Video
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!
We landed at Helsinki 20 minutes ahead of schedule. The airport is very nice with a lot of Finnish touch such as the decoration on the baggage carousel.
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.
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Hey Sam Chui
I have seen a lot of your work and not only have been left stuned I have been nearly dribbling. I am a massive aviation Guru but clearly have a long way to go if I want to be like you. I was wondering if I could contact you and we talk about how you managed to have my dream job and what can I do to follow in your big footsteps.
Thank you again
Kind regards
Ignacio Sarrado Helbich
What is a blue sky drink? I’m finnish but never heard of it. I drink beer at lot of course,
Looks great! I’ve been in their old 2-2-2 config A330’s a couple times, but haven’t been on the new one! Looks like a huge improvement for the seat.
Well done. Have been following your excellent work for many years. All Go Pro video? Do you go through airline PR department to film onboard?
Most video are using Samsung S7 mobile phone. I don’t generally contact anyone but sometimes airline offer assistance when they found out I am coming onboard.