On the best of business class flights, it feels like you’re being treated like royalty. Well, what better way to fly like a king or queen than to sit in a throne? That’s how I felt on a trip from San Francisco to Helsinki on Finnair, when I scored one of the business class cabin’s “throne seats.” With no neighbors, tons of table space on both sides, miles of elbow room, and a view out the window, it’s one of the most stylish ways I’ve crossed the Atlantic. It also gave me a great chance to learn about Finnair and its unique Finnish touch. And now that I’m back on the ground, it’s time to spill some details.
Read on for plenty of photos, videos, and thoughts from my long-haul Finnair business class A330 flight from San Francisco to Helsinki. And then decide for yourself whether it’s an experience fit for a king!
“When were you bit by the aviation bug?” This question or some derivative of it comes up frequently when aviation-inclined folks find themselves engaged in chit-chat. It’s a question I have answered many times, but never with much regularity in my response. The truth is, it is hard to nail down any particular moment. After years of pondering the question, I now have my final answer.
Some of my earliest memories revolve around playing in my grandmother’s back yard near Phoenix, Arizona. I distinctly recall that one day I looked up at the clear blue sky to see a white line slowly being etched above. At the end of the line was something I could barely see. It fascinated me. Around age five, this was the first time I had seen such a thing. I had to know what this phenomenon was.
I ran inside and demanded attention from the whole family until finally, they joined me on the back deck. This was when I learned what a contrail was. People were on an airplane I could barely see. They were flying overhead leaving a long arrow across my sky. At that moment, I decided that I too wanted to fly.
Wamos Air A330-200 at JFK – Photo: Creative Commons | Adam Moreira (AEMoreira042281)
Last year, I wrote about my experience flying with Norwegian Air on the 787-9 Dreamliner from London Gatwick (LGW) nonstop to Denver (DEN). On that flight, we were in their “Premium” cabin, but I peeked back at economy and thought it looked pretty good. It had a standard 3-3-3 Dreamliner configuration, reasonable pitch, and AVOD screens at each seat. The crew was friendly as well.
This year, my family was heading to Paris for the new year, and I had booked our outbound flight with miles (my kids were very excited to be flying business class for the first time, and on the upper deck of a Lufthansa 747-400, to boot!) Given that I needed a one-way flight back from Europe (which are usually obscenely priced on legacy carriers), I figured we’d fly Norwegian again, this time in economy. Norwegian prices their fare based upon the one-way journey, which is what you’re used to for U.S. domestic flights. For a very reasonable $511 each, we were booked nonstop from LGW to DEN. Our fare included advanced seat assignments, checked and carry-on baggage, and meals. Everything was going to be just fine. Then I got this text.
A Delta 737 prepares to land as one of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s snow-removal teams waits to cross the active runway
The Seattle area has seen unusually heavy snowfall over the past week – 20.2 official inches of snow over six days. The heavy precipitation has closed local roads and freeways, caused widespread power outages, and generally raised havoc in an area that doesn’t normally receive noteworthy levels of snow. This is the most snowfall seen in Seattle for the month of February since 1916, and we are just half way through the month.
A de-icing truck unfurls its very long boom in preparation for cleaning the center runway at Sea-Tac Airport
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s (SEA) ever-increasing flight volumes leave little room for weather delays. To contrast with the City of Seattle, which keeps just 35 snow plows on hand for the entire city, Sea-Tac Airport has more than 45 pieces of major snow-removal equipment, including:
Nine plow and broom combination units – state-of-the-art trucks with a 24-foot plow that’s as long as a semitruck
Two friction testers to measure stopping distance for the runways
Three sander/plows
Seven high-speed plows
Four de-icing trucks for roadways (three 75’ wide booms, one 45’ boom)
Additional sand, plow, and chemical trucks dedicated for landside maintenance
Pickup trucks with sanders and plows
Five snow blowers
10 high-speed brooms
Walk-behind snow blowers
Lots of snow shovels and brooms and team members ready to work
This week I was able to ride along with airport operations and see what it takes to keep operations at the airport moving.
What’s the best way to celebrate Valentine’s Day? For most people some combination of candy, kisses, chocolate, and rom-coms does the trick. But we AvGeeks like to do things a little differently, don’t we? So tomorrow and into Friday, get ready for some epic live tweeting as we — along with San Francisco (SFO) airport and United Airlines — give a little Valentine’s Day love to the new Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner.
United just started taking delivery of the -10, the largest version of the Dreamliner. It started on limited flights between Newark (EWR) and Los Angeles (LAX), and this Valentine’s Day will be the starting day for regular 787-10 service from Newark to San Francisco.
The 787-10 Polaris business class cabin – Photo: United Airlines
Why does this plane matter to you? Well, United is the first U.S. airline to fly the 787-10, and it’s also the first Dreamliner variant to get United’s true Polaris seat. The plane also sports a real-deal premium economy seat — called United Premium Plus — and a redesigned inflight entertainment system. So follow along on Twitter starting tomorrow at noon PST for live updates from our very special Valentine’s Day flight, as United inaugurates 787-10 service from SFO to EWR! And on Friday, drop by United’s brand-new Polaris lounge at LAX with us.
