Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Community > Trip Reports
Reload this Page >

Trip report: Finnair A330 business class Bangkok to Helsinki (with Youtube clip)

Trip report: Finnair A330 business class Bangkok to Helsinki (with Youtube clip)

Old Dec 18, 2015, 2:56 pm
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Heart of Europe
Programs: SPG Platinum, AAdvantage Platinum Executive, LH Frequent Flyer
Posts: 240
Trip report: Finnair A330 business class Bangkok to Helsinki (with Youtube clip)

On December 12th 2015, I flew Business Class in a Finnair Airbus A330-300 (registration OH-LTT) from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Aiport (BKK) in Thailand to Helsinki Vantaa Airport (HEL) in Finland. When I booked the ticket a couple of months ago, the flight was scheduled to be operated by Finnair’s new Airbus A350, and I was looking forward to this, especially after my wonderful Business Class experience onboard Finnair’s new flagship plane in October 2015 on a intra-European crew familiarization (you can read my review of this trip here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...s-bru-hel.html). Unfortunately, there was some delay on the A350 deliveries to Finnair, so the airline was forced to adjust the schedule for starting A350 flights to Bangkok (which will now start on December 24th, instead of the earlier announced December 4th), and my flight was ‘downgraded’ to an Airbus A330-300.

I made a Youtube clip with my impressions of the flight. I will also upload some photos below.


- Trip: BKK-HEL
- Airline: Finnair
- Aircraft type: Airbus A330-300
- Aircraft registration number: OH-LTT
- Flight Number: AY90
- Date: December 12th, 2015
- On time departure: yes (9.30am)
- On time arrival: yes (3.30 pm)
- Miles: 4916
- Flight time: 11
- Seat: 5L
- Class: business (D)

1. CATHAY PACIFIC BUSINESS CLASS LOUNGE AT BKK

Finnair does not have its own lounge at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Aiport. Instead, I was given access to the sleek Cathay Pacific lounge, which is located at level 3 in the Concourse G departure hall (close to Finnair’s departure gate). The lounge is brand new (opened a couple of months ago) and I loved its understated elegance and minimalist look. There were 3 food stations (one of them a noodle bar) and food was excellent. Floor-to-ceiling windows offered a view on the runway and the concourse interior. From the lounge, it was a 5 minute stroll to gate D7 where the Airbus A330-300 was ready for boarding.

2. BUSINESS CLASS CABIN & SEAT

Finnair’s Airbus A330s come in 3 layout versions, and on this particular occasion, the flight was operated by an aircraft with a high density configuration. The 32 Business Class seats were spread over 7 rows in just one cabin, which was located in front of the large Economy Class cabin (which featured no less than 265 seats).

The Business Class seats are placed in a staggered configuration, whereby the foot compartment for each seat is located between and under the seats in front. The same layout and seats can be found on Brussels Airlines’ A330, Austrian Airlines’ B777,SWISS’ Airbus A330/A340, Delta’s B767, and American’s B767.

3. THE BUSINESS CLASS SEAT

I was seated in seat 5L.

All Business Class seats have the same characteristics: 152 cm (60 inches) in pitch, a width of 53 cm (21 inch), and a 180 degree recline. All seats have at least one large work surface on the side (where you can set up your laptop), with some seats featuring this work space on both sides (a so-called ‘throne seat’). Within that work surface, you will find the seat controls to adjust the seat position (from take-off position to fully flat). With one press on the button you can also soften or firm up the seat cushion according to your liking, as well as activate its integrated massage function. On the side of the seat, there’s also a power port with international adapters, a personal reading lamp (at eye level), and the meal tray.

The seat is comfortable when you are sitting upright, but I don't like it in its lie-flat position. Although it’s a 180 degree recline, the seat (and your lower legs) descends into a space carved out for it in the seat(s) in front, below your entertainment screen. This foot compartment is quite small, making it hard to switch position during your sleep while not waking up, as your legs will constantly hit the walls (although the seats that do not have the ‘throne’ feature – like seat 5L – have a little more space for the feet, hence making for a more comfortable sleep). This is not the most comfortable lie flat seats in the sky, especially when compared to the superb lie flat seats installed on Finnair’s Airbus A350.

