Finnair introduces negative changes to baggage, seats and upgrades

Baggage and Super Light fares

Finnair is introducing a new Superlight ticket for journeys within Europe and making changes to its baggage allowances as of 1 June. The move, which follows low-cost airline models for hand baggage, is being blamed on excess amounts of carry-on baggage, causing delays in boarding and punctuality of flights. Finnair has been hit particularly hard by Russian airspace closure as previously, its core business was fast connections to Asia. 

As of 1 June, the Superlight ticket type will replace Economy Light tickets on Finnair journeys within Europe. It includes a small bag (40 x 30 x 15cm) , which goes under the seat, but no other carry-baggage. It gets worse as any purchases made at the airport are counted in the allowance, so they must also fit into the underseat bag. The only good news is if you have status with Finnair as Plus tier members (silver and above) travelling with a Superlight ticket will have one carry-on bag in addition to the underseat bag as a tier benefit.  Otherwise, you can purchase a bigger carry-on bag (55x40x23cm) as a travel extra.

“Punctuality is very important for our customers, and the target of the changes we are now making is to ensure smooth boarding, on-time departures, and comfortable travel for everyone. Excess carry-on baggage on board is a known issue, impacting both punctuality as well as travel comfort,” says Ole Orvér, Chief Commercial Officer, Finnair. “We are also enhancing monitoring of carry-on baggage at airports, and excess carry-on baggage will be moved to the cargo hold at cost.” 

Light tickets, which include a regular carry-on bag as well as a small underseat bag, will continue to be available only for long-haul journeys and for Business Class on European flights. Otherwise, you will need to purchase a Classic ticket on short haul if you want both checked and carry-on baggage.  Obviously it will depend on the pricing for the Super Light fares, if these are cheaper than the Light fares, it would not be so bad but if they are the same then it is definitely a change for the worst. 

As of June 1, Finnair will also decrease the baggage allowance for Business Class for both European and long-haul flights. The Business Light ticket includes one small bag (40x30x15cm) and one carry-on bag (55x40x23cm), while Business Classic and Flex tickets include one checked bag at a maximum of 23kg in addition to the carry-on allowance.  At present, this is a minimum of two pieces and three pieces to Japan on Classic tickets. In addition, all special baggage allowances, such as golf bags and ski equipment, will be excluded from the new ticket classifications and will only be available for an additional charge. 

There will be some adjustments to the baggage-related Finnair Plus tier benefits. Sports equipment is no longer available as a tier benefit for Finnair Plus Gold members, and heavy and oversized bags are not included in Platinum and Platinum Lumo members’ tier benefits. Finnair Plus Silver members no longer have an extra checked bag as a tier benefit, but it will be available for purchase with a 50% discount.   

However, if you have BA or oneworld status you should be OK as you are allowed an extra bag. 

Seat reservations charges

Finnair will also start charging for seat selection for Superlight, Light or Classic tickets, which will require you to purchase a seat if you want a particular seat, even at online check-in. This means complimentary seat selection is not available during check-in with these ticket types when the ticket is purchased on 1 June 2023 or later. 

If you buy your ticket by 31 May 2023, you will travel with your original ticket type and the services included in it.  So if you have been considering buying something on Finnair, make sure you do it by the end of May!

Oneworld status benefits

Loyalty Lobby clarified these as the benefits of oneworld status on Finnair:

Oneworld Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald members can also take one complimentary carry-on bag on flights when travelling with Economy Superlight ticket.

Total allowance when travelling with Economy Superlight:

oneworld Ruby: small bag, carry-on bag
oneworld Sapphire: small bag, carry-on bag, checked bag 23 kg
oneworld Emerald: small bag, carry-on bag, checked bag 23 kg

 

Points pricing and surcharge

Even if you don’t collect Finnair points, you can still transfer Amex Membership Reward Points into Finnair Plus points making an easy way to upgrade. However, if you were planning to do this, again, you need to do it soon. The new pricing applies to new upgrades and points bookings made made on or after 15 June 2023. There will be an increase on straight points redemptions at the same time. These will also have an additional surcharge from €10 within Finland to €120 to Asia in business class. 

Obviously, if you collect Avios, you could purchase Finnair tickets through ba.com on Avios. Whether the taxes and charges on these will also rise remains to be seen. 

As an example of the new rates for upgrades, they will cost (one way):

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This is a review of the Finnair A350 flight from Helsinki to London, which was part of my press trip with Finnair last week. You can read about the outbound economy flight here. Still to come is my review of the new Radisson Collection in Tallin and some thoughts on Tallin and Helsinki short breaks. 

Check-in

We were transferring from the Tallin flight at Helsinki with hand baggage only. I had checked in online with the Finnair app, which I find very useful with all its extra information, such as where the lounge is and which one you can use. We did not have to go through any security, but Helsinki now has the new scanners where you do not need to remove liquids or electronics, which is such an improvement.

I was also impressed with Tallin security – they need to come and give a lesson to Heathrow on how to organise a security queue! Each section was partitioned off with room for two containers per person and staff directing people to all the stations. It was definitely one of the most organised and efficient security queues I have seen. 

On arrival, we made our way to passport control to access the non-Schengen area. There was a short wait here as there was only one position open for non-EU. Otherwise, it was a painless transit. Everything at Helsinki is in one terminal, so connections are very easy, with around 35 minutes being the maximum time. Back in May, I only had less than an hour for my connection at Helsinki, but I still managed to spend some time in the lounge with a drink. 

The Lounge

There are two recently refurbished lounges which are stylish and offer a decent champagne as well as cocktails. The business class lounge is available to business class and oneworld sapphire members as well as Finnair’s equivalent status customers. The Platinum Wing lounge is for oneworld emerald and Finnair’s top Platinum and Platinum Lumo members. 

You can read my review of them here. 

Boarding

We were rather late to boarding, having been distracted by reindeer burgers and gin and tonics in the lounge! By the time we arrived, the gate was relatively empty, and we got straight onboard. Finnair A350 tend to board early, which is probably why every flight on this trip left bang on time (doesn’t happen on most airlines in my experience at the moment). 

There was a separate entrance for business class which you don’t see that often, let alone on short-haul. 

I was greeted by the crew who asked what my seat number was. When I gestured to where I was going with my seat number, they joked that I must have done this a few times before!

At the seat, there was a bottle of water already in the storage bin, which I really like. Last time I mentioned it, I got some abuse from someone on environmental grounds. However, Finnair A350 are passionate about sustainability, and the Villi water bottles are PET plastic made of 100% recycled material.

I am often rushing through the airport (as was the case this time) and for this flight arrived feeling hot and flustered in my winter coat. So a few sips of water when I sat down was very welcome!

The seat and cabin

There are two configurations of the new Air Lounge seat cabin on the A350. The seats are laid out in a 1-2-1 configuration for both versions. The larger version has a large and small cabin. I have tried both cabins. I’d avoid the front row of the mini cabin on the L side on a night flight, or if you want to sleep, as although it’s very private, it is right by the cabin crew storage cupboard, which can disturb you. 

Here is the larger version seat map:

On my short haul flight, I had the smaller version, which has a single cabin and I was in seat 3L. 

There are no lockers in the middle seats which makes it feel light and airy although it does mean if you are in a window seat, you will have people leaning over you to retrieve and store luggage.

The new Air Lounge seat is extremely innovative, and there is nothing else like it on the market. Finnair A350 won an award recently at the APEX/IFSA Awards for Best Cabin Innovation with the new seat. 

Many people are alarmed when they hear it doesn’t recline, but it is not an issue at all for me. After all, most people’s sofas don’t recline, and we don’t worry about that! The good thing about it not reclining is that the seats are far less likely to fail as there are fewer moving parts. Having recently spent a sleepless night on a first-class seat that would not recline, I think it’s a great idea.

The seat is extremely wide, which is part of why it works. It’s so wide you can almost sit sideways and can certainly sit with your knees up to the side on the chair or even cross legged. 

I also like that it has a leg rest that can be controlled separately. To get the seat into bed mode there is a small infill that comes up with a mechanical lever. When I first flew the seats everyone was finding it quite hard work to get the lever up as it was stiff. This seems to have been resolved now, and it came up easily with no issues at all.

The buttons to control the legrest, table and lights are well-positioned and simple to understand and use. There is also a do not disturb button. 

Some of the seats have a metal bar at the side as did 3L. On the larger cabin, the 9L did not. It definitely gives you that little bit of extra room without the bar.

These seats also have the over-the-shoulder seat belt, but you only have to wear them for take-off and landing, not during turbulence. 

I liked the way that there were two pillows, even on a short flight. To recline, you basically position the pillows how you find comfortable and recline yourself against them like you would on the sofa! I also like the fact that although the seats don’t have a door, they are very private as you can’t see anyone else from your seat unless you are in a middle seat with the divider down. 

There is plenty of storage at the seat, too with a deep storage bin by the window, which has room for small laptops, handbags etc. 

By your shoulder, there is a cabinet for storing headphones which houses the USB charging point, headphone socket and remote. 

This is also where the light is positioned, which can be adjusted in strength.

If you like to take your shoes off there is a ledge where you can either use it to stretch out a bit and u=out your feet there or pop your shoes and slippers there for safe keeping. You can also see the infill and lever in the photo below. 

The tray table swivels out of the side console and can be swung to the side if you need to get out during a meal or while working. I found it a little bouncy when typing but I am quite heavy handed when typing (people always say I sound like I’m angry typing!).

