Hi all, just put the latest airline product review up on Altimtr and wanted to post it here as well. Flew the new Finnair business class last week for the first time and overall thought it was a really solid product. Anyone else have experience with it? I'd be curious to hear your thoughts. The text and a selection of images below – head to the full review on Altimtr.com for the full range of photos and formatting. Thanks for your support!

Flight taken: AY006 New York (JFK) - Helsinki (HEL)



Recently we had a chance to test out Finnair’s newest longhaul business class and came away very happy. The seat is already a few years old but it’s still very competitive with other new business seats. The problem up to now has been that Finnair has a few different business class seats flying and you couldn’t be guaranteed to get the new one. That’s changing – by the end of this year 12 out of 15 longhaul aircraft will be outfitted with the latest seats, and by the end of 2015 there shouldn’t be an old business seat to be found.

That’s great news because the new seat and cabin, and the service that goes along with it, is a winner. Seats are comfortable, they’re fully flat, most seats have direct aisle access, there are pairs of seats ideal for two people traveling together and plenty of solo seats as well. The light blue of the cabin is unusual but not disturbingly so – in fact it has a calming effect. The entertainment system is good enough, the food is good enough, the service is competent and friendly. it does all the things a business class should do in a simple, straightforward, well-executed and very Finnish way.

There are problems of course, but they’re minor. The seats are already showing quite a bit of wear in a sign of questionable build quality. Dinner service on our transatlantic was a little slow considering a flight time under 8 hours and a limited window for getting a good night’s sleep (which is perfectly possible in this seat.) And when the cabin is full, it can feel a little crowded. Having said all that, we’d happily fly this product any time.



Seat & cabin



A calming cabin in light blue and grey tones arrayed with 32 seats in a staggered layout so that everyone except for those in a handful of window seats on the left-hand side of the plane has direct aisle access – it’s a very nice environment to spend several hours in.



The seat, as mentioned, is fully flat and very comfortable. The padding felt adequate for sitting and sleeping and the footwell had plenty of space when in bed mode. Though it doesn’t detract from the comfort, the seats on our aircraft (OH-LTT) were already looking scuffed and worn in parts. This could become more of an issue as the years go on.



Where to sit

The solo seats along the right side of the cabin are ideal for those traveling alone as they’re both window and aisle seats and, depending on the row, have a large console either to the right or left, with the largest amount of foot space. If traveling in a pair, half of the rows on the left side of the aircraft are two-seaters with a console in between (as are all the center seats, but given the choice we prefer having a window). It’s great to have the option between the two. Mid-cabin around row 4 is probably best in either case, to minimize galley noise.

Service - inflight

Finnair flight attendants look great in their uniforms and, in every experience we’ve had in business class, provide a very good service as well. We’ve heard about variable crew quality but we’d say Finnair has a good overall staff that will perform a good, effective business class service with a smile. At one point during the flight we asked about the new cognac Finnair had on board and our flight attendant was not only knowledgable about the drink, he was eager to talk about it.

Food & drink



You may not fly Finnair for the food, but we couldn’t fault it either. The three-course meal was perfectly tasty (we had the sliced beef tenderloin appetizer and pan seared veal medallions as a main, both of which were good). Portion sizes were sensible but adequate. We appreciated the Scandinavian-style plate of berries for dessert – almost too many berries to finish in fact.

Breakfast was also fine – big enough, with some fruit and breads. No real complaints there though perhaps a more Nordic selection of dark breads and veggies might have been nice.

For drinks, the menu contains a decent selection of wines, champagne (a very drinkable Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Grande Réserve), and after-dinner choices such as the aforementioned Cognac, a Baron Otard, which was delicious.



Unfortunately, the coffee tasted a little muddy. On the other hand, we appreciate that they have hot chocolate available at any time – a nice touch on an airplane.

Service - ground

At JFK Finnair uses the American Airlines Terminal (8) where we found a hectic scene with a number of partner airlines departing around the same time in addition to AA’s bank of flights around 5-6pm. There was a priority check-in desk with no one waiting, a priority security that took some time, and the business class lounge is AA’s Admirals Club, which at this time of day was crammed full and offered very little of interest aside from perhaps a free drink to ease the pain of the airport.

Helsinki-Vantaa (HEL) is a famously easy airport to navigate whether departing or transferring through, with a few decent lounges to choose from (the newest, opening 1 July 2014, will feature a sauna and will be open to Finnair and oneworld elites (Sapphire and Emerald). That will be a great addition.

Entertainment

The entertainment system is perfectly adequate, with a fair selection of new and old films and televisions shows – but it doesn’t rank among the best.

The screen isn’t enormous but it’s perfectly adequate, and the noise-canceling headphones are similarly middle-of-the-road.



Onboard offerings

There are no amenity kits as such – Finnair instead offers some basic items, including a reasonably comfortable set of eyeshades (we find most airline eyeshades unwearable), earplugs and socks in a sealed paper bag. If desired there are more items available from the crew and in the lavatories. We say it’s a wise move even if we miss getting to take home a new pouch.

Finnair gets a special mention for its lovely Iittala glassware, which shows off a homegrown brand, looks great and unlike anything else we’ve seen in the air, and has become a real signature item of theirs. It’s something we look forward to when flying with them.

What to fix

Look at speeding up the dinner service on eastbound transatlantic flights. Serving a first round of drinks quickly and then offering passengers who want to eat quickly a chance to do so (others should be free to take their time if they wish, of course) would give a shot at a reasonable, if slightly short, night of sleep.

Consider upgrading the materials used in the seat construction or having a plan in place to fix worn armrests and remove embedded dirt, etc. The wear on the seats brings the atmosphere down a notch.

Where to find it

You can find this seat on a growing number of Finnair’s longhaul flights. As of 1 June, 2014, Finnair assures us that nine routes are guaranteed to feature the new seats: New York, Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Osaka, Nagoya and Hanoi. Three A340s will go on flying with the old seats until they’re replaced by brand new A350s (seat choice not yet decided for those, but we can likely expect something similar) in the second half of 2015. In the meantime if you’re on an A340 to a city other than the ones listed here, it’ll be a good idea to check the seat map because the older business class is markedly less comfortable.



How to fly it using miles

Finnair usually makes a good number of seats available for mileage redemptions and as it’s part of the oneworld alliance, you have a few options for miles to use. We prefer American AAdvantage miles – you can book Finnair awards on aa.com, with no fuel surcharges, and rates are 50,000 miles each way for North America–Europe, 52,500 for Asia-Europe. Finnair can be a great way to use miles to get from Asia to Europe especially because it has a lot of destinations (and growing every year) and good availability.

British Airways Avios is an option but fuel surcharges tend to be high and in most cases, mileage costs are higher too.