You Trip Report

	DATE	FLIGHT NUMBER	SEAT	AIRCRAFT
18 Nov 15	AY 996	8A	A350-900
CLASS	VIEWS	LANGUAGE	AUTHOR
Business Class	90369	English ,Spanish	jetsetpanda

Prologue:

Hello and welcome to this exciting trip that I took in 2015 which features my first flight on Finnair's new A350 aircraft and BA Galleries F Lounge @ LHR T3.

I arrived in LHR on a cold and rainy day and couldn't wait to get to the Oneworld lounges at T3. The connecting bus from T5 to T3 was swift and security was painless. For the sake of efficiency I will just cover the BA F lounge Since I was Oneworld Emerald at the time, I had access to the first class lounges. I personally believe that the best F lounge in T3 is CX and if you have the status you should visit this location..

The lounge is located in zone F and upon entering you turn left for the First Class lounge or continue right to the Galleries.

After showing my boarding pass to the receptionist I was invited to enter

I find the periodical section a bit out of character with the lounge with those flashy lights.

Straight ahead was the Champagne Bar.

Business Center.

Interior.

Bar.

Liquor.

Let's try this bottle.

Ahhh.

Next stop the champagne bar.

Champagne.

Afterwards I ventured to the right side of the lounge where the self serve coffee bar a kid's room the sit down restaurant and the buffet were located. I did not eat at the restaurant so I can't comment on that aspect of the lounge experience but I have read some disappointing reviews and instead helped myself to the buffet. I had a light afternoon tea snack and later indulged in some more robust fare.

Buffet.

Salad bar.

Interior.

At about 45 min. before dept. the gate was not posted. After doing some browsing at the duty free shop I noticed that the screens showed that the flight was delayed by 50 min. so instead of leaving at 1925 it was now leaving at 2015. The flight was leaving from gate 40 and I immediately headed that way. I was glad that I did this because the gate was quite a walk from where I was.

Plane at the gate. It reminds me of the lone ranger with that mask on the cockpit.

Finally the announcement was made inviting J passengers to board. While walking down the jetbridge I was thrilled to be on this flight for two reasons. The first was to ride on a new airplane and the second to experience a new airline. A couple of FA's were positioned at the door greeting passengers and after exchanging a few pleasantries with the crew I turned left and paused for a few seconds to admire the cabin and my seat.

The cabin was bright and the light colors used in the aircraft interiors gave it a peculiar Nordic feel that was soothing and relaxing.

A purser came by my seat and personally welcomed me onboard and thanked me for flying with AY which was really nice.

Seatbelt with logo.

One slight negative thing that I find is the surface for your feet which looks somewhat fragile and not able to withstand the frequent wear and tear of frequent use.

IFE control and electronic sockets.

Individual light.

Tray table.

The screen was big but some of the functions were not intuitive. My system was stuck in Japanese and I couldn't figure out how to change it to English. I called a FA for help and it took her a few minutes to figure it out.

Seat pocket materials.

Camera.

Take off.

WC.

WC

Second J cabin.

Hot towel to start the service.

Menu

Blueberry juice served on an IIttala glass.

The design was created in 1968 by designer Tapio Wirkkala to reflect the ice in Finland’s northern Lapland.

Map.

Crew was very friendly and attentive. There was no choice of meal but the pasta was very good. The appetizer was tasteless. The salmon was chopped and contained fish bones.

Meal.

Appetizer.

A bone in the appetizer.

Cheese ravioli with zucchini and fennel tomato sauce.

Disappointing dessert. The berry compote was something that you could get from a grocery store. Good thing that we were offered a blueberry pastry a bit later.

Bleh!

Pastry before landing.

Chocolate.

Hi HEL.

CX F lounge before renovation.