If you want to know what the seat is like on long-haul and for sleeping, you can read my outbound review here from Helsinki and the return from Singapore here. 

Food and drink

Prior to the service starting, I was offered a hot towel.

I was then offered a drink before dinner, so I went for the champagne which was Joseph Perrier as I really enjoy it plus a glass of blueberry juice. Both were served in the gorgeous distinctive glasses. I actually tried mixing the two together, and it worked quite well. It was a little like a kir royale. 

A top-up was offered when they came round to collect glasses. This is one area I find Finnair A350 very consistent in, the service is always excellent with multiple offers of a top-up.

Then lunch was offered. On short-haul there is no choice of meals, so if you have dietary requirements, you will need to pre-order. I was also offered water and wine to go with my meal. As I’d had a few in the lounge I declined. Having flown previously with Finnair, I have found the wine pretty decent on short haul. 

The starter was a feta-like cheese (maybe a little less strong) with strawberries and grapes and a balsamic dressing which went well with the salty cheese. 

I was also offered bread from the basket.

The main course was a hot smoked salmon on a bed of what was a bit like a warm potato salad. It was really delicious and went well having something with a bit of sauce to go with the salmon. It was accompanied with a selection of green vegetables, which unusually for an aircraft were not overcooked.

The dessert was a large chocolate muffin. Overall I enjoyed the meal and appreciated the attentive service. Coffee, tea and liqueurs were offered when they collected the tray. 

Entertainment, wi-fi and charging

It’s great having entertainment on this length of flight as it is long enough to watch a film. The best thing about Finnair’s entertainment system is the outside cameras on the A350 if you are a bit of an aviation geek like me. The images are incredibly sharp and there is a choice of view points.

The screen itself is a great size and has really good definition. There was a good choice of recent films and TV series along with some classics too. On this short flight there were no headphones but instead some earphones were by the seat when I sat down.

I was pleased to see that Finnair A350 had gone for a simple handset to control the TV and it worked very well. Often they have fancy touchscreens but are really slow and lag behind which makes me very frustrated. There were no such problems here and you could also control it with the touchscreen itself. 

Wifi is a little tricky on this route as there is something of a black spot over the North Sea. As we were in business class we got free Wifi for an hour. Unlike BA’s free Wifi, the wifi was very useable and I was able to get some work done quickly with the speed being pretty decent even for uploading photos. To get the free Wifi you just enter your name and seat number.

As well as the entertainment you could also look at the duty free options on board. I bought a pair of the Iitalla champagne glasses to complete my collection which cost €36. Finnair offer quite a few products from onboard and some branded items too which I like. You can also shop through the wifi website. 

There are three options for charging. First there is a special wireless charging area on the side console which also has rubber lines to stop the phone moving around. This is a great option if like me you are always leaving your charger behind in hotel rooms! I suspect more airlines will start to do this now, but it is rare to see wireless charging onboard currently. 

In the headphone cabinet there was a USB charging point and USB-C which is also uunusal but very welcome. At ground level there was a multi country socket as well by the window. 

I definitely can’t fault any aspect of Finnair entertainment, Wifi or charging other than the fact they fly over a black spot!

Which aircraft have the new seats and which flights from London are on long haul aircrft?

Finnair has six A350s refitted with the new cabin and four A330s. The plan is for all aircraft to be refitted by the end of 2023. You can tell whether the seats are fitted on the A350 by the seat map as the new cabin only has two seats in row 1 instead of 4. 

Finnair have been flying twice a day from London with an A350 for summer schedules, but this reduces to one flight per day over the winter from this weekend. 

Although it is not guaranteed to have the new seats, it will have long-haul seats and entertainment if it is an A350. 

The AY1332 which departs Heathrow at 10.20am features the long haul aircraft. Occasionally on a Sunday this can be an A330. 

The returning flight is at 7.50am on the AY1331. Obviously, if this didn’t suit, you could come back on one of the short-haul aircraft as there are four departures a day during the week. 

Booking

Flights to Helsinki are on the high side at the moment since BA withdrew from the route, but there are ways to make it more affordable if you fancy treating yourself to a special short-haul experience. Cash tickets cost from around £260 in economy and £581 in business class via Finnair.

You can also book on Avios through ba.com in the usual way.

Here are the prices to Helsinki on Finnair using Avios:

Economy – From 6000 Avios +  £169.97 to 18,000 Avios + £69.97

Business class – From 17,600 + £222.97 to  33,000 Avios + £82.97

Alternatively could transfer American Express Membership Reward points to Finnair Plus to buy the flight as a reward flight or upgrade an economy booking. 

You can check prices on Finnair here. 

Conclusion

I really enjoy flying with Finnair A350 new on short haul due to the attentive service, but this was such a treat to have such a huge seat and proper entertainment for a three-hour flight. The new seat is huge and great for lounging in whatever position you find comfortable. The food was tasty and the drinks free-flowing with a really good champagne. 

Both Helsinki and Tallinn make great short breaks, and with Christmas coming up it’s worth considering Tallinn with Finnair if you fancy an authentic Christmas market with a fairytale setting. 

You can see my videos of the seat on our Instagram page here. 

The post REVIEW: Finnair A350 new Air Lounge business class seat on short haul – the best short haul seat ever? appeared first on Turning left for less.

I recently flew on Finnair’s new business class seat which has caused some controversy due to it not reclining. The old Finnair seats are still pretty good as well but it’s been a long time since I flew in one of them. Today’s review is by reader Alexa. ” Alexa, play review..”

Flying the old Finnair business class seat on our Thai adventure

We recently flew from London Heathrow to Bangkok, via Helsinki, on our first Finnair long haul, and indeed our first long haul vacation since 2018 which wasn’t to visit friends and family. As a leisure route, the Bangkok aircraft are still sporting the old Zodiac Cirrus seats. Michele recently had the opportunity to try out the new seats on her trip to Singapore, so I thought I would compliment her review with one covering the old seats and my impressions of the food and service. Given Finnair is not expecting to complete the new seat rollout by the end of 2023 there is a chance, especially on winter leisure routes, to end up on this older seat.

A note about Finnair ticket types & the benefits of One World status

I booked Finnair Business Light fares for myself and my partner, from London to Bangkok via Helsinki, in early March when the fares were about £1650 per ticket. We had been planning to start in Stockholm for various reasons, which would have shaved £450 off each ticket, but with our schedules changing and the ever-fluxing Covid Pass requirements from Thailand, we decided to keep it simple and fly from London.

What is a Business Light fare? Good question, because Finnair’s rather new tiered business class pricing has some idiosyncrasies and triggered a lot of pre-booking research. The Light ticket looks like a great deal in online comparisons when shopping for a ticket, but is hand-baggage only, with no priority check-in or lounge, both of which can be purchased for a fee. The on-board product is the same across all Business ticket types (Light, Classic, Flex), except for Wi-Fi allowances.

However, as BA Executive Club Silver / One World Sapphire members, we were allowed one checked bag each, lounge access, and priority check-in. Status can help but know before you book and if it suits your needs. The Light ticket clearly didn’t suit the needs of a lady with six suitcases embarking at Bangkok, and I felt for the ground staff having to explain that she needed to pay for all six, not two like she was anticipating.

You can check prices with Finnair here.

Finnair business class A350-900 Cabin and Seat

Our LHR-HEL flight suffered a plane swap, so while we were supposed to experience the new seating, at least for the 3 hours to Helsinki, instead we ended up on the A350-900 which took us all the way to Bangkok. I really wanted to offer a back-to back, butt-in-seat comparison, alas it was not to be. I’m going to only cover the HEL-BKK seats and service for this review for purposes of brevity, carpal tunnel integrity, and reader interest. Note: I was in 2H for London-Helsinki and 3H to Bangkok. The photos are interchangeable as the seat was the same, except for the broken movable armrest in 2H.

We were seated in the middle of the cabin – 3D and 3H. Normally we don’t do this because my partner likes to sample the wine and spirit list and it’s better for all involved if I leave him to it and do my own thing in another part of the cabin, usually next to a window! However, in the general flurry of departure, I forgot to amend the seating, so we were next to each other in the centre of the cabin.

On boarding, the Finnair lightshow was playing and the cabin felt airy, comfortable, and clean, with the Marimekko colours in the pillows/amenity kits giving a pop of colour against the Finnair grey, which is much lighter than something like a United grey. There is a monitor display against the forward bulkhead of the route or of video from one of the two aircraft cameras.

Apologies for the blurriness, but this photo shows the general layout of the seat, including the console, monitor, footrest, and storage, covered below in more detail. My backpack, containing a small laptop, Kindle, and personal items, easily fit under the footrest in front, which is where I got the most storage and accessibility. The large, soft pillow, matching the amenity kit, was waiting on the seat.

I needn’t have worried about seeing my partner on this flight because the divider, at both head and foot height, was more than enough to almost never see him. It took unbuckling the belt and leaning forward to speak to each other. He enjoyed his flight his way, I enjoyed mine my way, and we disembarked ready to take on the heat of Bangkok.

For reference, here is the Bangkok to Helsinki return where I changed our seats to window seats. They are identical to centre seats, and are not staggered – all window seats are offset with the console between you and the window. Also pictured are the duvet, floor slippers, and noise-cancelling headphones.

