APRIL 2023 UPDATE: Finnair no longer provides pillows in Economy Class, as stated in a press release: "We provide blankets for our Economy Class customers on long-haul flights, but pillows are no longer available. Many customers already travel with their own travel pillow, and on long-haul flights, the neck rest supports your head." Source: www.finnair.com/en/bluewings/travel-experience/updates-in-services-onboard-finnair-flights-starting-on-19-april-2908062
And they will be downsizing their inflight meal service options as well, as was seen here. Business class will no longer be served Champagne, but Sparkling Wine. All in all, the loss of the routes above Russia have seriously damaged the long term prospects of the airline. Not impressed at all, particularly when you have options (albeit with stops) with Turkish or Qatar.
Sad to hear this about Finnair downsizing. I absolutely loved flying with them pre-pandemic. Great legroom (we are of the same height), great experience inflight and a great airport. Really sad to see the meals like this, it used to be totally awesome with that blueberry juice and the free chocolates. I'll probably still support them given the chance if using economy from Singapore to Europe. The stops in the middle east via Qatar or Emirates are too troublesome and breaks your sleep and you get more tired.
Thanks for this update - I usually use the pillow that they provide, to support my side when I am leaning against the bulkhead on a window seat while resting. I will pick up a small travel pillow now that I know they aren't providing one :)
A pillow is such a simple thing but it can give extra comfort, I know they are trying to save money, but at this point they keep taking things away and prices just keep going up whilst providing less. Probably won't be flying with them anymore after my trip next month :/ Let's see how it goes ...
11:34. Hey, Yes if the pilots turned on the wing inspection lights, the engines could also be seen during night. But at cruising altitude generally pilots switch off the wing lights. If it's a icing condition then some pilots turn that on as the wing bulb gets hot which results in melting of ice. Hope it helps 😊
I flew with them in February 2023 (Frankfurt to Orlando). While there were a few complications, all in all the flight experience with Finnair was nice. The flight was initially booked with Lufthansa. Also, I got a really good deal on the round trip tickets. I would like to thank you for posting so many ``ECONOMY Class´´ videos. These are the type of flights that most people can afford. Have a great day.
Wow - 9 minute transfer time (which includes passport control) is very impressive. I like watching your trip reports. Would you consider doing a different series of videos on your channel focusing on airport transfers/connecting flights? For example if someone is flying Lufthansa and needs to change plans in FRA or if someone is flying LOT and needs to transfer in WAW, etc I think it’ll be valuable and informative video for those who are unfamiliar with the new airport and it’ll be helpful to many so they know what to expect. Especially if passport control is involved for those leaving EU or for those entering EU but continuing to a different European country. I’ve seen that some airlines sell tickets with only 60 minutes between flights-I always wonder if that’s enough time to go through passport control to make a connection 🤔 Keep up the great work! Your channel is DEFINITELY in top 3 when it comes to airline reviews 👍🏽
keep in mind there was practically no passport control because of the eu passports automatic machines. if you aren't an eu citizen, it would take an hour
@@iliasrbn8930 Singapore-Helsinki flight lands to Helsinki-Vantaa when there's no one else but overnight sleepers so walking from other side of the airport to Schengen is really fast. Even with normal passport control there's no one else the security, so that one hour is quite extreme scenario that needs flight to be terribly late. I've been flying this route for past two years almost every month, and only on one occasion I've seen one hour queue even for EU citizens, but that needed landing to be like 2h late and to enjoy the worst morning rush.
The cost cutting to the food service is pretty ridiculous, especially on a 12hr flight. Another channel did the business class on the same flight and only had 1 full meal plus 1 light meal, yet somehow this was praised lol.
I took the exact same flight in Y class two days before you, on 20.09.2022. I feel AY is borderline budget airline with its onboard offerings, especially catering. Other than that, I think it was an OK experience for me.
at 11:33 the engines are illuminated either by the engine or wing inspection lights mounted on the inboard side of the fuselage of the aircraft. Not quite sure why they are on at cruising altitude though unless the crew suspected icing. Hope that helps!
Cool to see some Finland again and some love for the airport :D It's my favorite for sure with how quick and easy it is to get around in and I'm totally not biased because I'm Finnish. It took me once about 20 minutes to get through passport control, but it was at a busy time and only one lane was in use for accessible travel and there was some chaos with the passengers ahead of us but they found a solution when waiting wasn't really working.
can I recommend a China airlines London to Taipei, I haven’t seen any reviews about this, or Korean air Long haul or Asiana airlines long haul? If so that would enlighten me so much!
@@SFAvgeek I agree!, I would love to fly them to Taipei, but i would like to see the flight and meal options first, I haven’t seen any reviews on London - Taipei with China airlines yet.
Considering that Finnair has to replan their entire business model due to the Russian airspace closure and slow East Asia post-pandemic recovery, I see new cost-cutting measures and I feel for them. Also, I heard they want to focus on India to US traffic and more HEL o&d instead (personally I feel it's a bigger grave they're digging considering how competitive both are). Having said that, I flew this same route (SIN-HEL) same A350 back in 2017. While the flight was average (neither best nor worst, but better than LH A380 in economy), I noticed 2 strange anomalies: 1. Except the Finn pilot, everyone else working onboard were Singaporeans who previously worked for SQ. 2. This flight had the largest amount of third-country nationals taking it of all my flights (Australians going to Europe). *Edit: Also HEL was the easiest European airport I had ever transited in.
