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kpc

kpc

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www.helsinkitimes.fi

How did Finnair descend from grace to ground?

Once Finland's crown jewel, the partly state-owned Finnair has seen a steady decline in its stature. "The world is like an apple," begins a nostalgic Finnair advertisement from the 1960s. "We live here," illustrates a hand, sketching a modest circle on the apple. "While we've been exploring...
www.helsinkitimes.fi www.helsinkitimes.fi

Reminds you of any airline?! ;)
 
Yes, I can agree with the sentiment. We fly HKG to Helsinki last week and the meal service was one of the worst I ever had and does smell of massive cost cutting. The food was undercooked ( carrots) the chicken and pasta bland and totally uninspiring and desert was dry cake. Tip eat at the airport before getting onboard. The hard product is good though - we flew A350 in Y. We got the comfort seat ( which has extra leg room) that helped a lot. IFE was a bit limited and screen doesn’t tilt, so if the passenger in front reclines you have to strain a bit to keep watching the movie. Cabin service was ok, nothing stellar (Qantas is way better here). Did get all our bags though. We had access to the schengen side business lounge which is okish. Food on offer very limited, basically one main dish and a number of sides. Wine, beer etc also available- similiar quality to Qantas Lounge. They do have showers which were great to use while we waited for our next flight.

We had a 7 hour stop over in Helsinki and went into town for a quick look around. Its only half an hour by train and everything is walking distance from the train station. I would highly recoomend it, if you have a long layover;)
 
kpc said:
www.helsinkitimes.fi

How did Finnair descend from grace to ground?

Once Finland's crown jewel, the partly state-owned Finnair has seen a steady decline in its stature. "The world is like an apple," begins a nostalgic Finnair advertisement from the 1960s. "We live here," illustrates a hand, sketching a modest circle on the apple. "While we've been exploring...
www.helsinkitimes.fi www.helsinkitimes.fi

Reminds you of any airline?! ;)
Click to expand...
OMG the parallels are just scary. without the headline I could easily have believed it was by Joe Aston in the AFR 😆
 
But hussshhhh there, keep quiet you all! The article refers to something QF hasn't realised yet to monetise: the call centre.

Please choose from one of the following options:
1 - $5 per call for an uninitiated junior agent with <6 months of experience.
2 - $20 for an agent who knows the basics but lacks access or authority to do anything for you.
3 - $50 for an agent who knows most of what they talk about but lacks access or authority. They have travelled outside their home province by land transport.
4 - $100 for a competent agent who can refer to their supervisor or support teams for help. They've been on an airplane.
5 - $200 for a properly equipped agent who can resolve your query or escalate it appropriately. They've also travelled by air more than three times.
 
OATEK said:
Agree that the AY lounges in HEL are fairly ordinary for food and drink. I have had some of the best service and meals on AY pre-covid and am also deeply saddened to observe their race to the bottom.
Click to expand...
I was last in an AY lounge in 2018, Schengen lounge, breakfast offering.

Wasn't much to write home about, but then again, I said, I'm in a lounge in Europe (actually, Scandinavia, and not a longhaul one either).

Not sure how they could be worse than that unless they go down the old USA lounges where all there was lots of salt and sugar and alcohol at a cost.
Sprucegoose said:
Has AJ been moonlighting there as well?
Click to expand...
Don't laugh - his name will probably grace a few textbook studies in Business Schools... and while some of them might be how to avoid disgrace, some of them are likely going to be about how to optimise economics (yes, even at the cost of your soul).

Seat0B said:
OMG the parallels are just scary. without the headline I could easily have believed it was by Joe Aston in the AFR 😆
Click to expand...
Nah, way too tame language to be Joe Aston.
 
OATEK said:
Agree that the AY lounges in HEL are fairly ordinary for food and drink.
Click to expand...

The AY First lounge at HEL (non-schegen) is decent but has a much smaller a la carte menu than the AA Soho lounge in JFK or the QF or BA First lounges.
 
In 2017 we were in the AY Schengen lounge at Helsinki. It was reasonable but very crowded. Before our return to Singapore we used the non-Schengen lounge for a midnight departure. The lounge was quiet and nicely fitted out plus the staff were good but the food offerings were basically non-existent.
 
hAppY 100th anniversArY!

Finnair 100

This year Finnair will turn 100 – we have brought people together since 1923. Stay tuned for our centenary highlights during 2023!
www.finnair.com www.finnair.com
 
OZDUCK said:
In 2017 we were in the AY Schengen lounge at Helsinki. It was reasonable but very crowded. Before our return to Singapore we used the non-Schengen lounge for a midnight departure. The lounge was quiet and nicely fitted out plus the staff were good but the food offerings were basically non-existent.
Click to expand...

Appalling lack of meat especially.
 
I've flown with them inner Europe a fair bit this Summer- all very reasonably priced J class reward seats via Qantas. I agree that the Schengen lounge at Helsinki is dismal and at many times, totally overfilled. The flights, however, were quite alright- attentive service, hot meal on 2-3 hour long flights and plenty of drinks if you wanted. Also give you half an hour of free Wifi per flight which I loved. Would select them again in a heartbeat.
 
Having flown AY 4 times back in September I think I’m qualified to comment here. Economy on their A350 (SIN > HEL) leaves much to be desired. There is just a USB-A charging port - that’s all folks which did squat for me as all my chargers are compliant to EU law! I believe this will soon be illegal under EU rules due to the adoption of USB-C ports. No in seat A/C power for a 13 hour flight. Premium Economy I’m told offers the addition of USB-C charging. Big whoop! The meals leave much to be desired. On SIN > HEL you were given just one alcohol serving during dinner and that was it. And it wasn’t the full bar menu either. Want a G&T? That’ll cost you! Even on the hound in Y I could get a G&T no problem and that’s the hound! After that it was light refreshments. Having flown them on regional route HEL > FRA there was a choice of water of Ay’s signature blueberry juice (highly recommend). Coffees, teas and sodas were extra. On my way back flying HEL > SIN I was offered an 800 Euro upgrade to AY J which I took given the length of the flight and the fact that AF owes me 600 Euros on the trip already due to EU261. As others have noted the lie flat seat is really something and one of the more comfortable seats I’ve tried. Storage wasn’t great but hey at least there was an electrical outlet. Catering was on the light side but was tasty.

Lounge wise AY is the only European airline I am aware of who maintains a better Schengen business lounge than non-Schengen lounge. If I fly KLM, the non-Schengen Crown lounge blows the Schengen lounge out of the water in terms of amenities like a terrace, sleeping pods, etc. similar thing for Suisse and Lufthansa. However with AY the Schengen lounge is more spacious with a sleeping section. Now granted I did not try the First class section of the non-Schengen lounge as my flight to SIN departed well after that wing closed.

Some food for thought!

-RooFlyer88
 
I flew AY HKG to HEL in Y in September and had a “comfort seat”. Its basically a economy seat with extra legroom, which was well appreciated. The food offering was really bad - hard cooked chicken and pasta, with an asian style desert bun. The single glass of wine was also below par. The entertainment options are probably similiar to VA’s local offfering which is less than you expect on a 14 hour flight. If you fly them make sure you eat a good meal at the airport and have a few glassess of wine before getting onboard ;)
 
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