The seat itself has an adjustable armrest which can be raised or lowered by pressing the metal bit that looks like one of those old airline ashtrays. Next to it is a storage compartment, opened in a similar manner. It’s a good spot to put a water bottle or other small items. I found this storage compartment somewhat odd – it’s too deep to store eyeglasses, although it suits a water bottle well. It’s also much smaller than the padded bit suggests, meaning that only small electronics could fit.

A substantial divider between seats means no chance of accidental footsie. The footwell didn’t seem limiting to me, however sliding between the divider and the side of the seat and under the monitor did make me feel rather enclosed. This photo also shows the monitor, which folds out by pressing the silver button. Unlike most of my experience with the old BA Club World monitors, this monitor stayed in place at the desired angle and felt heavy and substantial.

The side of the seat contained a decent reading light, the control handset, headphone plug, USB plug, and another plug. The USB charger wasn’t particularly fast, but it did the job to charge my phone while I slept.

The seat controls allow you to move the seat into a variety of positions, from fully flat to fully upright for takeoff, and what I like to call “Barcalounger” or a halfway in-between point of recline + legs supported, to watch tv. I found the seat responsive and easy to use, and I didn’t need to use the handset. There was plenty of space to move about, however, getting up to use the washroom required resetting the seat almost to upright. Drink enough water or other liquid on a plane and that gets old fast!

The tray table could be found tucked into the centre console and could be folded in half or moved about. While I appreciated the foldability, the rotation around an internal point in the console meant that I found it awkward. While it was nice it could fold in half, how it rotated into the centre console and could rotate out was at an awkward angle.

It also wasn’t possible to push it forward, it only rotated around that internal point. This isn’t a major issue, but personal preference meant it did start to annoy me by the end of the flight.

Finnair business class A350-900 Entertainment

The 12.1 inch touchscreen was solid, responsive, and easy to use. I especially appreciated the forward and below plane camera views, in addition to the route maps with the different views of the plane’s progress towards our destination.

The TV and movie selection was decent; not the level of vast selection as seen on Qatar, but also not the poor quality, limited selection as loaded on SAS.  A good choice of new releases in a few languages, with some older but popular movies and one classic. TV selection was moderate and I prefer to watch whole seasons, but five episodes of Arrested Development were better than nothing.

Comfort in various positions

With the late flight time I was more than ready to skip dinner and a movie and get right to sleeping. It was past 1 am Helsinki time before the seatbelt sign was turned off, and after connecting from Heathrow I was tired. I got out the light, but comfortable, duvet and the large Marimekko-dressed pillow, fiddled with the seat controls until I found a decent sleeping position of Mostly Flat, and slapped on an eyeshade. So, I was all set, right?

Well, sort of.

As a side sleeper the seats work fine, though I found they work better if you are sleeping facing the console section. At about 5’8 I wasn’t in any danger of going through the footwell, but the overhang of the screen did give a feeling of being enclosed. Perhaps not coffinlike, but certainly limiting of easily being able to turn over. Laying flat wasn’t a bad position either though getting to flat from the side was a bit of a manoeuvre.

What made the seat a little more uncomfortable was where my hip rested against a movable part of the seat, which would cause some pressure pain and wake me up enough to have to shift to get more comfortable. A mattress topper of some sort would go a long way to smoothing out the lumps and bumps of the seat and complement the comfortable bedding. The pillow and duvet were very comfortable and soft, however, and I think with one more component to the bedding set up, even if on request, it would make it much better.

Ultimately I did end up “sleeping” – the type of sleep where you check the time and can’t imagine how five hours passed without actually sleeping as you felt awake the whole time. I did feel somewhat refreshed, and with 4 and a half hours to go, decided to watch a movie. An FA saw me awake and came by to ask (quietly!) if I would like something to drink. I requested a blueberry juice, reset my seat to Barcalounger and watched Liz Taylor and Paul Newman sizzle in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Finnair business class A350-900 Food and Service

Efficient, professional service with a smile

Our on-board service was very similar to Michele’s, and in fact was almost identical across our two flights, which is a sign that service training and delivery can be expected to be somewhat consistent even if food and amenities may have been missed loading. Across all four of our flights the FAs were very professional without seeming cold. The long haul flights were mostly senior crew, but they delivered a cheerful, proactive service that I have found to be missing on other carriers in the last two or three years. This included engaging with a young baby and toddler in the business cabin on the return flight. The FAs were helpful to the mother flying solo when needed, but that did not preclude taking care of the rest of the full business cabin.

All FAs were very proactive in service, especially in clearing finished trays and overall it felt efficient but not rushed or cold. They were also proactive in prompting for drinks – “are you sure you wouldn’t like some wine with your dinner? Or something else?” which also came across genuine and delivered with a smile. Where excess champagne was open, FAs did come around the cabin about 45 minutes before landing offering one last tipple.

Small plates and missed snacks

Setting aside the contentious issue of “should a business class meal be served on one tray?”, Finnair’s meal delivery of a “tray and a half” felt like a good compromise to the “cafeteria” approach of everything piled onto one tray and the more extensive multi-plate extravaganzas of pre-pandemic times. Considering our very late departure times, it worked, although the thought of eating a heavy meal of beef at 1 am was not that appealing. For fans of Nordic airlines, it struck me as very similar to the pre-pandemic SAS business class approach.

I also enjoyed the new food concept of two small sides and a larger main. The food amount looks small in the dishes, almost amuse bouche level, however, I found it rather filling and more than enough, especially as I had eaten a bit in the lounge before departure. Same with the dessert – the cheesecake was really about a bite or two, but I found it to be enough at the time. I could see this amount of food may not work for someone who didn’t have time to stop in the lounge or otherwise is a big eater.

My one complaint was a lack of mid-flight nibble station. I couldn’t find it on the flight to Bangkok, although on the return a selection of crisps, chocolate, and soft candies were left in a basket (and replenished) on the business bulkhead on both sides. That was a nice touch, however in cabins as quiet as the A359, chip bags rustling at 2:30 am were certainly louder and more noticeable than they may have been on another aircraft. I like potato chips, but I do wish there was a quieter alternative.

Finnair also seems to have stopped their cinnamon bun and coffee service, which was disappointing as I really like cinnamon buns, but they are still available in the lounge (and tasty!). Finally, given the rather tiny food portions, it would be nice to see some more substantial mid-flight food offerings, perhaps small sandwiches, or fruit cups, in the future.

Lounging around

Let’s talk lounges, which were especially important given the flight timings. We mixed and matched across the One World alliance, through our Sapphire status and holding a business ticket on an alliance partner. The Light component didn’t matter at partner desks, and we were waved through with a smile.

Cathay Pacific Lounge – London Heathrow T3

On departure we went straight to the Cathay Pacific lounge in Heathrow T3, arguably one of the two best in the entire airport. The lounge had great views of the runway, and I enjoyed same hot dim sum in the restaurant area, although there were three chefs on hand if I wanted to pick a different hot dish. The bartender, who kept our champagne flowing, remarked that the lounge was very quiet compared to the pre-pandemic era which is not surprising given the lack of Cathay flights at the time. Overall the lounge was quiet, clean, had a good food and drink offering and various seating arrangements.

Finnair Business Lounge – Helsinki

I won’t go in to too much detail here as Michele did a great job capturing the lounge in her earlier post. We only had 45 minutes between our arrival and departure to Bangkok, but on our return we spent 7 hours here. It was about as enjoyable as a public space can get, and we took advantage of the well-stocked, easy-to-book showers to get refreshed. The food selection was decent enough, and with enough empty areas we were able to camp in a corner and get a little extra sleep.

JAL Sakura Lounge – Bangkok Suvarnabhumi

Finnair uses the Miracle Lounge in Bangkok, which is also a Priority Pass lounge. We opted to shuffle over to the JAL Sakura Lounge, which accepts OneWorld Sapphire and Emerald passengers with an alliance business ticket. JAL has an evening flight to Tokyo which departed close to the same time as ours, which meant the lounge opened with about 3 hours before our flight departed. I had read rave reviews for this lounge before departure and was hoping it lived up to its reputation.

We were not disappointed. Ok, we were for perhaps 15 minutes as we arrived before the lounge was opened, but for the hour and a half we spent there it was very relaxing. Hot, served buffet, cold poured drinks, and some darn good internet speeds made the time fly by. The lounge was very quiet, though it was starting to fill up by the time we left.

Would I fly long-haul again with Finnair?

Finnair delivered an enjoyable long-haul business class on both flights, which made a very long flight seem to fly by. It sounds cliché to call it “an oasis of calm”, but after the madness of getting out of Heathrow and Bangkok, the whole experience felt relaxed and professional and more than met my expectations for what a business class product should be (clean, on time, professional, and up to date soft product and entertainment).

While there are a few lacking areas, such as the confusing ticket pricing, tiny amenities kit, potentially limited food amounts, and the lack of a mattress pad, these aren’t major deal breakers and I would be happy to book a Finnair flight again even on these seats. While I have yet to trial the new seat, if the service is similar but with an even better seat, Finnair may yet become our one-stop preferred airline going both east and west.

You can check prices and book with Finnair here.

Like our Finnair business class A350-900 review? You can read more flight reviews here. 

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This is a review of Finnair A321 short haul business class. As part of my cheap fare to Singapore in business class I also got to fly Finnair short haul. Since Helsinki gets 160 tier points return from London and also BA are using 4 Finnair aircraft from Gatwick this summer I thought it was worth a review.