True to a certain degree but if you really think about it logically fuel is the biggest cost component. The marginal cost of offering a proper dessert vs packaged chocolate is Very very minimal in the grand schema of things….like that US airline exec who figured they could scrap a few dollars by removing a piece of olive from each salad like how sad. I think they are focussing on the wrong areas to cut costs which at the end of the day impacts the customer experience and dilutes their brand value to be known theseday as that one cheap bastard who can’t be bothered to spend on anything. At the end of the day not all routes are impacted by Russian airspace closure…..US Westcoast routes do not overfly Russia and yet the same bare bones food offering is there…..what excuse to they have for that now. The very least they can do is not go cheap in Business class where ultimately people are paying loads of money….if I were paying 2-3k euros to sit in Business class I’d be hell pissed to see they’re penny pinching in almost every aspect. No choice for breakfast on an almost 14 hour flight…and I paid 3k euros for that crap? No thanks.
nah they were the same in 2018 when I flew MAN - Helsinki - BKK with them, the Helsinki to BKK being on an identical A350 to the one in this video apart from the software revision on the ex3 IFE
Great reviews ! Took the exact same flight 3 months ago ! I was disappointed mainly by the food. Let’s remember that’s a 12 hour flight, I have had more food and more choices on twice as short flights. Beside found the crew to be very cold. However the hard product is excellent
Brutally honest is genuinely my favourite airline review videos out there. The way its presented is just perfect. I also just love how this channel has so many economy reviews👏. There's something enjoyable about watching economy reviews that business doesn't have. Its probably the fact that it's more relatable to real life experience for those of us that cannot afford higher classes
They seriously need to rethink their meal options, only one choice available on my flight it was Vegetarian Lasagne and Quinoa salad only one alcoholic drink and a small cheese sandwich prior to landing. I like the cabin though.
yes considering they are expensive compared to others who fly from the UK to Bangkok and include a lot more in the flight price such as alcoholic drinks and mean choices
Finnair looks to be a pretty nice airline! I also always love the flight reviews because they're mostly in economy, but the other guys review is in business or first class, which is something most of us can't afford.
FINNAIR is the airline which I always wanted to try especially their A350's economy class. I'm surprised to learn that only one choice (yes - no) is available as most airlines provide two and some three options. As a Frequent flyers of Asian based carriers, I realised how lucky I am. Beer, wine, whiskey are free even in economy's class.
i think the limited service might still be a symptom of the pandemic or the result of the difficulties the company faces right now with the closed airspace over russia which obviously seriously strained their business as routes to Asia were their main quick focus… we used to fly them regularly to Japan before the pandemic and I remember them serving at least 2 options like most other full service airlines and also providing little things like bred roll, crackers etc… i hope they return to that at some point
I flew them back in 2019 Helsinki to Bangkok, there definitely worth it, I can’t really compare them to other airlines, because that was my first long haul flight, this summer I’ll be going to Kuala Lumpur with Qatar and back I’ll be going with Turkish airlines, so I can’t wait to compare them.
Just flew Finnair from here (AGP) via HEL to HND and back NRT via HEL to AGP. To the background, I’m coming from a 3 generations Lufthansa Family and usually I would stick to them and Star Alliance. However, in the post Covid universe I have experienced during the last 12 months such skyrocketing sh** , including but not limited to delays, downgrading, bitchy staff on chat, landbased and up in the air I made it a lifegoal to avoid them forever! Granted, this is a challenge, I’m living in southern Spain, my family is in Germany, my husband is Japanese… avoiding the LH group in Europe means extra cost, but my bad experience affect almost all parts of the grp(LH, Swiss, Eurowings) Now to Finnair: Flight 1: AGP - HEL extremely timely departure, disciplined grp boarding, nice pre ordered eco food. HEL- HND : eco, but we reserved the extra comfort seats, worth the 129 euros, extra 10 cm legroom. Good food. NRT - HEL: I missed reserving the extra comfort seats. We had to fly in the normal wood class. Food was great, legroom was okay for me(1.72), my 1.95m husband didn’t feel that well, but was able to fall asleep. I had to my right a Japanese tourist guide for an elderly group of tourists who had nightmares and made quite some noise, so my 13 hours flying over the North Pole were sleepless. Food was awesome though, it was burger meat with vegetables first and then a very good breakfast. Arriving at HEL at 5.50 am I was in need of sleep and a shower. We went to GLO hotel that offer extremely comfortable and clean day rooms for 79 euros (landside and just to the left after exiting customs) and we could board our connection flight back home to AGP at 17.55.. HEL-AGP : super timely boarding again, and taxi was one minute ahead of projected time. Pre-ordered food again on eco was super tasty (not everyone’s case for sure, deer meat with Brie in a bread with salad) One thing that stroke me was that despite heavy side winds the pilots loved to land each time super soft… I’m amazed. I’ll book my next flight next week again to Japan with Finnair (this time premium economy though, economy is really good at Finnair, but if you travel 36 hours you really want a bit of extra comfort) … so I’m really satisfied with Finnair and will do it again and again @finnair: well done! You impressed a long term star alliance idiot. Just your inflight system: the map system from Panasonic is crashing the IFS frequently and it takes 10 minutes for it to restart. I would avoid offering this system as long as these flaws exist. The Android system with the low memory is simply not able to handle it … some QA needed here 😊… other than that: outstanding airplanes, staff, service, punctuality. ❤ Finnair
Great review here my friend. Singapore is my favourite stopover when travelling to Europe to visit Friend & family., , cheap street food at the Hawker centre’s and overall such a great cosmopolitan Asian city. It’s also great you briefly covered their metro system and how cheap & easy it is to get around the City-State. Finnair is certainly a "different " Airline, certainly and not quite on the same level as to other better known airlines the that fly from Europe to from S.E Asia and vice versa, but worthy of consideration for their price point.
speaking of jewel, you can now actually check in early there from 12-6pm, apart from finnair's own early check in at the terminal itself starting a few hours before departure. not sure when this was reintroduced though, certainly after september of 2022.
