haven't had a long-haul yet where my upgrade would have failed to clear.

kenaxfin

AY10 last friday-saturday ORD-HEL was almost fully booked. PE had 1 or 2 seats left and J was full.

kenaxfin

First experience of PE on AY10 ORD-HEL friday. Had the bulkhead row, center group right aisle, 21H seat.

The seat came with a blanket, neck pillow, amenity kit, ANC headphones and a bottle of water. The seat is quite comfy, although the arm rests are a bit hard to my liking.




Plenty of leg space. I'm 180cm and I can get my feet all the way straight, barely reaching the wall in front sitting up.



The reclining angle of the seat is maybe slightly more than in normal Economy seat, but not very noticeable. The foot support did not work very well for me to be honest. It's not long enough and doesn't raise high enough to keep legs straight and there's also the "seat pocket" on the wall, which is more or less exactly where your feet will be when the support is at its highest position. For me, it worked best so that it would support my legs while my feet were still on the floor. At some point in the night I devised a makeshift foot support by placing the neck pillow into the seat pocket and laying my heels on that. It worked to some degree, but my knees didn't get enough support so I had to get my feet back on the floor.



The food was good. Upon boarding, we were served with some snacks and drinks. Some time after takeoff it was dinner time. There were two options, of which I choose the crab cakes with lobster sauce. It was served with some rice and veggies. The meal was more or less the same as they have on some flights in Business, but the serving seems a bit less fancy to me. Maybe in Business they heat it up separately and then serve on a fresh plate and this came on the plate it was heated in. Nevertheless, it was good. The other choice was veal and mashed potatoes. The drink selection was the same as in Economy, so one white, one red, beer etc. I had the white with the food and it worked well. The only drink not complimentary was the champagne.

I was so sleepy in the morning, that I completely forgot to take a photo of the breakfast. It was served in the steaming box familiar from Economy and had a small omelette with cheddar inside, a very tasty sausage and some veggies.



The entertainment system has some cool features and modes, e.g. a simulated pilot view with HUD overlay.




All in all, I'm quite pleased with the overall experience and if the ticket price difference and upgrade cost will stay as low as it's now, this will most likely be my go-to class on long haul whenever I cant get a business upgrade. The sleeping position however was not very good for me, due to both the position of the legs and also because I couldn't find a good way to hold my arms. The arm rests are so hard that on long haul they started to be rather uncomfortable in the later parts of night. So as for ORD flights, it goes really well on my way there on the day flight but not that great flying back over the night. It does however beat economy, hands down. I will at this point keep from criticism over the pace, timing and procedures of the service as it was obvious that the cabin crew was still in the process of figuring it all up. The tube had at that point been flying only a couple of times with the new setup and it was almost as new to the crew as it was for me

This flight also was a bit special to me, because I got really lucky and booked the ORD flights right when the Finnair 30y campaign was on. So with only one flight before this as AY Gold, I will now be able to boost right up to Plat

OldFruity

kenaxfin thanks for the review. I am flying Hel Sin in PE in a couple of weeks and was wondering what the experience would be like as I normally (pre covid) fly up the front when more competitive pricing was around. As an aside Ive seen folk put their carryons in front of bulkhead seats to act as an effective footstool.
OF