juanfc

Hello everyone,

This is my first trip report, after being reading many of your amazing reviews here for a while. This was a trip from Wellington, New Zealand (WLG) via Sydney, Australia (SYD) and Singapore (SIN) to Helsinki, Finland (HEL) in economy class with Qantas and Finnair. I have taken some pictures from the Qantas segments but unfortunately not much on the Finnair legs. Hope that you enjoy reading!


WELLINGTON AIRPORT

This was the starting point of a very long journey that started when a Super Shuttle arrived at 3h30 to pick me up from the city. After a while and picking up other passengers we arrived on Wellington Airport, nick-named "Middle of Middle Earth Airport". It has some details from Lord of the Rings, including this massive Gollum sculpture:


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IMG_00000054 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]


The airport remind me to the ones in US: carpet everywhere and differentiated counters for each of the companies that operate here (Qantas, Air New Zealand, Virgin and Jetstar mainly) instead of the generic ones usual in European airports. I was the first in the queue for economy check-in and a very friendly staff tagged my luggage straight to Helsinki. Surprisingly or not the lady was wearing Air New Zealand uniform. After that it was time for a coffee and a muffin (NZ$9).

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IMG_00000055 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]


WELLINGTON TO SYDNEY ON QANTAS QF118

Airline: Qantas
Operated by Jetconnect for Qantas
Date: 23.8.2013
Departure time: 6h30 (scheduled)
Arrival time: 8h10 (scheduled)
Flight time: 3h40 (estimated)
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Seat: 6A

Soon it was time to check-in, at about 6h00. As usually, I don't like queuing if I'm not traveling with heavy hand luggage (in this leg Qantas allows 30 kg of checked-in baggage but the subsequent legs only 23 kg) but anyway the process was smooth. I did the OLCI the day before and I was surprised to get very good seating for all my 3 legs. This time it was 6A, in the front of the cabin (the best in economy is row 4, bulkhead with extra leg-room) and the seat next to me was empty. It felt like traveling in European business class! The flight load was quite high, probably over 75% for this morning departure. This flight is operated by Jetconnect (not to be confused with Jetstar, the low-cost subsidiary of Qantas). Apparently this is due to lower wages in NZ and it makes sense since it is NZ registered aircraft and NZ-based crew. I found the crew very friendly, cheerful and efficient throughout the flight. We pushed back some 15 min after the scheduled departure time and the arrival to Sydney was still slightly earlier than the scheduled arrival time.

A warm breakfast was served with two options: omelette, sausage & hash brown or muesli. I went for the first option and it turned to be very filling and tasty. The small muffin was also good, not dry, and coffee and tea was served. As you can see the tray contained a crystal glass, even though the orange juice was a packed one.

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IMG_00000057 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]

Maybe I am too used to intra-European economy class where only cold sandwiches are served in best case, but I was highly impressed by the service this 3 hour flight. Moreover, the plane had even IFE.

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IMG_00000058 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]

Again a nice detail that made this trans-Tasman hop really short. I listened to some music during take off and later I watched The Great Gatsby. Slightly before 8h00 local time we were touching down in Sydney Kingsford Smith.


SYDNEY AIRPORT

After arrival you need to pass a security control before an international transfer. Right after passing through the metal detector and while picking up my things I realized that my passport was missing. The security agent told me to check everything carefully but it was not there. He advised to go to transfer desk of Qantas, right in front of the security control. The woman asked her colleagues if something was found on the aircraft. After the cleaning brigade was not able to find it, the woman and me went back through all the way back to the plane. After a very long half an hour someone reported that my passport was on bag scanner at the security check. I made the mistake of leaving it on a tray for passing through the metal detector and eventually I felt to the floor. So basically nothing happened in the end and I could continue straight to the door for the next flight. Now I know how careful I should be with my passport!

Detail from the toilet at SYD: cleaning services check in and out using this QR code.


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IMG_00000061 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]


SYDNEY TO SINGAPORE ON QF81

Airline: Qantas
Date: 23.8.2013
Departure time: 9h40 (scheduled)
Arrival time: 16h00 (scheduled)
Flight time: 8h20 (estimated)
Aircraft: Airbus A330
Seat: 24D

This flight was a complete delight: very light load, way under 50%, made the service really great. I took my seat 24D but the crew soon announced that the boarding was completed and I saw many free seats around. So right after take off I took the 4 bulkhead seats in row 23 just for me! It was a day flight so my idea was to watch some movies, enjoy the meals and maybe a quick nap. The explanation for the low load would be that Qantas is no longer flying via Singapore to Europe and most of the connections are now done in cooperation with Emirates via Dubai. So apparently the route that used to be one of the most important ones for Qantas is now seeing very little passengers in the daytime flight.

One hour into the flight the crew started the meal service. It was a lunch, even though it was 10h30 in Sydney. Again a nice detail from Qantas, they handed out menus! In my opinion, it is easy to make a good business class: airlines get much more revenue from these seats so they can invest in a good seat and a nice on board service. What it is more difficult is to offer a high-quality economy class, and for sure Qantas has a very good one.