The meals you received are standard economy class meals on any airline. Universal power outlets are only available in the business class. When you travel economy class you have to charge your phone before boarding the aircraft.
9 minutes at HEL? Wow. Here's my typical experience: Fly down from northern Finland, sitting in row 1 because I have a tight connection. But the plane is needed on a non-Schengen flight next, so we dock at the furthest non-Schengen gate we can find. Can't exit from that into Schengen, so they open the back door and throw everyone into a bus - except we don't all fit, and they need to find a second bus. Free ramp tour, woohoo! Dumped at gate 20, upstairs, run back to passport control (under which there's a perfectly good bus gate), run to the gate, same plane I just left. Occasionally throw in a second bus transfer for good measure.
16:00 You can only use the automatic gates if you are EU citizen, my experience is a lot longer then 9 min because the lines at passport control can get very long.
The reason why the engines are illuminated is there are lights facing them from the fuselage. Usually there are turned off during cruise but some airlines leave them on.
i wondered if they had a USB port since I knew (and you confirmed) no power outlets (strange for a long haul flight IMO). I may fly the DFW-HEL flight in the fall on my airmiles thru American/Oneworld since I would get to HEL at 1045 am versus connecting thru LHR and using Finnair to HEL. Great video!
I am still puzzled as for the basic service they are usually on the pricey end of all carriers to Asia from Switzerland. And not having outsourced staff
Pointing out on how early check in lounge wasn’t available early check in has shifted to Jewel where it’s available for finnair, singapore airlines qantas etc maybe at the timing of filming it was still closed
There was an area in the Jewel for early check-in, but at the time of my flight it only displayed Qantas and one other airline I don’t remember as eligible airlines, which is different from pre-COVID where more than a dozen airlines were eligible. Also, if it was the same as pre-COVID I would have expected them to take down the sign in Terminal 1 or at least hang up another sign informing passengers of the new location.
I love this channel because it features Economy the most - meaning I can actually fly the experiences this channel reviews. Not gonna afford business anytime soon,
An excellent report, thanks! One thing: 7:23 those greenish seat covers were only found on their A343/333s (a couple still have), the older A350 seats had a light grey covers.
My guess for the engines looking bright on the camera is that there either isn't an IR filter, so the heat is visible, or maybe there is a light reflecting off them. Happy to be corrected by someone who knows more.
yeah just been looking through my 2018 photos when I flew Helsinki to Bangkok, seats and cabin look identical, just seems to be an EX3 software revision such as the Arc moving map platform. I've just looked online and that is indeed the case
@@ant2312 Yeah the old seats on Finnair A350 had just a bit lighter grey covers, the material is different though. And now they have a separate PE class.
Damn I was waiting for you to take a look at the first economy rows, but there was only a quick look while you went past them. They are comfort seats and have around 3-4 inches more leg space. We just bought them to Tokyo at 99€ price but no previous experience. 😅
At 10:23 you mention complimentary alcoholic drinks, but if I recall correctly , the only offer you ONE alcoholic drink🍷 during meal service. Any extra drinks are at additional cost. So have your credit card ready!
The engines does not glow...flightcrew turned the wing-lights on to see if there is ice on the wings edge or /and on the engines;-) For this reason u can also see that "F" on the winglet - otherwise it would be pitch black out there;-)
Flying from Western Europe to Asia I highly recommend Finnair, especially the A350, an aircraft, which really makes the difference!! Fresh air all the way, less noise. No head-ache on arrival. Love it. May Finnair´s eco-food be what it is, the cabin is nice, the seat comfy (go for premium economy, which does not cost so much more than normal eco, but adds a lot of benefits). Connecting at Helsinki is easy as 1-2-3 as shown. Avoid terminal changes at big airports like LHR, FRA etc. Can be nerve wrecking to find out, where to go. Additionally it is time-consuming. And often you need to pass a security check again. Annoying. About the crews of AY: can be fun or not. If you know, how to connect to them, and win their hears, they will be very attentive.
Premium or ECO, minimum difference. Still a nightmare. Finnair has many opportunities how to get business pretty cheap, I never pay more than 1500usd for a return trip europe asia
Hi, Great video, TBH, I love Finnair's livery, the A350 itself seems like a very quiet and comfy aircraft to fly on and Finnair's cabin particularly economy seems like a warm inviting cabin with a calm soothing vibes and the IFE looks great and seems intuitive and easy enough to use, so far so good well done Finnair, for the dinner service I expected more from a full cost carrier with options, one meal option is not enough in my opinion during this age of travel, some universal power outlets would also be nice, that will be my only criticism, for sure Finnair has some great qualities that other airlines could take example on and could adapt.
Just wanted to add that at Changi Airport's boarding gates, you can technically leave after entering to use the washrooms. You just have to bring all your belongings with you and go through the security checks again. I have done that in the past haha
Security check just before boarding is the safest option. Airports are so big that someone can always pass you something after the check. I always wondered why other airports don't do the same. You can always come in at the last 25 minutes and there wont be any line,
Transiting HEL all depends upon your origination. Examples: the US and SIN are trusted security systems so you enter directly into the Terminal. Not all originations allow you to not re-clear security. Example: Bangkok. Directed into an arrival corridor and forced through security.
I flew Helsinki to Bangkok in 2018 on one, expensive flight and you only get one free alcoholic drink and that's with your meal. Qatar, Etihad and Emirates unlimited alcoholic drinks included. Qatar A350 I flew on was a nicer cabin too
Thank you David for the comprehensive and nice Flightreport, especially with the stunning footage of the approach of HEL Airport. And yes, I'd love to watch a review about Finnairs Preco.😀
It looks like the crews were Singapore based crews.Were there any Finnish crew serving in economy?Service obviously isnt very good as it looks like they dont go around with juice and water during the flight and you have to get up and go to the galley to help yourself.Other than that..the seat and IFE looks very good.
