Finnair Plus - Lie-flat J seats to SIN/HKG

Hi all,

I flew on one of AY's new A330s about 18 months ago from BKK to HEL, and loved it.

I'm looking at booking another trip to SYD and AY looks pretty good as it connects with CX/QF/BA and the return J fare is between £1500 and £1000 less than anything those other OW airlines offer.

The difference though, is they offer lie-flat seats whereas AY only offer it some of the time.

When checking fares on the Finnair site it only seems to offer me flights via SIN and HKG for the dates I'm looking at, which are both apparently served by A343s.

Is there any chance either of these cities will be served by aircraft with lie-flat seats by March next year? Whether that's due to existing aircraft being refitted with the newer seats or them instead being served by the A330s that already have them? I've searched this forum for any info on the other A330s/340s being refitted with the new seats by haven't been able to find anything.
Any info would be much appreciated.

Nothing will be refitted. They have 4 A330's with lieflats and that's it. And next winter season these lieflats are used on leisure (charter) flights, so your chances on getting it are more than slim.

Hi all,

I flew on one of AY's new A330s about 18 months ago from BKK to HEL, and loved it.

I'm looking at booking another trip to SYD and AY looks pretty good as it connects with CX/QF/BA and the return J fare is between £1500 and £1000 less than anything those other OW airlines offer.

The difference though, is they offer lie-flat seats whereas AY only offer it some of the time.

When checking fares on the Finnair site it only seems to offer me flights via SIN and HKG for the dates I'm looking at, which are both apparently served by A343s.

Is there any chance either of these cities will be served by aircraft with lie-flat seats by March next year? Whether that's due to existing aircraft being refitted with the newer seats or them instead being served by the A330s that already have them? I've searched this forum for any info on the other A330s/340s being refitted with the new seats by haven't been able to find anything.
Any info would be much appreciated.
No A340s have the newer flat bed seats (technically both products are lie-flat, the older is just angled lie-flat) and I'd say its very unlikely that they'd be retrofitted in the near future. There has been no new about retrofitting and even if they all of a sudden decided to do so, I'd imagine they'd start with the rest of the A330 fleet. The new J is not a refit program that is going on, the newest A330:s were simply delivered with a different interior than the older.

About the chance of getting the new J on the routes you mentioned: I'd say SIN is pretty much a zero change, A330 can't do HEL-SIN without severe weight restrictions or a technical stop, so it is extremely unlikely to say the least that any A330 would be dispatched to the SIN route.
HKG can and has been done with a A330, so there is a chance that an A330 would come to your flight as an EQ-change. However, I would definately not count on that, especially given that even if the flight is in the end operated with an A330, still only half the aircraft that have the new J. The old J on A330 is identical to the A340 (apart from old ex-AF birds and the ex-Virgin one in some details)

So I'd make the decision assuming that AY will be the old J, and if you happen to get the new J it's just a bonus. £1500 would be enough for me to give up the flat beds on half the journey if I'd be paying the ticket myself, but it's your money, not mine.

When checking fares on the Finnair site it only seems to offer me flights via SIN and HKG for the dates I'm looking at, which are both apparently served by A343s.

If you are flexible with your starting point, the site offers connections via BKK from MAN.

Is there any chance either of these cities will be served by aircraft with lie-flat seats by March next year? Whether that's due to existing aircraft being refitted with the newer seats or them instead being served by the A330s that already have them? I've searched this forum for any info on the other A330s/340s being refitted with the new seats by haven't been able to find anything.
Any info would be much appreciated.

No refitting is upcoming. :-(

This year 2012, 330 has flewn only once HEL-HGK-HEL route, 25.4. All other birds 343.

Thanks for the information all. Shame they aren't putting the new seats on the rest of the long-haul fleet. Seems an odd fleet-planning decision, to my eyes at least.

I quite agree, £1500 is more than enough to sacrifice a flat-bed. :) Thanks.

The difference though, is they offer lie-flat seats whereas AY only offer it some of the time.

To be precise for any readers not familiar with the matter, AY does offer lie-flat always in long-haul business class. All go completely flat, as in a straight line without bumps in the seat. They call the seats either lie-flat or full-flat depending on the configuration, but both do go flat.

The newer A330's have so called "full-flat seats" - as in fully horizontal as a bed. Others are also completely flat, and called "lie-flat seats", but the flat bed remains at an angle. But none of these seats (not even the ex-AF birds which are just fine in business class contrary to rumors) leave any bumps when flatted out. They go flat, the difference is just in the angle the flat bed goes to.

To be precise for any readers not familiar with the matter, AY does offer lie-flat always in long-haul business class. All go completely flat, as in a straight line without bumps in the seat. They call the seats either lie-flat or full-flat depending on the configuration, but both do go flat.

The newer A330's have so called "full-flat seats" - as in fully horizontal as a bed. Others are also completely flat, and called "lie-flat seats", but the flat bed remains at an angle. But none of these seats (not even the ex-AF birds which are just fine in business class contrary to rumors) leave any bumps when flatted out. They go flat, the difference is just in the angle the flat bed goes to.

Once you have flown with proper (f.eg. BA style) "full flat" seats a lot going back to "lie-flat" is a major step down...the difference in quality of sleep is huge, imho..

Once you have flown with proper (f.eg. BA style) "full flat" seats a lot going back to "lie-flat" is a major step down...the difference in quality of sleep is huge, imho..

Of course. And BA also has some hard products with more privacy, wider beds and so on. Personally I find the Finnair's new full-flat seat a little cramped.

I just wanted to clarify that none of the Finnair long-haul business class seats have bumps in them when lowered fully. Even the older lie-flats are flat, just at an angle.