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Flight AY010
Chicago to Helsinki
Flight time: 8 hours 20 mins
Aircraft: A330-300
Reg: OH-LTU
Finnair use Terminal 5 (International Terminal) at Chicago O'Hare. Check-in was orderly but the terminal is just feeling too small for the growing international carriers at O'Hare.
Finnair use Air France-KLM lounge in O'hare. There's not much to write about this lounge apart from the excellent apron view and a reasonable selection of drinks. There were very few food items on offer.
Boarding took place about 30 minutes ahead of departure time. The gate area was too small to accommodate nearly 250 passengers. Business Class and One World elite frequent flyers were invited to board first.
Finnair has flat bed seats installed on their A330-300. My seat 6A is a single "Throne" seat with no others next to you. In addition to 6A, 2A, 4A and all the seats on right hand side are also single seat. You can see the seatmap here.
Once seated, I was offer an Marimekko branded amenity kit, slipper, welcome drink and menus. Finnair offer a special "bluesky" welcome drink which is blueberry juice, a popular Nordic drink.
We departed on time. I have champagne and a salmon snack before an express tray dinner was served. The food was decent but a bit blend to my taste. The salmon came with a wasabi mash potato.
I watched a funny Finnish movie and then slept for about 4 hours. My leg was stuck in the confined space (box) in front and it was not easy to move around. This is due to the seating configuration as the single "throne" seat is located just behind 2 seats and your leg is squeezed into the box in front! The person sitting at any aisle seat will not have this problem. So, there are pros (privacy) and cons (limited space in front) on the single "throne" seat.
The Finnair A330 In-flight entertainment is decent and have plenty of movies on offer.
Breakfast was served 1.5 hours prior to landing. While there are nothing to write about it, I do like the Marimekko designed coffee cup!
Conclusion
It was a very good and non-eventful flight on Finnair A330-300. While not as nice as their A350, I certainly appreciate the flat bed and the efficient service. I'd recommend flying Finnair again if the price is right.