Yeah but that’s not the point, if I want beef rather than chicken then you’re out of luck as basically your options are limited to whatever meal they serve on board (no choice) or the many dietary restrictions special meal which we all know will be bland and boring..anyways they’re skimping out on the wrong thing. Catering costs are a marginal fraction of their entire cost base…in comparison to labour / fuel costs
Excellent review as all of your brutally honest videos. You have done a great effort to improve and l really appreciate that. I watched every single second. Keep it up! :)
Odd how this seems like a downgrade. I flew with Finnair A350 to and from Japan in 2019 and the plane had a power outlet, coat hanger, and better food. The only noticeable improvement is the IFE
Hello there. Very nice trip report. Kudos to being able to cope with a 12-hr. flight in Economy Class. My spouse and I will be flying from Toronto to Croatia this fall (almost 9-hr. flight) and on Air Transat. originally I selected Economy Plus which provides more legroom and wider seats, but since there in none on the A330-200 aircraft, we got bumped up to Club Class which is Air Transat's version of First Class. Have flown it before to Scotland and is quite comfortable, so we are all set. TBH, was not impressed with the food selections available on your Finnair flight. Hopefully thay will improve in 2023. Keep up the good work!
Finnair has always been busy in Asia, the business is mainly based on connections through HEL, with the exception of Thailand (BKK and HKT). The closed RUS airspace gives them a serious headache now though.
@@mikrokupu if Finnair can have such a busy network to Asia, then so can Norwegian based in Oslo. We don't have a single direct flight to East Asia from here, and that's a disgrace.
@@languist Finnair really did push into that market, and suceeded. Sadly they now need to think their business all over again, but it was a finnish success story seing Finnair grow.
Great video David! Just vacate a member now feels great to be part of your channel. Kudos to you and Felix!!! Hope you can do an Air Canada Brutally Honest review sometime for their Premium Economy or Signature Business class one day
Main advantage is that you don't cluster everyone taking every flight in SIN at the same security area so any miscreant who wants to cause trouble will not be able to hit the huge crowd of people waiting for security. And even if someone wants to hit the crowd waiting for security at the gate the threat can be isolated quickly and the area cordoned off to minimise disruption to operations. That being said, Terminal 4 uses check-in security because that is the reduced cost terminal so the reduced manpower required gives certain advantages in cost savings.
I enjoyed my Finnair flights to/from Singapore, the A350 is so comfy to fly on. HEL is like a breath of fresh air, compared to my home airport AMS. However I do feel the use of foreign crew is very exploitative, and therefore I won't be flying Finnair again soon.
![ประสบการณ์ จ้าง Developer ที่ผมจะไม่มีวันลืม [ภาค2]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pZbsSDRrmXA/mqdefault.jpg)
APRIL 2023 UPDATE: Finnair no longer provides pillows in Economy Class, as stated in a press release:
"We provide blankets for our Economy Class customers on long-haul flights, but pillows are no longer available. Many customers already travel with their own travel pillow, and on long-haul flights, the neck rest supports your head."
Source: www.finnair.com/en/bluewings/travel-experience/updates-in-services-onboard-finnair-flights-starting-on-19-april-2908062
And they will be downsizing their inflight meal service options as well, as was seen here. Business class will no longer be served Champagne, but Sparkling Wine. All in all, the loss of the routes above Russia have seriously damaged the long term prospects of the airline. Not impressed at all, particularly when you have options (albeit with stops) with Turkish or Qatar.
Sad to hear this about Finnair downsizing. I absolutely loved flying with them pre-pandemic. Great legroom (we are of the same height), great experience inflight and a great airport. Really sad to see the meals like this, it used to be totally awesome with that blueberry juice and the free chocolates. I'll probably still support them given the chance if using economy from Singapore to Europe. The stops in the middle east via Qatar or Emirates are too troublesome and breaks your sleep and you get more tired.
Thanks for this update - I usually use the pillow that they provide, to support my side when I am leaning against the bulkhead on a window seat while resting. I will pick up a small travel pillow now that I know they aren't providing one :)
Nooo😢
A pillow is such a simple thing but it can give extra comfort, I know they are trying to save money, but at this point they keep taking things away and prices just keep going up whilst providing less. Probably won't be flying with them anymore after my trip next month :/
Let's see how it goes ...
Babe wake up, new Brutally Honest episode dropped
Ok
Okay honey bun
When is the next "I flew" video? 🤣
honestly…
JA
Okay babe.
Flew with Finnair a lot of times particularly in their A350 in Business Class and it was wonderful!
11:34. Hey, Yes if the pilots turned on the wing inspection lights, the engines could also be seen during night. But at cruising altitude generally pilots switch off the wing lights. If it's a icing condition then some pilots turn that on as the wing bulb gets hot which results in melting of ice. Hope it helps 😊
I love Finnair, they're my favourite European airline. I have flown with them to Bangkok and Seoul and was seriously impressed.
I flew with them in February 2023 (Frankfurt to Orlando). While there were a few complications, all in all the flight experience with Finnair was nice. The flight was initially booked with Lufthansa. Also, I got a really good deal on the round trip tickets. I would like to thank you for posting so many ``ECONOMY Class´´ videos. These are the type of flights that most people can afford. Have a great day.
what aircraft did you fly?
@@leorajamaki8878 An A350-900.
Wow - 9 minute transfer time (which includes passport control) is very impressive. I like watching your trip reports. Would you consider doing a different series of videos on your channel focusing on airport transfers/connecting flights?
