Originally Posted by the810

I see a market for unbundled business fares on longhaul flights, where the seat is a significant upgrade compared to economy (and indeed the main motivation to go in business) if those fares are priced significantly lower than normal business fares (which is not the case with Finnair).

But why on Earth would anyone pay for business light within Europe? I checked a fare for VIE-HEL (my main route with AY) two months from now. Economy light is 118, business light is 299. What I get for the fare difference is an empty seat and a meal - not really worth it. Worse yet, if I booked an empty economy seat next to me (not sure if AY does it, but most airlines do), I'd still pay only 236. Is Finnair J meal really worth 63 euros? (EDIT: I checked their website and they indeed do it and they don't charge taxes on the extra seat, meaning that the price of that meal would be even higher)

European business class is all about the ground services. Take that away and the product doesn't make any sense.