Introduction: The Long Way Between LA And London

I cannot wait for your new travels Ben 🙂 Thanks!

Looks very similar to ACs new int'l biz that I flew to Asia and back recently - except I prefer the color tones and aesthetics in AC over Finn's. Also don't know about your view, but I preferred long haul on the 787 over the 350. But I'm biased since I am a Boeing fan and expect that MEA is the future.

Hope you took advantage of the Finnair City Bus to run in to the city for a bit. I did on a recent layover between NYC and AMS. Really convenient and Helsinki is charming.

How are you able to book good flights on LifeMiles?
I can never find anything good there. i keep hoping and even bought some points.

Please publish the AI segments!!!

Looking froward to the read, Ben!

"Given that I am warm blooded" Hahaha..
Hilarious!!

Cannot wait for your review Lucky. Really looking forward to the Air India reviews! Keep it up

Hello,

Can someone sort of explain how LA to Dallas to NYC to Helsinki to London only costs 50,000 miles?

Looking forward to this one.

Longtime blog reader, first time commenting: Cannot wait to see the trip report, I'm very excited about seeing both of these airlines. Keep up the great job, looking forward to more unique reports in 2016!

So we have to wait 9 more posts before the Air India review? Great teasing.

@Ever

"Can someone sort of explain how LA to Dallas to NYC to Helsinki to London only costs 50,000 miles"

Gladly.

It's a simple North America to Europe AA award, notice that the LA to Dallas to NYC to Helsinki part took place on the same day. Does not matter if it's direct flight to Europe from the west coast or with multiple stops due to that being the only award space open, it still just one award.

Then Lucky arrived in the morning in HEL and had a layover of less than 24H before boarding the flight to LON make it one standard AA J award for the whole trip.

Had he booked a flight to LON more than 24 hours after arriving in HEL he would have needed a second award inside EU.

"Can someone sort of explain how LA to Dallas to NYC to Helsinki to London only costs 50,000 miles?"
A business class flight from the US to Europe costs 50,000 aadvantage miles, no matter if it's a direct flight or if you have stops, as long as the layovers are not over 24 hours.

@No Name

"Then Lucky arrived in the morning in HEL and had a layover of less than 24H before boarding the flight to LON make it one standard AA J award for the whole trip."

Oh, I see. One more question. If I wanted to book something like this, is it booked separately? LA to Helsinki and Helsinki to London?

Thanks

@Ever

If you book it separately it would end up as 2 awards.

Lucky had a post on using AA miles last year goolge "How To Redeem American AAdvantage Miles onemileatatime" that will explain a lot.

I was in the Air India 162 business class London to Delhi this Saturday, January 23. My first time on a long haul AI business. United rerouted me after my flight to EWR, from where I was supposed to go in business to Delhi direct, was canceled due to the storm. The Air India lounge at LHR T4 looked new. The flight was alright excpet for the outdated angled flat seats in their 777. Business class was about 3/4 full. Food was average. Service was outstanding. I thought there were more flight attendants per business passenger than any airline I have seen. Entertainment selection was good. Headphones could be better. One thing I was not impressed with at all was the cheap looking cloth seat covers on their business class seats. Why not leather? Overall the experience was nothing out of the ordinary. But definitely not a bad flight as the AI impression is made out to be.
Looking forward to your review.

Life is short Lucky...keep doing it while you can. Love reading the trip reports! I can only dream to accompany you on one of these trips.

With all the new hotels in Delhi, wouldn't it have made sense to review a Starwood or Marriott (or other) property in Delhi - or did the flight timings not work out that way?

@ Jay: He apparently had only about 4 hours of transit time in Delhi.

@ Deo: Yea of course I saw that, but I meant why not cut a night just to experience - guess the ticketing doesn't work that way with rewards.

Indians love to vandalize AI interiors, it is their fundamental right written in constitution.

They tear up upholstery, pry open panels, break armrests/food trays, peel off any stickers, chew on (or) steal safety cards and scribble on plastic/leather. Their physical ability is the only limit.

Only way AI can keep up with it is to have vandal proof interiors, some what like Ryanair.

Interestingly, same folks behave very well on private/foreign carriers.

@Indian - You must be really loving our Constitution

Lucky, it's too bad you didn't stay in the city of Helsinki. I was there in '07 and had a wonderful time. The nightlife was a lot of fun. They really like Americans and are very curious about how things work here. The Hotel Glo was fantastic with a beautiful spa - you might have been able to catch some shut eye upon arrival then hit the spa to recover - go out for dinner and some nightlife then return to the hotel and head back to the airport. I really enjoyed it there and the shopping is to die for.

Lucky, given your journey to London, you may enjoy this: http://blog.rome2rio.com/2016/01/08/time-flies-according-to-these-maps-it-does/.

STILL WAITING FOR THE MORE DETAILED VERSION AND PICS FROM THE AI TRIP