For example if someone is flying Lufthansa and needs to change plans in FRA or if someone is flying LOT and needs to transfer in WAW, etc
I think it’ll be valuable and informative video for those who are unfamiliar with the new airport and it’ll be helpful to many so they know what to expect. Especially if passport control is involved for those leaving EU or for those entering EU but continuing to a different European country. I’ve seen that some airlines sell tickets with only 60 minutes between flights-I always wonder if that’s enough time to go through passport control to make a connection 🤔
Keep up the great work! Your channel is DEFINITELY in top 3 when it comes to airline reviews 👍🏽
Watch and learn Stockholm Arlanda airport 😅
@@LeoErba why? What’s wrong with Stockholm airport? 🤔
@@samroy5967 Security for one. Their scanners are made in China... and it shows.
keep in mind there was practically no passport control because of the eu passports automatic machines. if you aren't an eu citizen, it would take an hour
@@iliasrbn8930 Singapore-Helsinki flight lands to Helsinki-Vantaa when there's no one else but overnight sleepers so walking from other side of the airport to Schengen is really fast. Even with normal passport control there's no one else the security, so that one hour is quite extreme scenario that needs flight to be terribly late. I've been flying this route for past two years almost every month, and only on one occasion I've seen one hour queue even for EU citizens, but that needed landing to be like 2h late and to enjoy the worst morning rush.
The cost cutting to the food service is pretty ridiculous, especially on a 12hr flight. Another channel did the business class on the same flight and only had 1 full meal plus 1 light meal, yet somehow this was praised lol.
I took the exact same flight in Y class two days before you, on 20.09.2022. I feel AY is borderline budget airline with its onboard offerings, especially catering. Other than that, I think it was an OK experience for me.
I tell you, your channel should win an award. Love it!
at 11:33 the engines are illuminated either by the engine or wing inspection lights mounted on the inboard side of the fuselage of the aircraft. Not quite sure why they are on at cruising altitude though unless the crew suspected icing. Hope that helps!
The early check in is available again! Flew out of Changi 2 weeks ago. It was located on the ground floor of the Jewel.
Cool to see some Finland again and some love for the airport :D It's my favorite for sure with how quick and easy it is to get around in and I'm totally not biased because I'm Finnish. It took me once about 20 minutes to get through passport control, but it was at a busy time and only one lane was in use for accessible travel and there was some chaos with the passengers ahead of us but they found a solution when waiting wasn't really working.
This was so well rehearsed, I really enjoyed!!
16:37 so true 😅thanks for the continuous quality and mostly unsponsored videos david & crew :)
can I recommend a China airlines London to Taipei, I haven’t seen any reviews about this, or Korean air Long haul or Asiana airlines long haul? If so that would enlighten me so much!
@@SFAvgeek I agree!, I would love to fly them to Taipei, but i would like to see the flight and meal options first, I haven’t seen any reviews on London - Taipei with China airlines yet.
I LOVE Finnair! The most bizarre thing is that I never flew with them! But they convey a sense of tranquility, security, reliability!
If you have money to spend then go for it.
A sense of being cheap bastards is what they give off
Considering that Finnair has to replan their entire business model due to the Russian airspace closure and slow East Asia post-pandemic recovery, I see new cost-cutting measures and I feel for them. Also, I heard they want to focus on India to US traffic and more HEL o&d instead (personally I feel it's a bigger grave they're digging considering how competitive both are).
Having said that, I flew this same route (SIN-HEL) same A350 back in 2017. While the flight was average (neither best nor worst, but better than LH A380 in economy), I noticed 2 strange anomalies:
1. Except the Finn pilot, everyone else working onboard were Singaporeans who previously worked for SQ.
2. This flight had the largest amount of third-country nationals taking it of all my flights (Australians going to Europe).
*Edit: Also HEL was the easiest European airport I had ever transited in.
True to a certain degree but if you really think about it logically fuel is the biggest cost component. The marginal cost of offering a proper dessert vs packaged chocolate is Very very minimal in the grand schema of things….like that US airline exec who figured they could scrap a few dollars by removing a piece of olive from each salad like how sad. I think they are focussing on the wrong areas to cut costs which at the end of the day impacts the customer experience and dilutes their brand value to be known theseday as that one cheap bastard who can’t be bothered to spend on anything. At the end of the day not all routes are impacted by Russian airspace closure…..US Westcoast routes do not overfly Russia and yet the same bare bones food offering is there…..what excuse to they have for that now.
The very least they can do is not go cheap in Business class where ultimately people are paying loads of money….if I were paying 2-3k euros to sit in Business class I’d be hell pissed to see they’re penny pinching in almost every aspect. No choice for breakfast on an almost 14 hour flight…and I paid 3k euros for that crap? No thanks.
nah they were the same in 2018 when I flew MAN - Helsinki - BKK with them, the Helsinki to BKK being on an identical A350 to the one in this video apart from the software revision on the ex3 IFE
Yeah on Finnair's SIN flights all cabin crew are based in Singapore, it's the same arrangement with HKG flights.
Brutally Honest reviews sind bei weitem dein bestes Format.
Bitte weiter so!
Great reviews ! Took the exact same flight 3 months ago ! I was disappointed mainly by the food. Let’s remember that’s a 12 hour flight, I have had more food and more choices on twice as short flights. Beside found the crew to be very cold. However the hard product is excellent
Brutally honest is genuinely my favourite airline review videos out there. The way its presented is just perfect.
I also just love how this channel has so many economy reviews👏. There's something enjoyable about watching economy reviews that business doesn't have. Its probably the fact that it's more relatable to real life experience for those of us that cannot afford higher classes
agree!
True. Economy class review is what the majority would appreciate.
Josh is my favorite too.
They seriously need to rethink their meal options, only one choice available on my flight it was Vegetarian Lasagne and Quinoa salad only one alcoholic drink and a small cheese sandwich prior to landing.
I like the cabin though.
You can simply just preorder if you are looking for more options, shouldn’t be that big of an deal.