I will look at both directions since I had such inconsistencies on my long haul flights.

Milan to Helsinki

Check-in did not open until around 2 hours 20 before departure which seemed an odd time to open. Once I was at the desk I was asked for my Singapore documents – mainly my vaccination certificate. The check-in agent seemed a little unsure what she needed but I guess maybe they don’t have that many long haul departures from Milan. She was very friendly though and eventually all the formalities were sorted. 

You get fast track security with Finnair, in fact, with all oneworld airlines at Malpensa. It was very quiet in Fast track and the staff were surprisingly helpful for security staff.

It was a very long walk to the lounge and you had to pass through passport control on the way. The Monteverdi VIP lounge was a bit of a dump in my opinion. It felt very busy and there was not much choice of food and drink. The only good think I can say is that they had San Pellegrino water and a place to work with power. 

There were no glasses, just paper cups. Because of course, glasses give you Covid! There was a small selection of wine and spirits to enjoy in your paper cup!

Boarding was called by group no and I was in group 1. When I got to the seat I was pleasantly surprised that there was a bottle of water and a blanket on my seat.

The flight

The flight was very empty in Finnair A321 short haul business class which made for a pleasant flight. I had chosen row 1 which was a mistake. The leg room is definitely less in row 1 than it is on British Airways in Club Europe. The seats also felt quite hard in row one and not that comfortable with the fixed armrest. The grey seats look very uninspiring. 

Not long after taking off a hot towel was offered which I appreciated.

First, we were offered a drink from the bar cart. I went for a Bloody Mary which was served with Big Tom juice and was served in the lovely Iitalla glass. I’d prefer it freshly made but actually I don’t mind this on aircraft as at least you get a decent mix of spice in it. I was given the whole can and the bottle of Finlandia vodka.

Next it was time for dinner on this 2.5 hour flight which departed at 7pm. There was no choice so if you are a fussy eater or vegetarian then you may be in trouble. I’d assume you could pre-order a vegetarian meal. 

I’d say that it wasn’t as good as BA’s Club Europe as you only got a cookie for dessert and no cheese. But actually, the portion sizes were better and the starter was better than you often get in Club Europe. The starter was cold sliced beef with a mustard dressed potato salad. This was followed by the ravioli which I think was cheese with a lot of tomato sauce (don’t wear white if you fly on Finnair!). I really enjoyed my meal overall. 

I was offered a drink with my meal and went for a red Bordeaux which was pleasant but nothing special. 

After dinner, we were also offered tea and coffee or liqueurs. I  was in holiday mode having finished my work in the lounge so I indulged in a brandy which came in the new blue glass. 

The cabin crew serving me seemed quite new but was very attentive and friendly. I did wonder if it was due to the low load of the flight but the crew were also good on the way back.

Wi-fi was available during the flight and you got 30 minutes free on short haul. You can pre-order Wi-fi via manage my booking or when you check in. If you wanted Wi-Fi for the whole flight it cost €14.95. 

Helsinki – Milan

I had checked in for this flight at Singapore so I just headed to my gate. There is a Shengen lounge which I could have used but since I didn’t have long and it was early in the morning I did not bother. The lounge entrance is located by Gate 22. The lounge is open from 5:30 a.m. to 23:30 p.m. every day.

Boarding was announced a little late and the flight was pretty full this time. Again there was water and a blanket at the seat. 

I went for row 2 to see if that was better and it definitely felt like there was more leg room. Finnair have a 31″ seat pitch compared to BA’s 30″ in business class. 

Despite being 7am the Finns on board seemed in a party mood and were knocking back the champagne like nobody’s business! I felt compelled to join in and went for a Bloody Mary again. This time I was poured half a can of Big Tom Bloody Mary mix and then given a whole bottle of vodka which made it rather strong! I should have asked for the rest of the can of Bloody Mary mix. 

Breakfast was served again with no choice. The egg dish was actually better than my long haul breakfast with the scrambled egg not too solid and a nice flavour of chives to liven it up. The hash brown wasn’t too soggy and I enjoyed the roasted tomato underneath that give it a bit of moisture and sweetness. The only thing I wasn’t keen on was what I thought might be spinach but it was hard to tell as it was very overcooked. 

I was a bit perplexed by the small packet of dry muesli but I assumed that it was to go on the yoghurt but I found it a bit odd. A granola would have worked better. The yoghurt was thick and creamy though. 

We were also offered a choice of pastries and I went for a croissant which was rather average. They also had bread rolls. Several people asked for a second pastry which was no trouble. The cabin crew continued to offer drinks as they cleared away and I had at least two more blueberry juices during the flight without having to request a drink. 

Conclusion

I found the leg room and comfort a bit lacking in the front row for Finnair A321 short haul business class but once I tried row 2 I was much more comfortable. Overall I was pleasantly surprised as I had heard the odd complaint about Finnair and the lack of choice. Fortunately, I am not a fussy eater at all so it was no issue to not have a choice. The main courses were all vegetarian so at least you wouldn’t go completely hungry. 

I can’t fault the service on either flight. The crew were friendly, professional and very pro-active. The little extra touches like the bottles of water, hot towel and regular offers of water or blueberry juice make for a more premium experience, even if the cabin doesn’t look that great!

Like our Finnair A321 short haul business class review? You can read more Finnair flight reviews here or you may like another blog post from us about Finnair, Finnair A350 New Air Lounge Business Class Seat On Short Haul – The Best Short Haul Seat Ever? and Finnair Economy Class To Tallinn And Cathay Pacific First Lounge T3.

The post Finnair A321 short haul business class review appeared first on Turning left for less.

This is a review of Finnair new business class. I had flown out on the first day that Finnair introduced their new business class service and soft products as well as the new non-reclining AirLounge business class seat. I won’t go into the full details of the seat in this review but I will compare the mini-cabin and bulkhead seat on this flight. You can read the full details of the seat in this review. 

Check-in

From Milan to Singapore I was able to fully check-in online by uploading my documents but for some reason, it would not let me do that for the return trip. 

I arrived about 2.5 hours before departure and there were only a couple of people in front of me at the dedicated business class check-in. They seemed to take ages and as usual, I was standing there wondering how does it take some people so long to check-in? I’ve never taken more than 2 or 3 minutes for the whole process. Eventually, it was my turn. The check-in agent was pleasant and efficient explaining where the lounge was. They also stamp it on your boarding pass which is a good idea.

Lounge

Finnair use a third party lounge for some reason, the Marhaba Lounge. However, when travelling in business class with oneworld you can access any Oneworld business class lounge (with a few exceptions). Since the BA lounge had very recently reopened I decided to try out that and the Qantas lounge since they are next to each other.

The Marhaba lounge is actually quite pleasant with some hot food and barista-style coffee. However, the drinks selection is not anything special.

The Qantas lounge was virtually empty as it was due to close at 9pm. My flight departed at 9.50pm. The first lounge is still closed but it is due to open next month. The lounge is huge and has lots of different seating areas as well as showers.

There is a small buffet by the dining area but they also have some great local dishes to order. They had starters, a couple of hot mains and some desserts on display. They looked a lot nicer than they tasted! The food to order was laksa or prawn or vegetable dumplings.

I went for the laksa which was great.

There is a bar to order mixed drinks and cocktails but they also have help yourself wine and sparkling wine.

The sparkling was pretty average but I enjoyed an East side garden cocktail and the Clare Valley Riesling.

Over in the BA lounge, it was a little busier but still pretty quiet. The Concorde Bar which is for first class passengers appeared to be closed but it was hard to tell. (It’s not anything to write home about as it’s quite dark but it does have decent food and drink).

There was a reasonable selection of food on display including satay and you could also order hot food to order. Most drinks were help your self but champagne had to be ordered via the app.

It took all of 90 seconds from ordering for it to appear at my table. It was Joseph Perrier, the same as Finnair serve onboard which I quite enjoy. 

They also had a couple of cocktails you could order.

Boarding

In Singapore, you have to go through security at the gate which has always seemed very inefficient and also quite annoying. There was a “Premium” queue but it was still quite slow. Finnair also board by group number and I was in group 1. We started boarding a bit late at around 30 minutes to departure. 

Once onboard I was offered a welcome drink and again went for the blueberry juice rather than the champagne. The same amenity kit was at my seat along with some water in the side bin.

After this, it all started to go a bit wrong.  I noticed that the cabin crew started to take orders for dinner and thought it was strange I had no menu. When she arrived to take my order she said they had no menus. The choices were “roast” beef (it wasn’t roast), curry or ravioli. I asked what was in the ravioli and was told “vegetarian”. I’m sorry but I don’t think that’s good enough. Finnair has made a big song and dance about their new business class dining experience. I think the cabin crew could at least have a vague inkling of what is in the food! 

I went for the beef as the safe option rather than the “mystery” pasta. I asked for their gin cocktail before dinner. There appeared to be only a choice of two red wines but there had been three on the way out. I was told there was a French red or Portuguese. I had the French one which tasted like the Bordeaux that was listed on the outbound menu although she had described it as cabernet sauvignon. 

Not long afterwards I was told they would not be doing drinks before dinner as it was too late. This seemed odd as the outbound flight went at 00.15 and they served them then. This flight was earlier and we had 13.5 hours to kill, so no one was in a hurry!

