The business class seat that caused a scene
Back in 2022, Finnair launched its new business class seat, the AirLounge. It was nothing like we’d seen before, appearing more like a comfy sofa than a traditional seat. So what’s it actually like, and is the Finnair service as good as they would have us believe? Guest contributor Dominic guides us through his experience on a long-haul flight to South Korea.
Checking in with Finnair at Heathrow
For context, we flew from London to Helsinki, then connected to the longer Seoul Incheon leg. Finnair, along with a lot of oneworld carriers, flies from Terminal Three at Heathrow.
Checking in at LHR was a bit of a mess.
Whilst I understand this isn’t their hub airport, there are around half a dozen flights a day from Heathrow to Helsinki. It’s really not cricket to have only two check-in staff who aren’t familiar with the systems.
Several passengers clearly had issues during check-in. The staff member who handled out check-in did not appear to have been adequately trained on their systems. There was a lot of confusion around our booking.
Business class passengers on Finnair (as well as most passengers with status) can use priority security. T3 has the new scanners installed, which means it was very quick. Even with multiple items of luggage, baby food and a baby we flew through.
The only issue was with the scanners at the security entry: it indicated that my boarding pass had already been scanned. I didn’t know it, but this was a warning of more issues to come.
Finnair Boarding
Boarding in London and Helsinki was pretty bad.
At Heathrow, at the gate, pre-boarding and Group 1 passengers boarded at the same time. This seemed to be about a third of the plane.
Unfortunately for us, it transpired that the check-in agent had somehow assigned both my partner and me to the same seat (how is this even possible?). Cue a stressful and totally unnecessary delay at the gate.
Boarding in Helsinki was better, although a little odd. We were all pre-boarded by the gate staff into two rooms – priority and standard. After a few minutes, a door at the other end of the holding pen opened with no announcement. This was apparently our cue to head to the plane.
On the plus side, Finnair used two jet bridges, with one for business class passengers. This is always a nice touch, as it means you don’t get caught up in a long line if you’re travelling at the pointy end, no matter when you join the queue.
A welcome drink was offered when we sat down with a choice of champagne, water or blueberry juice. The latter seems to be a brand standard across all Finnair flights and lounges. I always enjoy when airlines bring local touches from their home country.
Finnair’s A350 Business Class cabin
Finnair operate two aircraft types on its long-haul flights, with the majority of its fleet (eighteen aircraft) being the A350, plus six A330.
We ended up on the A350. Business class is in a 1-2-1 configuration with eight rows in the front cabin. Row 1 consists solely of the two central honeymoon seats, with no window seats and no view.
These seats are great if you need a bassinet (which we did). They are not great if you want to see what’s going on out the window. Luckily, Finnair’s IFE had a tail cam.
The business cabin has two toilets at the front of the cabin, each one benefiting from the large A350 windows. Passengers are all served from the galley at the front.
Finnair has opted to remove the central overhead bins, which makes the cabin feel more airy. I’m not a huge fan, however, as it reduces the luggage space and means that if you’re in row 1, or the window seats in row 2, then you have to head behind you to get your stuff.
The dark blues and greys throughout the plane are very cool – I’d happily have my house decorated with these colours.
The no-recline Business Class seat….
Finnair got a lot of press for their innovative sofa-style business seat, which doesn’t actually recline. This flies (pun intended) in the face of convention across airlines globally.
The first impressions were good. It looked big and, when you sit in it, you realise that it is big. The provision of two pillows as standard is really nice, but also necessary due to the lack of recline.
There are seat controls, which will raise the ‘gap’ to turn your seat into a bed, control the ambient lights or the reading light and call the cabin crew.
The lack of a door is noticeable, especially when you’re sleeping, but due to the way the seat is shaped, you’re not going to get people bumping into you as they walk past.
Storage in Finnair Business Class
Storage around the seat includes a slim cupboard where the IFE controls are located (you’ll also find USB-A and USB-C charging ports and your headphone socket in here), plus a larger cubby pocket, as well as under-seat storage. Overall, there’s a pretty good amount of storage space for a long-haul flight.
The tray table is multi-directional and foldable. That makes it good for working, eating and drinking. I also love a good side table, which is very much delivered with a nice wood finish and a wireless charging spot. In my experience, wireless charging on flights is always finicky and slow, the international plug at the base of your seat will charge your device much faster.