I love it, the Panasonic EX3 IFE was also on Air Algerie's A330 @Simply Aviation
3:33 this is also true for Copa Airlines, which brought my stuff from my home in Canada all the way to my final destination in Brazil
I’m a Finnair fan, but the long haul economy service is very basic. I think they could do a bit more!
yes considering they are expensive compared to others who fly from the UK to Bangkok and include a lot more in the flight price such as alcoholic drinks and mean choices
Finnair looks to be a pretty nice airline! I also always love the flight reviews because they're mostly in economy, but the other guys review is in business or first class, which is something most of us can't afford.
FINNAIR is the airline which I always wanted to try especially their A350's economy class. I'm surprised to learn that only one choice (yes - no) is available as most airlines provide two and some three options. As a
Frequent flyers of Asian based carriers, I realised how lucky I am. Beer, wine, whiskey are free even in economy's class.
i think the limited service might still be a symptom of the pandemic or the result of the difficulties the company faces right now with the closed airspace over russia which obviously seriously strained their business as routes to Asia were their main quick focus… we used to fly them regularly to Japan before the pandemic and I remember them serving at least 2 options like most other full service airlines and also providing little things like bred roll, crackers etc… i hope they return to that at some point
I flew them back in 2019 Helsinki to Bangkok, there definitely worth it, I can’t really compare them to other airlines, because that was my first long haul flight, this summer I’ll be going to Kuala Lumpur with Qatar and back I’ll be going with Turkish airlines, so I can’t wait to compare them.
Just flew Finnair from here (AGP) via HEL to HND and back NRT via HEL to AGP. To the background, I’m coming from a 3 generations Lufthansa Family and usually I would stick to them and Star Alliance. However, in the post Covid universe I have experienced during the last 12 months such skyrocketing sh** , including but not limited to delays, downgrading, bitchy staff on chat, landbased and up in the air I made it a lifegoal to avoid them forever! Granted, this is a challenge, I’m living in southern Spain, my family is in Germany, my husband is Japanese… avoiding the LH group in Europe means extra cost, but my bad experience affect almost all parts of the grp(LH, Swiss, Eurowings)
Now to Finnair:
Flight 1: AGP - HEL
extremely timely departure, disciplined grp boarding, nice pre ordered eco food.
HEL- HND : eco, but we reserved the extra comfort seats, worth the 129 euros, extra 10 cm legroom. Good food.
NRT - HEL: I missed reserving the extra comfort seats. We had to fly in the normal wood class. Food was great, legroom was okay for me(1.72), my 1.95m husband didn’t feel that well, but was able to fall asleep. I had to my right a Japanese tourist guide for an elderly group of tourists who had nightmares and made quite some noise, so my 13 hours flying over the North Pole were sleepless. Food was awesome though, it was burger meat with vegetables first and then a very good breakfast. Arriving at HEL at 5.50 am I was in need of sleep and a shower. We went to GLO hotel that offer extremely comfortable and clean day rooms for 79 euros (landside and just to the left after exiting customs) and we could board our connection flight back home to AGP at 17.55..
HEL-AGP : super timely boarding again, and taxi was one minute ahead of projected time. Pre-ordered food again on eco was super tasty (not everyone’s case for sure, deer meat with Brie in a bread with salad)
One thing that stroke me was that despite heavy side winds the pilots loved to land each time super soft… I’m amazed. I’ll book my next flight next week again to Japan with Finnair (this time premium economy though, economy is really good at Finnair, but if you travel 36 hours you really want a bit of extra comfort) … so I’m really satisfied with Finnair and will do it again and again
@finnair: well done! You impressed a long term star alliance idiot. Just your inflight system: the map system from Panasonic is crashing the IFS frequently and it takes 10 minutes for it to restart. I would avoid offering this system as long as these flaws exist. The Android system with the low memory is simply not able to handle it … some QA needed here 😊… other than that: outstanding airplanes, staff, service, punctuality. ❤ Finnair
I've had similar good experinces on Finnair, on their Europe-Asia routes 👍
As a Finnish, it was very good you made "Brutally Honest" video of Finnair.
Great review here my friend. Singapore is my favourite stopover when travelling to Europe to visit Friend & family.,
, cheap street food at the Hawker centre’s and overall such a great cosmopolitan Asian city. It’s also great you briefly covered their metro system and how cheap & easy it is to get around the City-State. Finnair is certainly a "different " Airline, certainly and not quite on the same level as to other better known airlines the that fly from Europe to from S.E Asia and vice versa, but worthy of consideration for their price point.
I hope you should do a trip report from Helsinki to Dallas
Flying Heathrow to Helsinki next week, which is an A350 service, so it was nice to see the inflight map in use. Looking forward to it.
speaking of jewel, you can now actually check in early there from 12-6pm, apart from finnair's own early check in at the terminal itself starting a few hours before departure. not sure when this was reintroduced though, certainly after september of 2022.
The meals you received are standard economy class meals on any airline. Universal power outlets are only available in the business class. When you travel economy class you have to charge your phone before boarding the aircraft.
Thanks for overview. Planning to go to Singapore and for my location Vanta is closes and fastest...
9 minutes at HEL? Wow. Here's my typical experience: Fly down from northern Finland, sitting in row 1 because I have a tight connection. But the plane is needed on a non-Schengen flight next, so we dock at the furthest non-Schengen gate we can find. Can't exit from that into Schengen, so they open the back door and throw everyone into a bus - except we don't all fit, and they need to find a second bus. Free ramp tour, woohoo! Dumped at gate 20, upstairs, run back to passport control (under which there's a perfectly good bus gate), run to the gate, same plane I just left. Occasionally throw in a second bus transfer for good measure.