Food and drink

There was also no hot towel service on this flight. I’m not sure if they didn’t have any or she forgot. Finnair serve hot twoels on both short and long haul flights currently. The cabin crew member serving me was either new or just not that great. I could see her in the galley from my seat and she seemed to spend most of the time drinking cans of coke while supposedly preparing the meals! She just gave the impression she wasn’t bothered about any of it although she was reasonably freindly. Such as shame after the fantastic service on the way out. 

The starters were cold roast beef with potato salad (not ideal with a beef main) and a smoked salmon or trout quiche. Both were tasty. The beef looked like the beef cheeks from the way out rather than roast beef as it was described. It was pretty good, very tender with plenty of creamy mash and vegetables that were not overcooked. I also enjoyed the wine. 

I thought I would try both the cheese and the dessert since the portions are tiny. I had the pannacotta which was very good and the cheese which was a nice selection and I particularly liked the cripsbreads with it. I wasn’t keen on whatever the sweet stuff was with it. It was very bland and I think a proper chutney would have been better. 

I had wanted to try the Finnish dessert wine on the way out but they had brought me Cognac on the first flight as both are called XO. This time when I asked I was told there was none. Sigh… So I had the cognac again.

One thing I can’t fault was the pour size of the alcohol on this flight. I also had a hot chocolate again which came in an odd handleless mug which I was not keen on. It was hard to hold and you can end up burning your hands if you hold it in the wrong place. 

The snacks were not laid out in an obvious place in the galley like last time but instead in a display cupboard by the toilet which you’d miss if you weren’t looking for it. Again the selection was a couple of soft drinks, crisps, chocolate and cereal bars. Apparently, they do have noodles on request but there is no mention of this anywhere. 

The second meal was breakfast and I am still none the wiser after eating it as to what it all was. There was some sort of Waldorf type chicken salad which is an odd choice for breakfast. Then there was a bowl with a soggy hashbrowns sitting in some sort of water, some sort of frittata which I didn’t like as it was grainy and what I may guess as turkey ham?? The fruit, croissant and fruit were all OK. It was served around 2 hours before landing. I thought it was a generous size second meal with something to suit most palates. 

One thing I did like was that there was some champagne leftover so rather than throwing it away, the crew came round with a bottle and those lovely glasses after breakfast to see if anyone wanted it. I’m all in favour of reducing waste where possible, so I helped them out by having a glass. Forced it down obviously… I also bought some of the glasses on pre-order from Finnair using the 10% Finnair plus discount. This process worked well. 

Finnair new business class Cabin and seat

On the A350 there are two cabins. This time I had chosen a seat in the mini-cabin. Service was the same speed as from the front pretty much as you are served from a separate galley. 

The seat was the new non-reclining AirLounge. This one was slightly different as I ended up in the bulkhead after agreeing to swap with a couple that were separated (never said thank you which I thought was rude). I ended up in 9L which sits on its own in front of the other rows.

The bad points of the seat are that it is by the galley and the crew cupboard so there was a lot of banging of the cupboard door at certain times and noise from the galley during service.

There were some good points though. You have a big “shelf” to put your case on while unpacking which is less far to lift the case up and down to the locker as well from that position. Also, some seats have a metal bar in the footwell but this did not and felt more spacious.

I managed to find an extra pillow so with slightly more legroom thanks to the lack of pole, I did sleep a bit better on this flight. It was definitely still a bit hard though.

Finnair new business class Entertainment and Wi-Fi

I didn’t bother with buying a whole flight’s worth of Wi-Fi this time as you get an hour for free.

Being a bit earlier than the outbound flight I did watch a couple of films as they had a good selection of some very recent films. I watched Belfast and King Richard both of which I recommend. Particularly King Richard about Serena and Venus Williams father. Even if you don’t like sport or tennis, it was a fascinating film. The screen is large and has great definition with simple controls either by touch screen or remote. 

I did actually use the Bose noise cancelling headphone for around 40 minutes on the flight as we came into land. I found them surprisingly comfortable compared to many airline headsets that pinch. 

I liked the fact that the Finnair new business class screen would update you on the next meal to expect and when. It would even remind you to out “do not disturb” on if you didn’t want it.

Conclusion for Finnair new business class

We had some beautiful views of the sunrise over Helsinki as we came in to land.

Sadly this flight was nowhere near as good as the first one. I still think that Finnair has developed a great product and the seat is surprisingly comfortable for 13 hours. However, the lack of menus, hot towels, no pre-dinner drink, missing wines and general attitude of the cabin crew serving me definitely detracted from the product which is a shame.

I would still fly with Finnair again as I think for the prices you pay you can’t fault it. And when you compare to some other airlines it is still streets ahead. Hopefully, this was just a one-off. 

Like our Finnair new business class review? You can read more flight reviews here. 

You might like other Finnair blogs such as A350 Business class short haul and Finnair New A350 Non Reclining Long Haul Business Class Seats.

The post Finnair new business class review Singapore to Helsinki – never as good as the first time? appeared first on Turning left for less.

In part 1 I looked at Finnair’s new AirLounge non-reclining business class seat. In this article, I will look at the Finnair new business class AirLounge dining concept and the service on board as well as Wi-Fi and entertainment. This was a normal flight, not a press trip and the crew had no idea who I was or that I was writing a review. 

Finnair new business class AirLounge Inflight Dining and service

My flight to Singapore was on the day that Finnair launched its new inflight dining concept. This included new glassware, cutlery and plates etc from the Iitalla Kuulas dining collection, which was created exclusively for Finnair by Harri Koskinen, one of Finland’s best-known contemporary designers. 

The new menu is based on smaller bistro-style dishes rather than large courses. You get two starters (no choice), a choice of main and then two desserts to choose from as well as cheese. According to the press release you are meant to have a side dish as well but I did not have one on my menu. Maybe because it was a 00.15 departure. 

Here is the menu for my flight which to me looks more like something you would see in a restaurant:

I was offered a hot towel once we had taken off. I had forgotten that hot towels used to be part of business class service! Next was the drink before dinner which was served with warm smoked almonds in a dish. This was all feeling very premium to me compared with the current service on most airlines where you get a packet of something cheap!

I had a glass of Chablis. The champagne served on Finnair, Joseph Perrier, is nothing special but it is drinkable – a similar standard to Canard Duchene for me. 

The new menus include a brand new ‘Northern Blush’ signature cocktail and extended drinks selection, including Mikropolis’ Negroni cocktail and featuring Finnish producers with whisky from Kyrö, gin from Helsinki Distillery and Valamo XO dessert wine.

Here is the full drinks list:

And the wine list:

It was great to see so many choices of drinks. I was beginning to vaguely remember what flying before Covid was like. The excitement of not knowing what to choose as there are too many good choices. The fun of trying several different wines just because you can! Too often now I look at a business class menu and I’m bored by the choices as there are too few and they never seem to change much. 

I tried the Northern Blush cocktail later in the flight which was served in the new blue tumblers. 

Northern Blush cocktail

I quite liked the glasses but I wasn’t keen on a cocktail being served in it as you couldn’t really see the colour which is meant to be like a sunset. I prefer the old-style glasses personally. The cocktail comes ready mixed in a can and is available in all cabins. It contains lingonberry, a splash of gin, and a dash of orange peel. It tasted pleasant, not too sweet or cloying and not very alcoholic. 

New litalla tumblers

I went for the salmon as my main course for something a bit different.

The table was laid with a crisp white cloth before service began. The starter and main arrived together on a white cloth covered tray and a basket of three types of bread was offered.

I really enjoyed the chicken tart with its thin crisp crust and the little pop of flavour from the mustard seeds. The other starter needed a bit more texture as it was all very soft but it was tasty. It was good to see the dishes garnished with fresh leaves which the crew must add to the hot dishes. 

The main course was excellent if a little strong on the smoking for my personal taste. It was a decent-sized portion with vegetables that were not overcooked and it tasted like something you’d get in a restaurant. In fact, all the main meal dishes did. 

The tray came with a glass of still water and it was interesting that no mention of sparkling water is made on the drinks list. The Singaporean crew in the business cabin were extremely professional and efficient. This was the best service I have had on a long haul flight for quite a while. Drink top-ups were delivered without asking and they told you they were coming back to top you up so you weren’t left wondering. No sooner had I finished my main course than I was asked if I wanted my tray removed and offered dessert. They made you feel like nothing was too much trouble and made the whole service seem effortless yet I could tell they were working hard. 

I could have had cheese as well as dessert but given it was late I was keen to get to sleep. I plan to try the cheese on the way back since it is an earlier flight. I also asked for a glass of the Finnish dessert wine which is called an XO but the crew member was confused and brought me a large XO Cognac. Since I like cognac I had that instead. The cognac was not one of the better XOs I have had and was more like a VSOP but perfectly drinkable. The cheesecake was delicious and beautifully presented but absolutely tiny! I’m not into huge portions but this definitely was too small! Two bites and it was gone. 

I was tempted to ask for another dessert as it was so good but I settled on a hot chocolate – one of my favourite bedtime drinks on a night flight. I liked that it came with a chocolate – it’s all the little touches that make it feel premium. 

My only real complaint about the flight was that if you got hungry snacks were limited. This was a 13 hour flight and some people may have eaten in the lounge and gone straight to sleep.

snack station

They had a small snack station in the area between the two business class cabins but the choice was very small and generally unhealthy. Chocolates, nuts, crisps and cereal bars were all that I saw. However, they were at least premium versions of these products. 

The only drinks were water and blueberry juice. Obviously, you could ask the crew for other drinks.

