Qantas boosts international capacity, wet lease Finnair aircraft

[PineappleSkip]

feel like I’m the only person on AFF who hasn’t flown in the “new” seats

You’re not alone. Haven’t flown AY for years.

 

[clifford]

That s great to hear! Wondering what others think about this non reclining J. I heard some like it, some hate it. Anyone else tried it and had mix feeling?

I think it's great too.

Flew HEL-BKK the long way recently and found it was comfortable (for me) in any position, watching movies, sleeping or eating/drinking.

Those seats have my full approval.

 

[tdimdad]

I feel like I’m the only person on AFF who hasn’t flown in the “new” seats

The curse of wanting to conserve the meager funds to enable more trips...
If it's of any consolation, I'll be going on AY SIN-HEL-HKG later this southern spring - in Economy Comfort seats. For Y seats, they work well for me on long flights, on par with my love of JL's 787 Y seats.

 

[HirafuHeartAttack]

Did the SIN-HEL flight last year in J, loved the seat!
The cabin crew on the other hand we're nothing like the crew from HEL-LHR and I don't think I'm alone in expressing that the warmth and personality of Finnairs home based crews doesn't quite extend to their SE Asian counterparts.

 

[BD1959]

That s great to hear! Wondering what others think about this non reclining J. I heard some like it, some hate it. Anyone else tried it and had mix feeling?

... and I'm one who isn't "enamored" with the AirLounge, particularly on daytime flights. You either sit bolt-upright or outright flat. Supposedly AY provide large pillows should you wish to be anywhere between (like when you're wanting to watch movies, eat, basically do anything other than land, take-off, sleep). I've never been offered these on 6 segments I've flown AY - and there are mixed views on the AY FT forum as to whether AY withdrew these for a while. Even at night I'm not a heavy sleeper - and this config doesn't help - and so after 4-5 hours (of a 14hr overnight SIN-HEL) I'm looking to lounge ... In sleep mode I find the sleeper belt that is employed across the hip area is very restrictive (from memory its recoil rather than fixed - I may have that wrong). The TV screen cannot be adjusted and so is best viewed only when upright. That apart - the seat is great!!

Regards,

BD

 

[Danger]

That s great to hear! Wondering what others think about this non reclining J. I heard some like it, some hate it. Anyone else tried it and had mix feeling?

I've flown it and prefer the older version. After the first flight, I had a sore lower back for a good day.

 

[tdimdad]

Came across these two when checking out itinerary options. Looks like AY is wet leasing also to BA, in addition to QR and soon also QF. I wonder what all kinds of arrangements does AY have, where would we see their aircraft outside of their own network? And how profitable is this for them?

 

[dajop]

And how profitable is this for them?

AY had a strategy and built a fleet in which connecting Europe to NE Asia featured prominently. The distance between Helsinki and Beijing is almost the same (23 miles longer) as the distance between Sydney and Singapore.

However initially COVID and then Vladimir Putin put a stop to that. The remaining routes they serve (Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul) involve flights 40-50% longer than they used to be .. so need good margins to be profitable. Therefore wet leasing to other carriers is probably more profitable than having the aircraft sitting idle or deploying them on routes to other cities in China or Japan.

 

[Lynda2475]

Happy about the extra capacity but having recently flown the new Finnair J product HEL-JFK I'm not a fan of the seat.

Finnish crew were awesome, food fine, but I honestly cannot recommend the J seat especially for anyone with mobility issues.

Seated it is fine and the foot rest is very comfy.

But once converted to be able to lie flat, it takes some effort to scoot down into the footwell. The mattress topper is thin, so bed felt harder than other airlines. The seat belt is retractable, so you can't have it loose like lap belts on other airlines, meaning it is tight on hips and makes it difficult to adjust the duvet or roll over.

I was sporting a knee injury so when it came time to get up to use the loo, I found it extremely difficult to get back up to a seated position, so I could lower the gap filler and get out. There is nothing for your feet to get purchase on to push up and similarly nothing you can grip to pull yourself up - its all smooth curved surfaces no handle. After awkwardly managing to get up, I didn't dare lie down again.

It is imo a seat for the young and agile, not someone nursing an injury or who would struggle to get up off floor unaided.

