Nippon Nordic Air? Not Yet.

The urbane fantasy . . .

Back in June 2010, Monocle magazine proposed their ideal airline and named it Nippon Nordic Air. The idea was that with four key hubs (Winnipeg, Stockholm, Sapporo, & Sao Paulo), you could cover most of the world and fly in style. Working with an unlimited budget, they were also able to provide a dream set of amenities that would pamper first class passengers and make those flying economy feel like (gasp!) real human beings. While Nippon Nordic Air may never fly, Finnair offers the possibility to fly to Japan from Canada due east.

Drawn by the chance to spend some time in Helsinki at no additional flight cost compared to flying direct from Canada to Japan, my family decided to try Finnair to see if it offered a feasible alternative to the admittedly shorter westbound flight. What we experienced was far enough from the Nippon Nordic Air fantasy that potential passengers would have to seriously consider the pros and cons before following in our footsteps. There are definite rewards to flying to Japan via Finland, but it is not a perfect solution by any means.

. . . and the mundane reality

Canada/Finland vs. Japan/Finland Like Night and Day

Passengers flying between Canada and Finland are treated to a very different experience than those making the journey between Japan and Finland. Why this is, I can only speculate, but first consider the details of our trip.

The flight experience between Finland and Canada was reminiscent of flying on budget carrier WestJet circa 1999. Two sets of three seats were packed into each row with little legroom to spare. How little? Try slightly more than the length of an iPad mini from the edge of the seat to the back of the next seat. All told, we're talking approximately 25 cm (10 inches). I was not blessed with height in the genetic lottery, yet I still found it uncomfortable. I can't imagine how Canadian passengers of average height or above managed.

Given the short distance between the seats, it should come as no surprise that there is very little room to recline, making it difficult to find a comfortable position if one feels the urge to sleep. Even worse in this technological age, there were no individual monitors on the backs of the seats. Remember my earlier WestJet reference? The next time I flew with them in 2000, they had monitors, more comfortable seats, and more legroom. For an international flight in 2013, the way passengers are treated on the Canada-Finland leg is hard to justify.

Plane to terminal shuttle service at no extra charge!

That's not all, unfortunately. Our return flight from Helsinki was full and the toilets could not keep up. It was so bad that my wife suggested that I avoid using the facilities near the end of the flight. I thought it best to follow her suggestion so I am unable to offer firsthand confirmation as to their condition.

Canada-Finland passengers were also treated to one extra special feature. When landing, we were unable to disembark straight into the terminal. Rather, we had to board a shuttle bus on the tarmac where we were dropped off at the terminal. When boarding, we again needed to line up and board a bus to be driven out to the plane. To make matters worse, we never heard a single announcement in the half hour leading up to boarding. Passengers just self-organized and lined up for check in on their own it seemed. In the end, our flight was delayed half an hour just from the boarding process alone.

And some moments are unforgettable for the wrong reasons

Needless to say, we were not the only ones who found this experience off putting. Based on overheard conversations, the biggest complaints of my fellow passengers were, in order, 1) the food (no argument here), 2) the lack of seat back video monitors 3) the lack of legroom. I also heard a passenger get testy when the flight attendants tried to accommodate a passenger with 3(!) carry on bags. I have a feeling that the first passenger wouldn't have minded as much had she been put in a better frame of mind while boarding and squeezing into her seat.

Flying to and from Japan was a completely different experience. The plane was larger, with a 2-4-2 seating arrangement in economy, not to mention a proper business class section with wider seats. Legroom was sufficient and seat backs reclined deeply. As one would expect in the 21st century, there were seat back monitors with a full array of movies, TV shows, music, and video games on offer. Heck, there were even two cameras offering a pilot's view of the world while airborne.

About the only point of comparison between the flights was the food. I don't think Air Canada has an amazing reputation for in-flight food, but it is way better than what was served by Finnair. Again, the overcooked vegetables and rather tasteless fare reminded me more of the standard that was acceptable in the 80s and 90s but has improved on other airlines since.

One must ask though, why the discrepancy? I was not the only one to speculate that Japanese passengers would simply not accept the flight conditions that we experienced on the Canada-Finland leg. As a Canadian, I would say that we are great complainers after the fact when talking to friends, but seldom raise issues directly. The classic example is at the restaurant when we complain about food until the server asks us how it is, then reply "Great!" only to return to complaining later. That said, I can't see how much longer Finnair can get away with offering an international flight of this quality. One would think that word would get out eventually.

Flight Crews Uniformly Good

The flight crews on all four flight segments were polite, efficient, and professional from start to finish. My favourite flight attendant had a welcome self-deprecating sense of humour that made the discomfort of the first leg easier to bear. At the end of the flight, he asked me how it was. Thinking of the sore muscles I had from having my sons use me as a human pillow, I said "I survived." He laughed and replied in such a way that diplomatically suggested he also understood that even without the kids sleeping on me, there was something to be said for making it across the Atlantic in such cramped conditions.

Celebrity Sightings

I saw more celebrities in one return flight on Finnair than I have seen in a combined lifetime of travel. On the way from Toronto to Helsinki NHL greats Teemu Selanne and Jari Kurri sat a couple rows up from us. They were smart (and rich) enough to buy an empty seat between them. All told, we were within arm's length of not only Finland's two greatest hockey players, but a combined 1276 goals, 1552 assists, and 6 Stanley Cup rings. Star status aside, they had to ride the same shuttle bus to the terminal as the rest of us.

On the way back from Narita to Helsinki, jazz musician Eddie Roberts sat in our aisle. I have to admit to not recognizing him, but his funky goatee put me on alert. After he comped a CD to a flight attendant, a quick Google search confirmed it was him after all.

One Caveat

If you are flying Canada-Finland-Japan with no layover, it is worth noting that you must clear security in Vantaa Airport just to change planes. Why does this matter? Well it doesn't matter unless you like shopping for things like perfume and alcohol at the first airport's duty free shop. Unless there is some exception that I am not aware of, you would have to surrender your purchase because it is a liquid over 100mL. That could be one expensive transfer.

A Lesson Learned

Don't take any of the food off the plane with you. At the end of the trip, I absentmindedly grabbed a wrapped sandwich my son didn't touch. I didn't think he would want it later, but was a bit embarrassed by the waste. The problem? Well, the sandwich had meat in it and I had already declared on my Canadian customs card that we were bringing no meat into the country. When I spoke to a customs agent in person I remembered the sandwich. He graciously waived a potential $800 fine then sent us through a secondary customs line where we had to wait an extra half hour just to throw the sandwich in a special garbage can. From the look on the next agent's face, I could tell he was wondering why the first guy didn't just take it and send us on our way, but what can you do? If I can spare anyone from this experience, it would brighten my day.

Conclusions

If you choose to fly to Japan via Finland, be prepared for a longer flight (18 hours there, 19 return) and a flight experience that seems to vary based on which segment you're on. Is it worth it? I would say yes under one very big condition--you have never been to Finland before. Otherwise, you're probably better off with shorter flights over the Pacific. We loved our three day layover in Helsinki (more to follow here) and felt it was a great way to start the vacation. We went in with our eyes wide open, knowing the return flight would be a long grind. We have no regrets about doing this once, but have a real hard time seeing us trying this route again. It would probably take improved seating, an unbelievable price, and the promise of a longer Helsinki layover with a ferry ride to Stockholm thrown in to make us reconsider.

Helsinki as seen from the Suomenlinna Ferry

If you have tried the Canada-Finland-Japan experience yourself, I would welcome your thoughts in the comment section below.