Around 2 hours before landing the lights went on and the crew came round with a wake-up drink of water or blueberry juice which I thought was a nice touch. Orders were taken for drinks with your arrival meal and another hot towel handed out. I thought I would try a cappuccino just to see what it was like. Again it was good to see proper speciality coffee drinks available in a business class cabin.

Somehow I managed not to take a picture of the second meal (I blame being half asleep). The warm game pie was more like a quiche and had a slightly weird grainy texture. The salad was delicious though and although it looked like a fairly plain green salad on top, it had a lovely layer of prawns underneath in a creamy dill sauce. Warm bread was also offered with the meal. For dessert, there was some slightly underripe sliced fruit. The cappuccino was OK, as usual on an aircraft you can never get the foam dense enough, but it was certainly as good as a decent machine cappuccino.

Before landing a basket of chocolates was passed around. Again, another small touch that made this feel like a very premium experience. 

Finnair new business class AirLounge Entertainment and Wi-Fi

The new seats have a large high definition screen fitted that can be controlled either with the remote or the touchscreen. The remote was pretty responsive but I found it a bit fiddly to use compared to using the touchscreen so I soon gave up and just used the screen.

Noise-cancelling headsets by Bose were provided which had a good level of padding on the headband and were high quality for an aircraft.

There were lots of options on offer such as movies, games, TV series and moving maps. My favourite part was the A350 cameras which allow you to see ahead or below the aircraft. Great when coming into land or taking off. 

The selection of movies had some very recent releases such as Belfast as well as some classic options. I was too tired to watch much so went for a fairly dire rom-com that I can’t even remember what it was called! TV series had all the usual plane classics like Friends and Modern Family as well as more recent options. 

You could also get information about shopping onboard. (Note the 10% off if you join Finnair Plus – thanks to reader Clayton that pointed this out to me). If you love the Iitalla glasses (the old ones that look like ice melting) then you can buy them onboard (they may need preordering) or in Helsinki airport. 

I used the Wi-fi onboard. As a business class passenger, you get an hour free on long haul (30 minutes on short haul) which I think is reasonable. It’s simple to connect and when you do it asks if you want to “Claim” Wi-fi – either pre-purchased or the free Wifi. As I knew I would need more than an hour I had pre-purchased at online check-in which I think is a great option – no fiddling around entering credit card details onboard. You can purchase before then by using Manage My Booking as well. All you do is enter your seat number onboard when you have connected to the Wi-Fi and it knows you have already paid – clever! However, this is only for one device. 

The speed wasn’t bad. It was a little slow sending pictures on What’s app but otherwise, it worked well for my needs, although I didn’t try to stream any programmes it worked OK to listen to a short clip of music. 

Conclusion for Finnair new business class AirLounge

In terms of the food, drinks, entertainment and onboard service there is very little I could fault. This felt a very premium business class service, almost on a par with the gold standard of Qatar Airways. The staff were attentive and knowledgeable but these were Singapore based crew so whether it would be the same with other crew I can’t say. On my short haul flight the Finnair crew were also very good, so hopefully it is fairly universal.

It was great to have such a large choice of drinks with some interesting Finnish options to try. The food was tasty and I liked the concept of having lots of smaller dishes. It felt like a lot of thought had been put into every step of the experience from the glasses to the food. The only real complaint was the lack of any fresher snacks on such a long flight. Some real food such as fruit, sandwiches or instant noodles would have been good. 

Overall including the seat, I thought the new Finnair business class is an excellent product. My few criticisms would not stop me booking again, especially with the excellent value fares we have been seeing on Finnair. Although Finnair’s cheapest fares are lite and don’t include luggage or lounge access, if you have oneworld status that includes them you can still have these for free. Obviously you still get your BA tier points and Avios flying Finnair. Given that Qatar is well overpriced at the moment for Asia, my choice of airline on value versus premium services would be Finnair. 

Like our Finnair new business class AirLounge review? You can read more flight reviews here. 

The post Finnair new business class AirLounge review part 2 – new inflight dining and entertainment appeared first on Turning left for less.

Finnair new A350 business class “AirLounge” non-reclining seats to Singapore review. Although there have been quite a few reviews of the new non-reclining seats, these have only been used mainly on short-haul for training. As you can imagine there is only so much you can tell from a short 3 hour flight during the day compared to testing the seats on a long haul overnight flight.

I flew on the launch flight for Finnair’s new business seats (it was not a media event, just a normal flight) and their new improved onboard service with improved amenity kits, dining, drinks and bedding.

In part 1, I will look at the seats and the initial experience with the lounge and boarding. In the next part, I will look at the onboard service.

Finnair have been doing some amazing prices to Asia for around £1100 or less, so are they worth snapping up?

Check-in and Singapore entry requirements

I bought a very cheap £600 ticket in 2019 which was originally Bologna-Hong Kong. After many changes, I ended up flying Milan-Singapore so I checked in there. I will review the short-haul flight separately but there are a few things of note not related to Milan. You can check-in early for your flight online or via their app. This can be done up to 36 hours in advance which is useful. I know some people have had issues selecting their seats but because I booked direct with Finnair and it was before they launched their business lite fare, I could do it all online with no issues. I also like that you can buy your Wifi at this point. Business class gets one hour free but you can buy more if you wish. 

To check-in, I had to upload my vaccination certificate and my Singapore PLF. I was surprised at how relatively easy it was to enter Singapore. Unsurprisingly they are very organised. Don’t use the Singapore Tourist board as your reference as when I was travelling it was well out of date and said you still needed a test. This is the best official source of information. 

Here is what I needed to do:

• Upload my vaccination certificate for approval which was almost instant
• Fill in the Sinagpore PLF (SG arrival card) within 3 days of arrival
• Download the app and activate it once you pass customs

I had my vaccination certificate checked at Finnair check-in. I also received a text asking me to go to the transfer desk at Helsinki. I went but they were happy that it had been already checked as my boarding pass had been marked as done.

Lounge

The transfer at Helsinki was quick as it was late at night so the airport was virtually deserted. Despite the fact I only had 90 minutes between flights and had to go through passport control, I still had around 20 minutes in the lounge.

The Finnair lounge was recently refurbished even though it was very good before. Only the normal business class lounge is open currently. They also have a premium section for oneworld emeralds that even has a sauna but it is closed.

The lounge felt large and clean with a typical Finnish style of dark blue and light woods. There were plenty of different types of seating from individual booths to tables and chairs, most with their own power source. Showers and toilets were also available in the lounge. 

Around the lounge were drinks stations with hot drinks and water as well as a soda machine and a few snacks like biscuits and nuts.

There was a decent size buffet of food even at this late hour of the night. This included three hot dishes and a soup as well as salads and desserts. 

The main bar looked stylish and offered a variety of cocktails as well as champagne, wine and spirits. There was a bartender to mix drinks. As well as this you could help yourself to beer and wine by the buffet.

Boarding

Boarding began pretty much on time around 40 minutes from departure for business class and elite members. As I boarded I was directed to my seat in the front business class cabin. Shortly afterwards I was offered a welcome drink of water, champagne or blueberry juice. I went for the blueberry juice which is delicious as it’s not too sweet and quite refreshing. I love the glasses which are by Iitalla and can be bought onboard or in Helsinki airport. 

At the seat was an amenity kit in Finnair’s stylish new design. This contained eyeshade, earplugs, toothbrush and toothpaste and a L:A Bruket kit with facial moisturiser and lip balm. I’m not familiar with the brand but I liked the products and they smelt wonderful!

There were no socks but instead, we were given slippers which were actually pretty comfortable and perfect to pop to the loo. 

Before take-off the cabin crew came round to introduce themselves and take your meal and drink order. The crew on this route were all Singaporean which I was slightly surprised by but apparently, this is what Finnair roster with the business cabin staffed by Singapore crew. The crew member serving me was very attentive and gracious. He was knowledgeable about the wine and was recommending wines to people to go with their meal. The only criticism I would have is that it wasn’t completely clear that there would be a drink service prior to dinner being served. 

Cabin and seat

Finnair new A350 business class “AirLounge” non-reclining seats’ cabin is divided into two with a large front cabin and a smaller section behind. I chose the main cabin for this flight and will be sampling the small cabin on the return flight which I will also review. I went for 5L as it was not too close to the toilets or galley but close enough to the front to get served fairly quickly.

New Finnair A350 business class seat map

Finnair new A350 business class “AirLounge” non-reclining seats’ cabin looked very smart and upmarket with a sense of openness due to the lack of overhead bins in the centre. Although this does look great, it does mean if you sit in the window you do have people from the middle rummaging around above your head!

The seats are definitely very private even without a door. The 5L seat number can be turned red to indicate “Do not disturb”. Here is what I could see from my seat:

In the middle seats, you have the option of putting the divider down if you are travelling with someone.

Similar to many other seats now, you have to use a shoulder strap for take-off and landing which I find very uncomfortable.

Like their other A350s, Finnair has mood lighting which I really liked. Before they turned the lights off for people to sleep they did a little cycle of lights including their Northern lights. I thought these looked quite magical when you were settling down to sleep. 

Blanket and mattress topper in the footwell

The seat has plenty of storage space including under the seat in front for your shoes and slippers, in the footwell and then there are two compartments.