Flight was just under 9hrs and that's probably max I'd do in this seat.

I much prefer a QF or BA style seat where you have controls to go from sitting to lie flat and back, and where you have arm rests and handles to aid in standing up.

.

 

[BD1959]

Happy about the extra capacity but having recently flown the new Finnair J product HEL-JFK I'm not a fan of the seat.

Finnish crew were awesome, food fine, but I honestly cannot recommend the J seat especially for anyone with mobility issues.

Seated it is fine and the foot rest is very comfy.

But once converted to be able to lie flat, it takes some effort to scoot down into the footwell. The mattress topper is thin, so bed felt harder than other airlines. The seat belt is retractable, so you can't have it loose like lap belts on other airlines, meaning it is tight on hips and makes it difficult to adjust the duvet or roll over.

I was sporting a knee injury so when it came time to get up to use the loo, I found it extremely difficult to get back up to a seated position, so I could lower the gap filler and get out. There is nothing for your feet to get purchase on to push up and similarly nothing you can grip to pull yourself up - its all smooth curved surfaces no handle. After awkwardly managing to get up, I didn't dare lie down again.

.

Pretty much somes up my concerns with this seat - plus the fact you can't watch the Screen when lying flat and its difficult to get any work done in it unless bolt-upright. One thing which will - again IMHO - detract from the wet-leased service will be the use of the SIN (and not awesome Finnish) crew.

Regards,

BD

 

[OATEK]

The original announcement said the QF291 on the AY A330 would start in late October. Do we have an actual date?

 

[Himeno]

The original announcement said the QF291 on the AY A330 would start in late October. Do we have an actual date?

29th

 

[Artnits23]

29th

A positive is bringing premium economy to the route which the current A330s don’t have being only two classes And hopefully more reward and upgrade availability.

 

[pauly7]

A colleague flew this J seat a couple of weeks ago and was raving about it. So as with anything it seems unsurprisingly that some people love it, some don’t

 

[HirafuHeartAttack]

A colleague flew this J seat a couple of weeks ago and was raving about it. So as with anything it seems unsurprisingly that some people love it, some don’t

Not to be agist/ableist but I do wonder if the propensity to enjoy this seat is related to dexterity and the ability to find comfort in unique positions vs the standard upright/lazy z/flat modes of its competitors? (Said as someone who flew the seat before they were 30 and loved it)

 

[BD1959]

Not to be agist/ableist but I do wonder if the propensity to enjoy this seat is related to dexterity and the ability to find comfort in unique positions vs the standard upright/lazy z/flat modes of its competitors? (Said as someone who flew the seat before they were 30 and loved it)

Could be ... as a "gentleman of a certain age" I know I can't achieve the 'unique positions' of my youth

Regards,

BD

 

[pauly7]

Not to be agist/ableist but I do wonder if the propensity to enjoy this seat is related to dexterity and the ability to find comfort in unique positions vs the standard upright/lazy z/flat modes of its competitors? (Said as someone who flew the seat before they were 30 and loved it)

In Forties? Fit and healthy, not overweight? Don’t know if that helps

 

[NM]

Could be ... as a "gentleman of a certain age" I know I can't achieve the 'unique positions' of my youth

Regards,

BD

I was similarly reminded by Mrs NM of my chronologically aligned challenge just the other day

 

[Lynda2475]

As i said in my review, if you do not have knee, back or other mobility issues that make it difficult to go from lie flat to seated with nothing to hold onto or push feet against for leverage then it is fine (need strong abs).

Although I think the tight retractable sleeper seat belt would impact all, although I guess some do not wear it.

But under no circumstance could I recommend it to anyone who is elderly, there is no way they could exit in a timely manner in an emergency.

All my recent long haul flights were over nighters and I got the least sleep in this seat (even though DFW-LHR was a shorter flight).

YMMV of course, but i expect the lovers are fortunate to have great mobility and dexterity no matter what their age.

 

[Townsend]

I am not in the first flush of youth but am mobile. I loved the seat with one exception and in that I agree with Lynda2475. I found the retractable sleeper seat belt very annoying. However I loved the seat so much that I will put up with that.