16:00 You can only use the automatic gates if you are EU citizen, my experience is a lot longer then 9 min because the lines at passport control can get very long.
At UK airports, if you are a EU, EEA, CHF, UK, ROK or Japanese, Hong Kong or Kenyan citizen, then you can use E-Gates.
In Helsinki, all EU, EEA, UK, US, Canadian, Korean, Japanese, Hong Kong, and Singaporean citizen can use the e-gates.
The reason why the engines are illuminated is there are lights facing them from the fuselage. Usually there are turned off during cruise but some airlines leave them on.
Great video! Thanks! Flying with them in two weeks time from Tokyo to Helsinki.
11:30
Maybe they forgot to turn off landing lights on after takeoff checklist? 😮
I flew Finnair out of London to Manila back in 2015 I think. It was quite a good experience back then.
i wondered if they had a USB port since I knew (and you confirmed) no power outlets (strange for a long haul flight IMO). I may fly the DFW-HEL flight in the fall on my airmiles thru American/Oneworld since I would get to HEL at 1045 am versus connecting thru LHR and using Finnair to HEL. Great video!
I have seen finnair a320 when I was kittila lapland Finland on my flight home on a tui 737 800
I am still puzzled as for the basic service they are usually on the pricey end of all carriers to Asia from Switzerland. And not having outsourced staff
Pointing out on how early check in lounge wasn’t available early check in has shifted to Jewel where it’s available for finnair, singapore airlines qantas etc maybe at the timing of filming it was still closed
There was an area in the Jewel for early check-in, but at the time of my flight it only displayed Qantas and one other airline I don’t remember as eligible airlines, which is different from pre-COVID where more than a dozen airlines were eligible.
Also, if it was the same as pre-COVID I would have expected them to take down the sign in Terminal 1 or at least hang up another sign informing passengers of the new location.
I Have Not Try Out Finnair New Product Yet .Great Work
I love this channel because it features Economy the most - meaning I can actually fly the experiences this channel reviews.
Not gonna afford business anytime soon,
me too :)
An excellent report, thanks! One thing: 7:23 those greenish seat covers were only found on their A343/333s (a couple still have), the older A350 seats had a light grey covers.
That new pillow case design is a Marimekko design.
My guess for the engines looking bright on the camera is that there either isn't an IR filter, so the heat is visible, or maybe there is a light reflecting off them. Happy to be corrected by someone who knows more.
It's because of the wing light
Not at all. The pilots forgot to turn off the wing light
The economy product is unchanged and ex3 was featured in AY’s first A350, great review nonetheless.
yeah just been looking through my 2018 photos when I flew Helsinki to Bangkok, seats and cabin look identical, just seems to be an EX3 software revision such as the Arc moving map platform. I've just looked online and that is indeed the case
@@ant2312 Yeah the old seats on Finnair A350 had just a bit lighter grey covers, the material is different though. And now they have a separate PE class.
Damn I was waiting for you to take a look at the first economy rows, but there was only a quick look while you went past them. They are comfort seats and have around 3-4 inches more leg space. We just bought them to Tokyo at 99€ price but no previous experience. 😅
At 10:23 you mention complimentary alcoholic drinks, but if I recall correctly , the only offer you ONE alcoholic drink🍷 during meal service. Any extra drinks are at additional cost. So have your credit card ready!
Hey this is such a useful one! Can I check if you have connecting flight to any other Schengen area, you clear passport control in Helsinki?
You flown on one of my plane models the A350-900 OH-LWE.
The engines does not glow...flightcrew turned the wing-lights on to see if there is ice on the wings edge or /and on the engines;-)
For this reason u can also see that "F" on the winglet - otherwise it would be pitch black out there;-)
Flying from Western Europe to Asia I highly recommend Finnair, especially the A350, an aircraft, which really makes the difference!! Fresh air all the way, less noise. No head-ache on arrival. Love it.
May Finnair´s eco-food be what it is, the cabin is nice, the seat comfy (go for premium economy, which does not cost so much more than normal eco, but adds a lot of benefits). Connecting at Helsinki is easy as 1-2-3 as shown. Avoid terminal changes at big airports like LHR, FRA etc. Can be nerve wrecking to find out, where to go. Additionally it is time-consuming. And often you need to pass a security check again. Annoying.
About the crews of AY: can be fun or not. If you know, how to connect to them, and win their hears, they will be very attentive.
Premium or ECO, minimum difference. Still a nightmare. Finnair has many opportunities how to get business pretty cheap, I never pay more than 1500usd for a return trip europe asia
The engines are lit up from the wing light which is clearly illuminated and visible.
Hi, Great video, TBH, I love Finnair's livery, the A350 itself seems like a very quiet and comfy aircraft to fly on and Finnair's cabin particularly economy seems like a warm inviting cabin with a calm soothing vibes and the IFE looks great and seems intuitive and easy enough to use, so far so good well done Finnair, for the dinner service I expected more from a full cost carrier with options, one meal option is not enough in my opinion during this age of travel, some universal power outlets would also be nice, that will be my only criticism, for sure Finnair has some great qualities that other airlines could take example on and could adapt.
NO WAY THATS THE SAME PLANE I LOOKED IN THE SKY FEW DAYS AGO!! CONFIRMED IT VIA FLIGHT RADAR 24!
One this Iove about this challenge is it's dedication to show around the airport. It is nice for someone who's never been in an airport ever.
Just wanted to add that at Changi Airport's boarding gates, you can technically leave after entering to use the washrooms. You just have to bring all your belongings with you and go through the security checks again. I have done that in the past haha
Considering the time needed for transit, HEL is the opposite of CDG. 😄
In the documentary of Singapore Airport the engineers struggle to fix the broken art installation with just the broken pierce. :o
10:00 i think tht salad is young mango not apple
Security check just before boarding is the safest option. Airports are so big that someone can always pass you something after the check. I always wondered why other airports don't do the same. You can always come in at the last 25 minutes and there wont be any line,
Transiting HEL all depends upon your origination. Examples: the US and SIN are trusted security systems so you enter directly into the Terminal. Not all originations allow you to not re-clear security. Example: Bangkok. Directed into an arrival corridor and forced through security.