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IMG_00000063 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]
The menu, a water bottle that they handed right after take off and the blanket (quite soft). You can see the good legroom here. They also gave headphones, a big and comfy pillow and an envelop to collect funds for Unicef.

This was the meal:


IMG_00000064 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr

Salad: iceberg lettuce, oven-baked capsicum and feta cheese.
Main course: fish in mushroom sauce, steamed vegetables and white rice.
Dessert: chocolate mouse, cheese and crackers.

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IMG_00000065 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]

Everything was very tasty and filling. The bread was soft, not plastic-packed as you can see and nothing to do with the typical unfrozen bread roll that still is cold inside. The wine and beverage list was quite comprehensive for economy class and I opted for Australian sparkling wine.

After the lunch I had a coffee and Finlandia vodka with tonic water (they didn't give the miniature bottle).

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IMG_00000069 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]

The IFE was not very impressive, since the plane was a bit old. Still, I managed to watch three films. This A330 has seeing his best days already, but still it was clean and it was not that bad in general.

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IMG_00000062 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]

Throughout the flight we had the crew constantly serving snacks and drinks. The guys in the seats A and C were pushing the button often to ask for whiskey and fruits so I decided to do the same. They served also a mango ice cream (sorry for the blurred picture):

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IMG_00000073 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]

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Apple, apple juice and pretzels.

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IMG_00000071 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]
It was a pity that you couldn't use Furbies...

juanfc

Some time before landing they served a hot snack, which was a hot turkish panini with mozzarella and vegetables. I was not that hungry after being treated with snacks during the whole flight, but I couldn't say no to a warm and savory panini.

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IMG_00000077 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]

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Again here you can see how much space I had for myself:
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IMG_00000080 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]

The arrival card was handed and I filled it since I had a 6 hour gap in Singapore and I wanted to spot the city.

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IMG_00000080 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]
Better not to mess with Singaporeans...


SINGAPORE CHANGI AIRPORT

This airport is simply amazing: massive and with plenty of things to do for free. On arrival I sat for a while on these sofas to call home using the free wifi.

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IMG_00000084 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]

You can also try the free massage machines that relieve a bit your feet after a long flight.

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IMG_00000084 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]

Singapore Airport organizes a free city tour in partnership with SQ so I registered and had some free time around the airport before the bus pick up. I visited the cactus garden and the butterfly garden, as well as some of the duty free shops. There are some luxury brands and jewelry, as well a few electronics stores. Everything is cheaper than in Europe, even Apple products are about 20-30% less and also perfumes and cosmetics have good prices.

Soon it was time to clear immigration and take the bus, which was announced to be a 2 hour night tour. However, it was not dark even when we came back and the tour took about 1 hour. We saw many things from the bus and we also had a single stop of about 15 minutes to spot the main buildings and take some pictures. The city looks very lively and worth visiting, but this time it was only an "amouse bouche"

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IMG_00000086 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]

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IMG_00000088 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]
This square was crowded, the weather was around 30ºC so it was a nice contrast after the bad weather in NZ.

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IMG_00000091 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]

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IMG_00000090 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]


Time to fly again!


SINGAPORE TO HELSINKI ON AY82

Airline: Finnair
Date: 23.8.2013
Departure time: 23h35 (scheduled)
Arrival time: 6h35 [+1] (scheduled)
Flight time: 12h00 (estimated)
Aircraft: Airbus A340
Seat: 41E

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IMG_00000092 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]

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IMG_00000098 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]
Our bird.

Boarding started around 23h10 with the usual priority line and calling first the passengers in the back of the plane. This was my case so I could enter quickly and make myself comfortable. Boarding instructions were recorded, in English, Finnish and Swedish. You could take newspapers on the gate, Helsingin Sanomat, Ilta Sanomat and Helsingin Sanomat. The flight this time was absolutely full, not even a single seat empty as the crew told me. It was one of the Finnair A340 (not their usual old ex-AF for this route). The cabin looks clean and the light colors make it feel pleasant. I had an E seat, in the middle of the row. However this was the only available on the row 41 and I decided to take it because of the extra legroom. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of the inside this time, but the flight was nothing to write home about. Staff were a mix of Singaporean and Finnish and were efficient and somewhat cheerful. The purser was the typical Finnair grandmother. The IFE was similar in size and variety as on my previous flight. However, the meal side of the flight was much worse than Qantas:

- The meal was small and the items were not easy to identify. For the dinner they had chicken with noodles or vegetarian (pasta), both looking tasteless and unappealing. The dessert was rather dry (a chocolate pancake) and the bread one of those awful packed bread rolls.
- Of course, no menus handed. And as the flight was full the crew was trying to serve as fast as possible so you also had to decide fast.
- Wine is poured in a cheap plastic glass (remember the crystal glass of Qantas + the wine bottle). The tray also includes a packed spring water (not a bottle).
- The same goes for the breakfast, egg fritatta (no choice) with spinach, a yogurt and a coffee service.
- You have to pay for snacks after the meal service, as well as for spirits.