The first compartment to your side has two parts. One is very deep, perfect for a laptop or tablet. The other side is smaller and had a bottle of water in it. I was able to get all my inflight essentials in this one compartment. There is also a headphone storage compartment which contains a hook for the headphones, the remote, a power point with USB and USB-C points and the socket for the headphones. There is a multi-country socket at floor level too.

There is even a third option for charging your phone since there is a wireless charger built into the side. I found it worked well and the rubber marks stopped the phone from moving around.

wireless charging point

There are three lighting options, overhead, behind your head and in the footwell. These can be turned up or down in strength as well as one and off.

Individual lights

Everything including the seat and do not disturb is controlled from one simple panel.

The table pops out from the side and was a good size as well as sturdy enough to work on. It can be left folded in half if you want more room or folded out for the meal. 

There is only one electrically driven moving part on the seat and that is the leg rest. This is probably a good idea since there is less to go wrong. You can have the leg rest in any position but it does go completely up to form a flat surface with one other part of the seat. This is a small “infill” that you raise manually. It was a bit fiddly and stiff which could be because it is new but I saw other people struggling with it. There is a video that is prominently displayed on the screen to help you get used to the seat.

Here is the seat without the leg rest:

Here is the narrow insert that comes up to meet the footrest:

This then makes a very large flat surface:

Although the seat doesn’t recline, this was not an issue at all. In fact, I preferred this to something like the Virgin older seats that only recline a short way. It’s like sitting on your sofa at home, you can almost lie down or sit completely up or anything in between. You could even sit sideways with your knees up on the seat if you wanted as it’s so big!

I found the seat very comfortable for sitting, working, eating or lounging which considering this was a 13 hour flight is a miracle. I liked that there was enough room to move around and arrange myself in whatever position I felt like. 

We were given two pillows which were a decent size but you needed these even when lounging to prop yourself against. You also had a nice lightweight silky duvet/quilt and a mattress topper.

Although it had a reasonable level of padding, the mattress topper needed to be like the Virgin ones which are heavily padded. The seat was definitely very hard when lying down and I found the mattress topper moved every time I did which meant it kept getting scrunched up which was no use. 

Huge footwell

Your feet go into a footwell under the seat in front. It was very large but I did feel slightly cramped when sleeping on my side due to the width around my knees. If you were taller it would probably work better. Next time I will try moving down the bed in case that helps. If you look at the top view photo above you can see the narrow point that caused me issues if I wanted to sleep with my knees bent. Between the end of the console table and the side of the footwell there is only a small distance at one point and this is where my knees naturally were which didn’t work for me.

A lot of people obviously found the seat very comfortable for sleeping judging by the loud snoring coming from several directions! Personally, I struggled to find a comfortable position. To be fair I am quite susceptible to a hard seat due to knee issues whereas some other people don’t mind a firm seat. If you sleep on your back you would also probably find it more comfortable. On the way back I will try my usual trick to see if they have a spare duvet or extra topper to lie on. 

My overall opinion of the seat

The lack of recline was not an issue in the slightest. It sounds weird but then when you think about it, most people’s sofas do not recline! Instead, you recline yourself which is exactly what the seat is designed to do – to give you the option to sit in any position you feel like. It was definitely a comfortable way to travel but I didn’t find the sleeping position great. For me, there were two issues – the hardness of the bed and finding the right spot to be able to lie on my side with my knees bent. I definitely did not have a great sleep on this flight. 

In part two I will look at Finnair’s new onboard service which left me very impressed. 

Like our Finnair new A350 business class “AirLounge” non-reclining seats singapore review? You can read more flight reviews here.

The post Finnair new A350 business class “AirLounge” non-reclining seats to Singapore review – part 1 appeared first on Turning left for less.

Today’s reader review is about Finnair new A350 non reclining long haul business class seats by Simeon. I will also be flying the new seats in a couple of weeks so it will be interesting to see if I agree with his assessment. I have heard varying views on the new seats so it seems to have divided passengers. My flight is to Singapore which is likely to be over 13 hours long since we will need to avoid Russian airspace. So I will definitely get a proper chance to try the seat!

A few months ago I read on TLFL about a tier point run to Helsinki, Finland. Helsinki is one of those niche destinations that offer 80 tier points per flight instead of the usual 40 when flying Club Europe. These flights are usually advertised as 3 hour plus flights however actual flying time is closer to 2.5 hours. 

Earlier this year I utilised the BA Holiday double tier points offer and flew to Dubai for a week in WTP which gave me 360 tier points. I have a trip to Phuket with Qatar which will award me 560 tier points as well as a couple of economy short haul trips for work, I found myself being within 145 tier points of reaching BA Gold status due to the reduction in tier points needed from 1500 to 1125 until 31st December 2022. 

I’ve always been happy with BA Silver Status. Silver gives me what I value as most important. Free access to Oneworld Lounges, free seat selection, fast track security and priority boarding. I’ve never felt the need to aim for Gold. However, being so close…. It just had to be done. 

Booking and seat selection

I booked my flight on 13th March. I searched Skyscanner, Google Flights and Momondo with Skyscanner coming in at the cheapest price of £236 return in business class for the Easter weekend, departing Saturday 16th April and returning the following day. Interestingly a comparison on BA’s website for the exact same flights returned a fare of £1100. The fares were advertised as British Airways operated by Finnair flights. Skyscanner listed the flights with BA flight numbers and did not include the aircraft type.

Before booking I checked Finnair’s website to see which flights are operated by their long haul aircraft and made a note of the departure times from Heathrow and Helsinki for the return. Then flicked back to Skyscanner and searched for the flights on the Finnair A350-900. I chose the 10:20am departure from Heathrow and the 16:00 departure from Helsinki for the return.

Once my flight was booked I instantly went into my BA app to book seats. I could see that seats had already been assigned to me. 3L on the outbound and 1A on the inbound. But I could not see a seat map or change seats due to an error in transferring my information from BA to Finnair. I used my locator details in Finnair’s website, however again I could only see my seat assignment but not change it.

I did read a trick on another forum to try entering your locator into Royal Air Maroc’s website if you book a flight with one Oneworld airline operated by another to view/change your seats. So I tried this and I couldn’t believe it worked. What I did see when looking at the seats, the seat map for my outbound was different to my seat map on my inbound. This indicated to me that I would be flying in Finnair’s new business class product on one of the legs. I decided to leave my seats as they were and began the countdown for my trip. 

Check-in

The day arrived and I arrived at Terminal 3 at 7 am expecting to see a long queue as far as the eye could see. Luckily I had no luggage to check-in as I was only travelling for one night so hand luggage only. I had already checked in using the BA app the day before and had my boarding card in my Apple Wallet on my iPhone.

I headed to the FastTrack security lane and was through security within 15 minutes.

Lounge

Finnair don’t have their own lounge at Heathrow. They use the Cathay Pacific lounge, although you could also have used the BA or Qantas lounges as you can use any oneworld lounge when flying in business class (although some lounges specifically prohibit this).  However, the Cathay lounge comes very well recommended and it did not disappoint. I settled in for an English breakfast with some champagne.

Boarding

At 09:40 the screens in the lounge showed the flight was commencing boarding. Luckily the gate was only a 3 minute walk from the lounge and when I arrived they were just calling Group 1 forward to board. 

I walked down the jetty and into the aircraft and was so pleased to see a brand new cabin with their new business class product. The aircraft I flew on was OH-LWE and was just over 6 years old. I put my hand luggage away and settled into the seat. 

Finnair new A350 non reclining long haul business class Seats

At my seat was a bottle of water and a sanitary pack to wipe down surfaces. Finnair was still mandated wearing a mask (although BA had removed mask wearing for most flights). However, since flying Finnair have changed this requirement. 

The first thing that struck me was the size of the seat. It was very wide. Whilst it doesn’t have a sliding door, it cocoons you and provides you with a sense of privacy. You can’t see anyone else whilst seated. The seats are a dark blue with a sturdy back and sides and a comfortable seat. The seat is a new concept seat which does not recline. To place the seat into bed mode, a flap under the seat rotates up and becomes flush with the seat which fills in the gap between the seat and the footwell to create the flatbed.

Then like your bed at home, you simply adjust your body to find your perfect sleeping position. Just like your bed at home, you could also sit up with your back against the seat back and relax to watch a movie. One important thing to note, if you are a side sleeper choose a seat which points in the opposite direction of the side you sleep on i.e. If you sleep on your right side, choose an A or H seat and if you’re a left side sleeper choose D or L seats. The seats have a leather support which in the lie-flat position will support your back but could be claustrophobic if you’re facing it. You can take a 3D view of the aircraft on Finnair’s website here:- https://www.finnair.com/gb-en/flight-information/finnair-fleet

I was really impressed with the IFE. The screen was very large and whilst there was a remote, the touchscreen worked perfectly with ease. There were many movies plus music to listen to. 

But by far the most thrilling tv is the outside camera. Their A350’s have two. One on the underbelly of the aircraft and one on the tail. Watching take-off and landing on the huge screen was entertaining.

To the side of you is a reasonably sized flat surface in which you can place most things up to the size of a laptop. Interestingly it also comes with a magsafe charger which means you can place your phone on top of it and it gives a pretty rapid charge. 

Under the flat surface are 5 buttons. From left to right:- 

Button 1 – Do not disturb light. This turns the light red on the outside of your seat to alert the crew to not disturb you. Pressing this again will remove the light 

Button 2 – operates the seat between seat position and lie flat position. 