What are the best Business Class seats on Finnair’s Airbus A330?
- The single best seats for solo travelers are the single seats.
- Single throne seats offer more space (but are less comfortable for sleeping) and can be found in positions 2A, 4A, a,d 6A.
- Travel companions should go for the paired, middle seats, which all have direct aisle access. There are also paired window seats in rows 1, 3, 5 and 7, but here the passenger in the window seat will have to jump over his/her neighbour’s feet to get access to aisle.

What are the worst Business Class seats on Finnair’s Airbus A330s?
- I suggest to avoid the window seats in row 1 since the proximity to the galley may be bothersome, and other flyers tend to bump into these seats when they return from the lavatory.
- I also suggest to avoid the window seats in row 7, since they lack a window.

4. AMENITIES

A comfortable green blanket, a lovely green pillow, noise cancelling headphones, and an amenity kit were provided. The kit bag featured the distinctive Marimekko prints and contained essentials including an eye shade, toothbrush and toothpaste, and Clarins moisturizer and lip balm. Socks, shaving kit, mouthwash, hairbrush, makeup remover wipe were available upon rquest. I was also provided a pair of designer earplugs, which are supposed to be the best in the industry (but I did not find them to be different from other earplugs).

5. MEALS

Before takeoff, I was offered a choice of welcome drinks: orange juice, water, or Champagne. I had the orange juice. A small, hot towel was provided to all Business Class passengers after take-off.

Dinner service started about 30 minutes after takeoff, while we were cruising over the Bay of Bengal. The amuse bouche was mozzarella and cherry tomato with pesto. As a starter, I choose the smoked salmon with coctail sauce and rocket salad. It tasted very good! As a main course,I had the beef burgundy, roasted potato wedges, and steamed vegetables, which tasted good albeit not excellent. Dessert was a collection of petit fours. All by all, a decent but far from mindblowing gastronomic experience at 40,000 feet!

90 minutes prior to landing, a light snack was served. I choose the salad nicoise with grilled tuna, which was ok (but again, nothing special).

6. ENTERTAINMENT

In front of the Business Class seat, there was a 15 inches (38 centimetres) entertainment screen which was controlled via remote control in the seat or by touch. The entertainment program itself was great, with a large collection of movies and TV programs. The cameras installed in the nose and belly of the Airbus also offered some fun moments, especially during take-off and landing.

7. OTHER INFLIGHT EXPERIENCES

# LAVATORY: There were 3 lavatories for the 32 Business Class passengers (as compared to 6 lavatories for the 265 Economy Class passengers), and 2 of them come with a window. The Business Class lavatory design was very simple, and lavatories were kept clean during the flight.

# INTERNET: onboard WiFi is currently not offered on Finnair’s fleet of Airbus A330/A340s (while it is avaible for free for Business Class passengers on the airlines’ new flagship Airbus A350 planes).

# BAR: the plane had a small walk-up bar for Business Class fliers with a selection of sandwiches, pastries, yoghurt, ice cream, fruit, and/or chocolate.

# VIEWS: I found this flight to be very remarkable since we encountered clear weather from Bangkok all the way (11 hours!) until we reached the Helsinki aerodrome (landing was cloudy though). The scenery while flying over Pakistand and Afghanistan was breathtaking!

8. MY VERDICT

- Seat: 7/10
- Food: 8/10
- Inflight entertainment : 8/10
- Service: 9/10
- Cabin: 8/10
- Overall experience: very good: 8/10
theLuxuryTravelExpert is offline  
Old Dec 18, 2015, 2:58 pm
  #2  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Heart of Europe
Programs: SPG Platinum, AAdvantage Platinum Executive, LH Frequent Flyer
Posts: 240































Last edited by theLuxuryTravelExpert; Dec 18, 2015 at 3:04 pm
theLuxuryTravelExpert is offline  
Old Dec 18, 2015, 8:04 pm
  #3  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Benicia, California, USA
Programs: AA PLT,AS,UA PP,J6,FB,EY,LH,SQ,HH Dmd,Hyatt Glbl,Marriott Plat,IHG Plat,Accor Gold
Posts: 10,820
Very nice TR, with some great photos and a useful video. Good to get a better sense of what a J cabin and its seats in an A330 look like, and your sense of the better and worse seats in the cabin.

I may fly HEL-BKK in May in J, though presumably in the A350.
Thunderroad is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.