Please review Buddha air in nepal and share your thoughts
I flew on turkish airlines two times, I wish to go to business class soon but the economy was no problem for us
If that was even a choice
GREAT REVIEW as always! By the way, this is the first time I've seen an illuminated a350 winglet
I flew Helsinki to Bangkok in 2018 on one, expensive flight and you only get one free alcoholic drink and that's with your meal. Qatar, Etihad and Emirates unlimited alcoholic drinks included. Qatar A350 I flew on was a nicer cabin too
Alcohol is not good for you. Especially on an airplane.
Finnair is expensive to fly from HEL, cheap from anywhere else.
@@dickjonez6168 Because taxes in Finland are freaking disgusting. Especially alcohol tax.
Thanks a lot for your flight review, it was very nice and I doubt Finnair travels to west Africa, such a lovely airline
Thank you David for the comprehensive and nice Flightreport, especially with the stunning footage of the approach of HEL Airport. And yes, I'd love to watch a review about Finnairs Preco.😀
I think the wing inspection light was on, that's why the engine appears to be glowing
On A340s you have to walk downstairs to the cargo hold to use the bathroom!
But only on a few A340-600s, those of Lufthansa for example… :)
@@simply_aviation and they will soon be replaced by new A350s.
was the same on Thomas Cook A330's towards the rear, I liked it, there was even a couch down there
hey thanks for the great reviews! Vietjet has a new international product to Australia with no economy reviews. Be super keen to see that this year :)
It looks like the crews were Singapore based crews.Were there any Finnish crew serving in economy?Service obviously isnt very good as it looks like they dont go around with juice and water during the flight and you have to get up and go to the galley to help yourself.Other than that..the seat and IFE looks very good.
Interesting video, I presume if a passenger wants different food they should order a special meal ... lots of options out there!
Yeah but that’s not the point, if I want beef rather than chicken then you’re out of luck as basically your options are limited to whatever meal they serve on board (no choice) or the many dietary restrictions special meal which we all know will be bland and boring..anyways they’re skimping out on the wrong thing. Catering costs are a marginal fraction of their entire cost base…in comparison to labour / fuel costs
Amazing video as always David!
You can fly in there premium economy on there codeshare flights with Qatar from Copenhagen and Stockholm
Seat bottom comfort, thickness for all class rewiew please ?
Graet review and the comments helpful also. 👍
Excellent review as all of your brutally honest videos. You have done a great effort to improve and l really appreciate that. I watched every single second. Keep it up! :)
this was amazing video, im so happy that somebody have find our tiny northen country haha
Can the armrest in premium economy be lowered?
You should try new seats on a330 which are more comfortable than on a350.
Odd how this seems like a downgrade. I flew with Finnair A350 to and from Japan in 2019 and the plane had a power outlet, coat hanger, and better food. The only noticeable improvement is the IFE
Hello there. Very nice trip report. Kudos to being able to cope with a 12-hr. flight in Economy Class. My spouse and I will be flying from Toronto to Croatia this fall (almost 9-hr. flight) and on Air Transat. originally I selected Economy Plus which provides more legroom and wider seats, but since there in none on the A330-200 aircraft, we got bumped up to Club Class which is Air Transat's version of First Class. Have flown it before to Scotland and is quite comfortable, so we are all set. TBH, was not impressed with the food selections available on your Finnair flight. Hopefully thay will improve in 2023. Keep up the good work!
I’m impressed that there is so much demand to fly directly all the way to Singapore from an average-sized city as Helsinki.
Finnair has always been busy in Asia, the business is mainly based on connections through HEL, with the exception of Thailand (BKK and HKT). The closed RUS airspace gives them a serious headache now though.
@@mikrokupu if Finnair can have such a busy network to Asia, then so can Norwegian based in Oslo. We don't have a single direct flight to East Asia from here, and that's a disgrace.
@@languist Finnair really did push into that market, and suceeded. Sadly they now need to think their business all over again, but it was a finnish success story seing Finnair grow.
Höchst interessant, vielen lieben Dank!
Great video David! Just vacate a member now feels great to be part of your channel. Kudos to you and Felix!!! Hope you can do an Air Canada Brutally Honest review sometime for their Premium Economy or Signature Business class one day
The exact tripreport I was waiting for
@10:02 David sounded so sad about the bar being fruit and nut
What is the name of the software you use for the drawing intro?
Good review , and Finnair is also a nice airline😊
Great episode as always!!
Why does SIN do security at the gate?
Main advantage is that you don't cluster everyone taking every flight in SIN at the same security area so any miscreant who wants to cause trouble will not be able to hit the huge crowd of people waiting for security. And even if someone wants to hit the crowd waiting for security at the gate the threat can be isolated quickly and the area cordoned off to minimise disruption to operations.
That being said, Terminal 4 uses check-in security because that is the reduced cost terminal so the reduced manpower required gives certain advantages in cost savings.
Booked my trip with Finnair. Can’t wait to try out their entertainment system!
Ah, finally! Hope you enjoyed your trip!
Superb Video👍
I enjoyed my Finnair flights to/from Singapore, the A350 is so comfy to fly on. HEL is like a breath of fresh air, compared to my home airport AMS. However I do feel the use of foreign crew is very exploitative, and therefore I won't be flying Finnair again soon.
Helsinki a very expensive airport
It's cheaper to have foreign crews, goes for literally every business, hiring natives is more expensive