Finnair AY914 Olso Gardermoen to Helsinki Vantaa, Business Class
Summer Premium Adventures
In this Summer Premium Adventure (Warning: Long!)
- In the Summertime when the weather is hot…
- Off to Heathrow, British Airways Galleries North Lounge
- BA762 London Heathrow to Oslo – A321neo (EuroTraveller)
- Oslo Airport, OSL Lounge
- AY914 Oslo to Helsinki, Business Class
- Helsinki Airport lounging
- QR302 Helsinki to Doha (Business Class)
- Doha Lounge Stop Part 1
- QR946 Doha to Singapore (QSuites)
- Hotel Indigo, Katong, Singapore
- Exploring Hawker Markets
- Intercontinental, Bugis, Singapore
- Orchids Everywhere – The National Orchid Garden
- Off to Changi featuring the Singapore Pokemon Centre
- Scoot TR604 Singapore to Bangkok
- Dream Hotel, Bangkok
- Exploring the Wats
- Food Mistakes in Bangkok (Or Regrets. I have a more than a few)
- Back to Suvarnabhumi, Qatar Airways Lounge, Bangkok Airport
- QR833 Bangkok to Doha (QSuites)
- Another long Doha Layover
- QR175 Doha to Oslo
- Back at Oslo Airport
- BA767 Oslo to London Heathrow (EuroTraveller)
- Homeward bound
- Always Curious
AY914 Oslo to Helsinki
Finnair, Airbus A319, business class, Seat 3F
40 Tier Points Earned, 500 Avios Earned + 125 Avios Cabin Bonus
I was welcomed aboard the Finnair flight to the usual Finnair warmth.
With a seat of 3F, the airline operates a Eurobusiness style seat – with the middle seat blocked and no cocktail tray.
Almost as if a certain other British airline took an idea from them for their new aircraft.
The seat itself is a Recaro BL3510 which is a good enough last generation short-haul fleet that Finnair standardised with across their Airbus A320 family aircraft.
It provides reasonable support -even if the seat is missing some mod-cons like In-Seat power.
During boarding
Legroom
Oh yes – there are air vents.
As the plane boarded there were more than a few jealous looks at my row and my complimentary seat. I wasn’t worried. Hopefully – if I played my cards right – I would have three seats to myself to Helsinki.
And lo and behold -the row remained free once doors went to close.
And the seat next to it. And I’ve just worked out where I left my headphones.
I could get used to this premium travel malarkey.
A safety demonstration was manually given as the aircraft pushed back to begin its journey to Helsinki.
Safety card.
With a reasonably long taxi, There was a chance to take in the local sights. And not so local sights with the European low-cost carriers
Thai Airways Airbus A350-900
Norwegian Boeing 737-800
airBaltic Boeing 737 – an increasingly rare sight as the airline moves to an Airbus A220 fleet
Lining up
There was a wait for traffic to pass as aircraft waited for access to the runway – and it was interesting to see the low-cost carriers waiting to depart.
Easyjet Airbus A320
Ryanair Boeing 737-800
There was a queue for departure, but eventually, AY914 was allowed to barrel down the runway, and into the sky.
With a nice gentle climb out, we headed on our run to Helsinki.
And above the clouds.
Hot towels were also handed out.
This aircraft has overhead IFE on it with small screens… but more impressively, it had been fitted with ViaSat’s Connectivity solution – which means I could annoy people from the sky.
Cabin during cruise.
Inflight Wi-fi was reasonably priced for this 1 hour 30 segment – with the first 30 minutes offered free of charge to business class passengers.
One thing I do like about the Nordic Sky Portal is are the dead-spot higlights.
This is welcome to see – from a PaxEx point of view, it’s good to see that something rather than nothing is offered to promote in-flight connectivity.
Registration was simple for this version of Finnair’s Nordic Sky – and within minutes, I was connected to the world.
The solution is pretty fast – which is welcome to see, and especially since it was included at no cost.
Impressive Wi-Fi speeds from ViaSat
There was also paper IFE in the form of the magazine, food menu and duty-free
With 30 minutes of Wi-Fi gone, the food selection had rolled out. This was interesting to see, as a single meal had been catered for the cabin (cheese-filled ravioli), with the crew reacting as appropriate.
Apart from special meals loaded in front of me, there was a person who couldn’t eat the pasta for some reason. They were offered a sandwich from the buy on board straight away – no questions asked. Its good to see that few have the authority to pull stock and give it to premium class customers as needed.. compared to a certain British airline (again)
As for the meal itself… it’s different is all I’ll say. The pasta was done reasonably well, offset in cheese with walnuts on top, and red cabbage on the bottom.
The tray
The pasta. A little different to say the least.
The bubbles were more than passable even in a small bottle form. Notably, they seemed less acidic than some short-haul champagne choices – which is welcome to see.
With the tray cleared quickly, we were already beginning our descent on this short hop.
But it seems when single staffing a business cabin, Finnair has the same problem with service speed as other airlines who offer a business class cabin… or the lack of it thereafter. Whilst a second crew member came to help, it was a full hour before the last person was served – right at the top of the decent.
Clearing down
None the less, the cabin was cleared down in time and everyone who had chosen to eat was able to eat their meal without a rush – something to be grateful for.
With the cabin cleared down, and the aircraft secure, the plane began its approach towards Helsinki Vantaa airport.
This is a sight that makes me sad when you’re sat next to a window…
Especially as it was a lovely day for flying outside.
With ease, AY914 descended through the cloud layers as it vectored in on its home base
AY914 showing where it is. Good thing you can view it on your phone or through the Nordic Sky Portal.
The Airbus A319 peeled off the runway and begun taxing around Helsinki Airport, as it hunted for a gate or a stand.
Parked Boeing 737 MAX 8s…
Gotta love those sharklets – Finnair Airbus A350
And a special sight today – The Finnair A330 Marimekko special
Sadly, the plane found a hard stand to park at. Bus number two of the trip it seems.
With the brakes on and the seatbelt sign extinguished, I made sure I gathered my items together.
Time to leave row three…
And the forlorn-looking blanket
I headed out – and off into one of my favourite airports, Helsinki Vantaa.
Overall: Whilst the catering was a little different to what I would have expected on AY914, the crew were wonderfully warm – with the spark I love in Finnair. Yes, there are product timing issues (although this seems to be a consistent issue with any airline offering a warm meal in a sub 1 hour 30 flight, all the essentials of a good passenger experience were there.
The one thing that topped it off – 30 minutes of free Wi-Fi. Gestures like that to premium passenger experience matter.
Next: The Temporary Finnair Lounge and Helsinki Vantaa airport.
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