Anyone flown Finnair???

[higherhill]

We are going to Thailand next July for 2 and half weeks and need to sort the flights. Finnair are coming up the cheapest ( we will be departing from Manchester) and the shortest flying time, but have never flown with them and their reviews online are'nt the best , but on the other hand would rather not spend a further 600 or more just to fly with someone else. What would you do??

I flew Finnair from Manchester to Beijing via Helsinki a few years ago. They were a couple of steps up from Thomas Cook/Monarch etc. and a couple of steps down from BA/Lufthansa.

Better than average but not amazing. I wouldnt necesssarily spend £600 on a longer flight with a slightly better airline.

Why do they have the shortest flying time?.

Do they fly direct or do they stopover at for instance Helsinki to refuel/take on more passengers?.

Cheap is not always cheerful generally speaking; I would read www.airlinequality.com and read recent passenger comments from Finnair's customers.

We've used Finnair several times to fly to the Far East and always thought they were fine. No problems at all, and better than many other major carriers we've used.
Helsinki is a nice airport if you need to change planes.
The shorter flying times is apparently due to the curvature of the Earth - fewer miles to cover by flying in an arc (via Helsinki) rather than directly east...
I wouldn't dream of paying an extra £600 NOT to fly Finnair!

Thanks all.