========== Heathrow (LHR) - ==========

Security/Immigration efficiency: 9/10

Access and parking: 9/10

Services and activities: 9/10

General cleanliness: 9/10

========== British Airways First Lounge T3 ==========

Staff Service: 9/10

Entertainment: 8/10

Business Center: /10

Food: 8/10

Lounge Design: 8/10

Spa and Bathroom: 9/10

Wifi: 10/10

========== Finnair - Airline ==========

Cabine comfort: 9/10

Crew: 9/10

Entertainment: 8/10

On-time performance: 6/10

Appetizer: 5/10

Starter: 0/10

Main Meal: 8/10

Main Meal-2: 0/10

Cheese: 0/10

Desserts: 4/10

Alcohols: 0/10

Mid-flight snack: 9/10

Breakfast or light meal before arrival: 0/10

========== Helsinki Arpt (HEL) - ==========

Security/Immigration efficiency: 10/10

Access and parking: 10/10

Services and activities: 9/10

General cleanliness: 10/10

Summary:

It was a great experience flying AY's new A350 which is a very comfortable and quiet airplane. The seats in J strike the right balance between privacy and comfort and the 1-2-1 cabin layout ensures that everyone has direct aisle access.

The plane still had that faint new airplane smell and one thing I noticed was the lack of overhead bins for the center rows. This gave the cabin a very spacious feel but I wonder if the airline sacrificed practicality for aesthetics in this case. If this was a full cabin, would the overhead bins on the sides have enough room to accommodate all the carry-on luggage for the J cabin? I must warn you that if you are seating in row 8, the overhead bin right above you is used to store cabin's equipment and blankets, so I ended up placing my stuff in the bin above row 7.

The J cabin is divided into 2 sections with seats 1-8 in the front cabin and 9-12 in the second one which seemed more private. On my flight there was a group of Finnish passengers that boarded at the last minute and seemed to know the crew. I assume that they were AY's employees on a familiarization trip. Later when I walked into the second cabin, it was practically empty. I noticed that the second J cabin has overhead bins for the center rows contrary to the one in the front.

AY offers a decent inflight service with a Nordic touch that is courteous and professional. The catering can be a bit basic but so far I have only flown them on European routes and my experience is very limited. I feel that not having a choice of meals when flying J is quite disappointing.

The entertainment system seems to offer a good selection of programs, but the control settings are not the most straight forward to use at times.

11 Comments

Thomas — May 09,2019

Once again, the stunning and in-deepth review Adan. Getting the 350 on that route is great indeed. The meal as you mentionned is basic but still the seat is good for those wanting to rest a bit.
Thanks a lot for sharing ;)
Reply

jetsetpanda — May 10,2019

Hi Thomas,

Always my pleasure to share the TR's here. Great seat indeed. Too bad the flight was so short. ;)

Thanks.
Emile — May 09,2019

Lovely report Adan, thanks so much for it. Have you used avios for the trip ?
What do you think now ? Would you stay with OW or happy to have made the switch ?
See you soon for another brilliant report !

Reply

jetsetpanda — May 10,2019

Hi Emile,

As a matter of fact I used a combination of paid tickets and AA's Advantage miles for this trip.

Each alliance has its strengths and weaknesses, but I have to say that *A has a great variety of carriers and a couple of its programs are great for maintaining elite status. ;)

Oneworld top elite status is better recognized throughout its partners and it has some quality carriers in the mix.

Thanks.
GG_007 — May 09,2019

Thanks for sharing this TR

The CX lounge food spread looks way better than the BA's.
But the BA's booze looks much better.

Oh you took a scone in the lounge : did you know that it's Thomas' most preferred dessert ?

On board the seat is great, especially for a short light.

You had a good crew

Basic food and no choice : it seems to be much better on long haul flights

A350 is a great aircraft like Airbus can do

See you soon
Reply

jetsetpanda — May 10,2019

Hi GG,

"But the BA's booze looks much better."
- That seems to be the consensus among frequent flyers.

"You had a good crew"
- Maybe they had a good pax. :P

"Basic food and no choice"
- This was very surprising for J. Even BA on a 1 hr flight has choices in the front.

The A350 is a fantastic plane.

Thanks.
Casper — May 09,2019

Thanks Adan for your Trip report. The A350 is one of the most elaborate plane ever built to me. The cabin is good. A bit disappointed by the catering. Cheers mate.
Reply

jetsetpanda — May 10,2019

Hi Casper,

I really like the A350. Gorgeous plane.

Thanks.
Capoune — May 09,2019

Thank you Adan for this TR!
Very nice flight onboard this beautiful A350!
The lounge is nice too, hope better than the one in T5.
Once again thank you for this TR.
Reply

jetsetpanda — May 10,2019

Hi Seb,

Quite a memorable flight I must say.
LHR T3 is great for lounge hopping if that is your thing. ;)

Thanks.

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