There are no overhead vents, which is a bit of a shame, as I often find cabins are too hot (this flight was no exception).
In bed mode, the extra-long foot cubby provided ample room to stretch out. Even without a door, I did feel like I was in my own little world, with plenty of space and room to move around.
If I had to be fussy (which means I’m about to be fussy), the pillow felt a tad flat, and both the mattress protector and blanket were a little flimsy, but this didn’t stop me getting a fairly good five hours shut-eye.
Amenities
For long-haul flights, you’ll find a mattress topper, blanket (instead of a duvet), and slippers waiting for you. I wish every airline offered slippers; many still need to catch on to the idea that they’re not only a nice alternative to having your shoes on but are essential for a midnight-flight loo visit.
The amenity kit is, at best, limited. You’ll find a toothbrush and toothpaste, a fairly thin eye mask and some cheap earplugs. This was quite disappointing, and most good airlines will give you more, even in premium economy these days. Halfway through our flight, a notification appeared on our screens, stating that a range of additional products, from lip balm to moisturiser, was available upon request.
I like the approach to minimise waste, but I do think a better approach would be to lay these out in the bathrooms, like other airlines. I don’t like to bother busy cabin crew with things like this, and I really could have done with some lip balm.
IFE and Wifi
I was pretty impressed with the in-flight entertainment.
Each seat comes with a large full HD screen, which is both touch-screen and remote-operated. I didn’t find the IFE that intuitive to use, with no obvious search function and no ability to save movies as favourites.
The film selection was pretty good with a range of fairly recent releases (Mad Max Furiosa, Captain America Brave New World, Gladiator 2). I also love watching the take-off and landing tail cameras – there’s something both relaxing and awesome about watching a massive tube of metal take flight.
Headphones were of the Philips noise-cancelling variety. Not as good as a pair of Bose or Apple cans, but perfectly good enough.
I also appreciated the fact that the screen was quite responsive. For example, when it comes to games, many airlines still offer a selection of solitaire and chess that require 10 seconds to make a move. There is none of that here, with Angry Birds working just like it does on my phone.
Wifi is free for an hour for business class passengers, or for the whole flight for Finnair customers with top-tier status. It wasn’t lightning quick, with my speed test showing just over 2Mb download speeds.
Service – Food and drink
About 10 minutes after the seatbelt sign switched off, cabin crew came around offering a hot towel, followed by drinks and nuts.
I ordered a gin and lingonberry cocktail, which was a bit light on the gin for my taste.
Food was served fairly quickly afterwards. As this was a night flight, the meal service was a single tray affair – with your bread, starter and main course all on one tray. In my humble opinion, I prefer to be served each course separately, with a single-tray / main-course-only option for those that want it (hint: I never do).
Instead of paper menus, the food options were available on the IFE screen, orders were not taken in advance, and instead a trolley was wheeled along the aisle allowing passengers to choose their main course – everyone had the same two starters.
Whilst the trolley service is quick, it does feel a tad less premium than having each course brought separately. The food was really excellent, I particularly loved the starters (one smoked salmon and the other a soft cheese salad ensemble).
Dessert was also gorgeous. I went for both the chocolate cake AND the cheese options, and this was followed by some delicious Finnish chocolates.
Snacks were available during the flight from a self-service tray in the galley.
Breakfast was served two hours before landing – perhaps a teeny bit early for those looking for maximum sleep – and consisted of fruit and yoghurt, breads and cheeses and a hot breakfast with scrambled eggs, bacon, and a hash brown.
I usually find aeroplane eggs disappointing, so it was really nice to have the continental option served alongside this.
Disembarkation
As in Helsinki, two jet bridges were used, which meant de-boarding was quick and from the front of the business cabin.
The flight attendants were there to wave us off with the same warm, genuine smile that was present throughout the entire flight. We had a charming, friendly crew for the whole journey.
Final thoughts
I loved the Finnair hard shell seat. The addition of a door and another, larger pillow would elevate the experience, but that wouldn’t stop me from flying Finnair again.
The staff were great and the food and drink were lovely.
The eleven-and-a-half-hour flight seemed to pass really quickly, which is always a good sign. Would I fly Finnair’s business product again? Absolutely yes. Would I make a special effort to fly indirectly via HEL to do so? Probably.
Add a comment