I was unsure about the dinner service, being a late night flight so I have asked the ground staff (from the Finnair counter) about it. The answer was rather disappointing: "Yeah, they serve dinner, but you'd better have dinner in the airport". I don't need to say anything else...

In the back of the plane they had a small bar ("Complimentary refreshments") that had coffee, tea, juice and muffins. They were also serving water during the night.

On the good side, also on economy class Finnair has items from the new Marimekko collaboration, a famous Finnish design house. In economy they had this nice blanket and this smallish all-green pillow

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IMG_00000166 by pikkuprinssi, on Flickr[/IMG]

The paper cups, the napkins and the headrest cover were also designed by Marimekko and very nice I have to say. When they started talking about this collaboration I thought that much of the items were only for the business class but fortunately they also thought of us traveling on the back of the plane
However, if you are not from Finland I reckon that it just looks like some Ikea design and nothing special. However, in Finland (and in other countries) the brand is really appreciated and their textiles and clothes are not Ikea-priced.
Also during the flight (during boarding, after take off and right before landing) they were showing Finnair promo on the screens, about their history and values. This was a nice touch.

I managed to sleep most of the flight.

Finally we arrived at the convenient Helsinki airport, at about the scheduled time. I made use of the biometric automated passport control and my bag was one of the first going out on the belt.



COMMENTS ON THE RETURN TRIP

Now I know how much effort and time takes writing trip reports! I appreciate your texts even more now
So I will make only a few remarks concerning the return trip.

HELSINKI TO SINGAPORE ON AY81
Airline: Finnair
Date: 5.9.2013
Departure time: 23h55 (scheduled)
Arrival time: 16h40 [+1] (scheduled)
Flight time: 11h45 (estimated)
Aircraft: Airbus A340
Seat: 42C

This time the flight was on one of the older planes, ex-AF bird. However, concerning the economy cabin I only feel that the IFE is worse. The rest was fine for me, after my expectations were too low because of the comments here on FT. The seats are light blue instead of the darker color of the newer model. And yes, the IFE its really useless (poor selection, poor quality) but I tried to sleep as much as I could. The load was significantly lower, probably around 60%. I was surprised to find it that empty after the full flight AY82. The food had the same standards and this time I opted for a beer with it (Koff or Carlsberg) so at least I got a full can. The seats had ashtrays, which I haven't seen on planes for a long time. Another surprising thing is that they had much less newspapers in their own base than in Singapore, and this time I couldn't get anything.

SINGAPORE TO SYDNEY ON QF6
Airline: Qantas
Date: 6.9.2013
Departure time: 22h25 (scheduled)
Arrival time: 8h05 [+1] (scheduled)
Flight time: 7h40 (estimated)
Aircraft: Boeing 747
Seat: 68G

I was not lucky with the seats in this flight and I was seated on the really back of the plane (at least it was an aisle seat as I wanted) and it was full. Again I was a bit surprised, since the daytime flight was nearly empty even thought the aircraft was much smaller than this time. The same great service of the outbound flight, with the difference that it was night time so the crew was mostly in the galley. I went after the dinner to talk with them there (as I was not able to sleep) and we had a nice conversation. They were three male stewards, aged 40-55, and some other passengers were talking and drinking as well. You always find very interesting people when flying, and I like to use this possibility to talk as much as I can (only with who is willing to, of course!). In the seat around me I had a group of Singaporean geology students that were flying to Fiji in a study trip. Even a mini amenity kit was given this time: eyeshades, toothbrush and toothpaste. It's nice to fly with them in economy, so I wonder how good their higher cabins are.

SYDNEY TO WELLINGTON ON QF47
Airline: Qantas
Operated by Jetconnect for Qantas
Date: 7.9.2013
Departure time: 9h20 (scheduled)
Arrival time: 14h35 [+1] (scheduled)
Flight time: 3h15 (estimated)
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Seat: 19F

The flight was delayed initially about half an hour due to the late arrival of the aircraft from Wellington. However, later they also found a technical problem so we departed on hour late. They were keeping us informed through the speakers. A man in the waiting area said that as it was election day in Australia there can be some disruptions from the normal functioning of the airport. However it was not that bad and we arrived around 15h30 in Wellington, after a bumpy landing that seems unavoidable in this city. Again I was not lucky with the seat and I was seating quite in the back, but it was fine for this short hop. The crew was as nice as in QF118 and the breakfast equally good.


That was all! Thanks for reading and hope that you enjoyed

michlflyer

Thank you for sharing. Enjoyed reading your report.

It always makes a nice change to read a report that includes the kind of longhaul economy travel that most people have to put up with.

I flew Finnair about 20 years ago from Beijing to Helsinki. The food was as indifferent as the menus you described in your report. The alcohol, however, seemed to be plentiful and was then free.

Look forward to another report from you sometime.

Annalisa12

Thanks for great trip report.