Button 3 – operates the light brightness for the lamp built into the seat

Button 4 – operates the light brightness for the overhead light 

Button 5 – releases the front table/dining table 

The dining table is quite large. When you press button 5 the table flicks out to provide a handy table to put your iPad and drinks on. The table folds out even further to double its size which makes a perfectly sized dining table. 

Also to the side of your seat is a deep large stowage area. It’s not as large as the bins in the upper deck A380 or 747 but large enough that my full size iPad simply disappeared into it. It could easily hold a laptop/headphones/phones and a bottle of water. 

Built into the seat is another storage area hidden behind a flap in the seat. This houses the remote control however I can’t see anyone leaning forward and twisting in their seat to pull out the remote when the touch screen on the IFE is so good. Inside the flap is also a USB and lightning charger as well as the port for you to plug your headphones into. 

Finnair new A350 non reclining long haul business class flight

The flight push backed at 10:25am and we took off from runway 09R and take off was 10:38. At 10:50 the stewardess came round with a very hot towel. Meal service commenced at 11:10. The meal consisted of a herring salad starter, chicken breast & mash for main and a cookie for dessert. I don’t like fish or the smell of it so asked the stewardess to remove it. There was no “choice” of meal and I wasn’t bowled over with the thought of chicken and mash, but it was very nice. 

I usually drink Bourbon however I tried their Kyro malt whiskey and I really enjoyed it. After dinner service, the stewardess offered me a bottle of Joseph Perrier champagne which isn’t top-end champagne, but the drinks selection on a whole was much better than most intra-European offerings. 

After dinner I decided to take a walk around the cabin. Behind the business class section is a wall with the Finnair logo and a mirror. I asked the cabin crew what it was to be used for, however, this was their first time on the aircraft and they didn’t know. As many other airlines have a similar set-up, I assumed this would be used as an area for the airline to put out snacks on longhaul flights for passengers to help themselves. 

The Finnair crew were exceptional and very professional and friendly. I asked them questions about the aircraft cabin and they overwhelmingly said the passengers preferred this cabin to the older one. 

Soon it was time to sit down for descent. Again I switched the camera on the IFE to watch as we descended over Finland and watched the snow-filled fields come up closer to the aircraft as we landed. 

We landed slightly early and after a short taxi pulled into Terminal 2 at Helsinki. The cabin crew held back economy passengers until the business cabin had disembarked. 

Hilton Helsinki airport

I had booked a night’s stay at the Hilton right at the airport. It was walkable from the terminal and I was pleasantly surprised how good it was. I booked an executive king room which gave me access to the lounge at the Hilton. The lounge had a happy hour between the hours of 6pm and 8pm with canapés, beer, wine and a selection of spirits. Upon check-in my Hilton Gold membership was recognised at check-in and the receptionist upgraded my room to an Executive King Plus with breakfast. The room situated in the top floor had a corner view overlooking the airport apron and runway and included a deluxe bathroom with walk-in shower, bath and a sauna.

The cost of the room was £160 when booked. I made use of the spend £200 at Hilton and receive a £50 credit back Amex offer and ate in the restaurant to top my checkout spend to £203. This meant that the cost of hotel with breakfast and dinner was £153 on top of the £236 flight spend therefore a total spend of £389 for the one night. 

Conclusion for Finnair new A350 non reclining long haul business class

The short flight to Helsinki was not enough. I wanted more time to enjoy the seat. I would gladly spend 15 hours sitting in their new business seat. Their business seat would give some legacy airlines first class seats a run for their money. Whilst the industry craves for floor to ceiling privacy with sliding doors, this is a very clever space-saving but cost-effective seat and I’m sure Finnair won’t be the only airline to adopt this seat moving forward. 

Like our Finnair new A350 non reclining long haul business class sears review? You can read more flight reviews here. 

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Yesterday BA launched their latest sale but there may be some better bargains to be had if you take a more indirect routeing.

Virgin Atlantic ex EU from Dublin

If you are willing to do a bit of extra travelling there are more bargains available with ex EU flights from Dublin via London or Manchester with Virgin Atlantic. I have done some of these myself and although I now hate the site of Dublin airport it can be a good way to pick up some BA tier points/flights and also get a good deal to the US.

The connecting flights from Dublin can either be on BA, Aer Lingus or Flybe. Personally, I would pick BA since there is no business class on the other 2 and you don’t get any discount for picking the others. If you are considering the deal you may want to read my guide to ex EU flights or my guide to ex EU flights from Dublin. Remember that there are a lot of aircraft swaps out of Manchester with the B787s out of service. You will probably want to avoid Manchester and head for Heathrow where you can enjoy the Clubhouse lounge too. You can read my reviews of Virgin Atlantic Upper Class and the Heathrow Clubhouse here.

If you are flying through Heathrow on Virgin before the 14th January you will be able to see the igloo installed on the Virgin Clubhouse terrace. There is still some last minute availability if you fancy booking something.

Prices flying Dublin via Manchester or London to the USA per person in Upper Class start from:

• Miami £1048
• New York £1035
• Boston £1051
• Los Angeles £1156
• San Francisco £1154
• Seattle £1112
• Las Vegas £1116
• Orlando £1055
• Washington £1051

The rules for these fares are for travel 25 December to 31 March 18 for the transatlantic sectors. Even after these dates, there are still some excellent fares so it is well worth a look. You can stopover for £75 although less than 24 hours is normally free. There is 7-day minimum stay requirement as well.

You can’t book these direct with Virgin Atlantic. I normally book mine through Expedia or Ebookers.

Finnair

Finnair usually have the best offers for flying to Asia if you don’t want to do an ex EU. They also have the advantage of a good business class product with all aisle access seats on the A350 plus you earn more tier points and Avios than flying direct! The A350 has the same reverse herringbone seats as Qatar. Their other long haul aircraft, the A330 (pictured above), has nearly all aisle access seats in a 1-2-1, 2-2-1 configuration. You can read my Finnair A350 business class review here.

Prices return from London Heathrow via Helsinki in business class start from:

• Bangkok £1,499
• Beijing £1,549
• Ho Chi Minh City £1,449
• Hong Kong £1,899
• Krabi £1,449
• Phuket £1,449
• Seoul £1,599
• Shanghai £1,699
• Singapore £1,799

Bold destinations have the A350 aircraft. You must book by 15 January 2018 and travel by 31 October except for Japan.

You can find the Finnair sale page here.

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Malaysia A350 new business class seats for London revealed

Malaysia Airlines are due to launch their A350 services from London in January 2018. This is good news in some ways as the A380 business class seats were a bit dated. However, the downside is that this will reduce capacity on the London – Kuala Lumpur route by around 400 seats a day which is never good news for fares or Avios redemptions. You can find out more about using your Avios on other airlines in my article.

We had been seeing some great fares on the KL route earlier this year but recently they have been quite uncompetitive. The best bet is usually with Qatar via one of the Scandinavian countries which saw fares of around £1000 return in business class in the last sale.

As expected the new A350 features an almost identical business class to that of the A330. The seats are arranged in an alternating 1-2-1 or 2-2-1 pattern. This means that all of the seats in business class bar 3 will have direct aisle access, so avoid rows 3,6 and 10K if you want aisle access. This configuration results in 4 of the so-called throne seats which have a large amount of personal space with the additional shelf space on both sides.  These are all K seats in rows 1,5, 9 and 11.

The seats are very similar to the Malaysia A330 seats with the only difference being that they are slightly wider at 22″ versus 20″ on the A330 and 3″ longer at 78″ when in flatbed mode. Malaysia have also upgraded the in-flight entertainment with a 16″ HD TV and a touchscreen control for it too.

The special Malaysia Airlines A350 page is here.

Finnair business class

Finnair have a great business class seat and service on the A350 which you can read about in my Finnair A350 business class review. The fares from London are usually some of the cheapest you can get for Asia on oneworld for a UK departure.

Finnair are adding a few new touches to their business class with a new menu from Swedish chef  Tommy Myllymäki. Tommy Myllymäki has been nominated chef of the year in Sweden and is the creative director for five Stockholm restaurants. His winter menu will be served on all Finnair long-haul flights departing from Helsinki as of February 7.

The winter menu features Nordic flavours like Jerusalem artichoke with cep mushrooms and pear, and braised ox with celeriac and kale. The summer menu will have more emphasis on seasonal, crisp fresh vegetables.

Finnair is also introducing a classic Finnish tradition in business class on long-haul flights from Asia in the morning – coffee with seven different treats. The coffee service allows customers to enjoy traditional Finnish treats like Carelian pies, cinnamon buns, coffee cake and traditional Finnish chocolates between the two meal services.

There is also a new dining concept in general for business class which will offer a wider range of dining and wine options, served on-demand at your preferred time. The new business class service will start on 27 February 2018, on flights to Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai, with a gradual roll-out of the remaining long-haul destinations during the spring and summer.

Finnair will also update the cabin with new seat covers, pillows, blankets and chinaware with prints from the iconic Finnish design house Marimekko. These will be rolled out in 2018 in phases.

Unless you are set on flying directly to Asia, Finnair are the perfect choice if you don’t want the hassle of an ex EU. They are keenly priced during promotions from Heathrow with flights to Bangkok at around £1450 in business class. Not only do you get extra tier points and miles versus flying with BA but you also get a modern seat on the A350 with lots of great touches on board. I particularly love the glasses from Iittala which were inspired by melting ice.

Finnair’s current offers including Bangkok from £1589 can be found on the Finnair offer page.

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