Finnair » Economy » User reviews

Richard_K flew Finnair Economy (Short haul), on a Embraer 170 (30/09/2011 10:18)

A poor start: leaving from gate 20A at Helsinki with fully inadequate seting near the gate, passengers standing (thus blocking) the main corridor.

Rather lengthy bus ride to the plane. The plane itself is modern and the flight short. Seated at 10C. Just enough time for a drink.

At Vaasa bagage unloading took about 10 minutes.

Richard_K flew Finnair Economy (Short haul), on a A319 (30/09/2011 10:07)

A pleasant flight. Although the plane was fully seated, space was adequate due to a fair seat pitch. Sat in 18B. Food consisted of 2 sandwiches with a beverage. Quality of the tea was good.

Jacoholico flew Finnair Business (Short haul), on a A320 (03/06/2011 15:51)

Have been flying Finnair since start of 2011, mostly to Helsinki from London. The service is superb, way ahead of anyone else I have tried. Helsinki airport is the best airport I have visited.

The lounge in the non-schengen area sets a new standard in quality, while the spa just makes the place unique. I had enough time to try each sauna and steam room and chill out in the pool. Just what I needed after a long business trip. Hope other airlines would learn a bit from these guys. By the way, Moomins rule!

SamWardill flew Finnair Business, on a A340-300 (19/02/2011 23:19)

Check In:
I checked in online for my flight from Amsterdam to Helsinki then on to Hong Kong departing Amsterdam on Wednesday at 1905. On arrival at Schiphol there was no queue for baggage drop so I was quickly on my way through the fast track security to airside.

Lounge:
Finnair use the Menzies lounge in the Schengen departure lounge at Schiphol. This is a pretty basic lounge with a couple of newspapers, very limited food and drink and paid wi-fi that would not allow my VPN to pass through. In contrast, the Finnair lounge at Helsinki was much more stylish and well provisioned with lots of food and drink including espresso machines (with only a caffeinated option) and pre-flight hot dining for the 2340 departure from Helsinki to Hong Kong. I didn’t take advantage of either the pre-flight dining or espresso having eaten on board the Amsterdam leg and not wanting to load up with caffeine before trying to get some shut eye.

Boarding & Departure:
The Amsterdam leg of my flight boarded and departed very smoothly. The Hong Kong leg was not quite so stress free. We ended up departing an hour late because of a technical problem. Information provided was reasonable. I decided to get some sleep whilst we waited to take off. I was glad I had not waited to eat on board.

Seat:
The seat on my A340-300 from Helsinki to Hong Kong was a lie flat type rather than a fully flat bed. I believe that Finnair have both. It was relatively comfortable for sleeping and I got a good 5 hours on this 9 & ½ hour flight plus the hour I took before we waited to depart. The lady sat next to me remarked on the economy of the amenity bag supplied. However, it had everything that I ever use (socks, eye pads & ear plugs) and I may well find the drawstring bag useful in the future (I’ve never really been able to get passionate about any airline’s amenity bag since the sad demise of the British Airways Body Shop bags).

IFE:
When I woke from my sleep with four hours to go I was disappointed to realise that the In Flight Entertainment was on a loop rather than on demand. This seemed to me a little dated. Although there was a good selection of films, there was no description of the films in any of the in pocket magazines. The headset was noise cancelling but was hard wired into the seat. This meant that the headsets were not collected and cleaned after each flight. Instead, each passenger was supplied with a self adhesive ear cover to stick on the foam ear-pad. I wasn’t convinced that this was an entirely hygienic arrangement. I watched the end of The Social Network, a film that I had seen before. I then watched another film on my laptop. When I realised that the power on my laptop would not last me the rest of the trip I attempted to use the at seat power socket. Neither the flight attendant nor I could get the power to work reliably so I had to find alternative entertainment when my power ran out.

Food:
As I did not take advantage of the main long haul flight meal I am not really able to review the food offering thoroughly. The dinner on the Amsterdam leg was of a reasonable standard. The breakfast before arriving in Hong Kong was comprehensive, however the hot breakfast was served a little luke warm.

Crew:
Cabin crew were mainly Finns with one Hong Kong attendant in the business class cabin. Service was efficient and moderately friendly. However I was not very demanding.

Arrival:
We managed to lose another 45 minutes overnight (from looking at the moving map it seemed to me that we were circling over Szechuan for some time in the middle of the night for some reason) so we arrive 1h45min late. The immigration queue took me about 20 minutes and, after I had passed through, my luggage was waiting for me on the carousel.

Summary:
I had chosen to fly Finnair over British Airways for this flight from Amsterdam to Hong Kong so that I could depart an hour later, arrive an hour earlier and avoid transferring in Heathrow. I also saved about £800 albeit having to travel on an inflexible ticket. My flight from Amsterdam to Hong Kong and then Singapore to London (direct with Qantas), with a London to Amsterdam leg that I will have to use some time in the future, cost me a very reasonable £2500 in business. As it turned out, the BA flight probably arrived before we did. The Finnair long haul business class product seemed a little dated compared to BA. However, the simplicity of connecting in Helsinki won me over and I did not regret my airline choice on this occasion.

InternationalConsolidated flew Finnair Business (Short haul), on a A320 (04/02/2011 10:11)

London - Helsinki

Flew in business class from London Heathrow T3 to Helsinki Vantaa T2 on the early 7.20am flight, an Airbus A320. Although I checked in online and opted for the mobile boarding pass, I still chose to arrive at Heathrow two hours prior to departure, just in case. There was no need to worry as T3 wasn't busy at that time, however I was glad to have a little spare time for breakfast.

I travelled in business class, and was impressed with the service and the decent food. Upon boarding, we were offered a drink and newspapers/magazines in various languages. We were attended by two very attentive and amiable members of cabin crew (in my opinion quite a lot considering how few seats were filled, one would have done).

The breakfast consisted of sausage, egg and tomato, plus a roll with butter and preserves. It wasn't a large breakfast by any means, but tasty and reasonably fresh, and adequate on this short flight.

My seat was by the window, and the inside arm rest had been adjusted to make my seat wider. The middle seat was unsold, and instead of a passenger held an extra table which was most useful. There was plenty of legroom, and with all the table space I was able to spread my work/breakfast/newspaper out without feeling cramped.

We had departed on time, and with favourable weather conditions landed ten minutes early. As I had hand luggage only, making my way through to the arrivals hall at Helsinki was quick and painless.

All in all there was nothing outstanding about this flight, but everything was executed well and efficiently.

Shappers flew Finnair Economy, on a A330-300 (Config. 1) (15/12/2010 06:56)

Surprisingly comfortable aircraft. At 6' 4" I never manage to find any room for my legs but in this aircraft they fitted exactly! Well, that is until the passenger in front nearly took my teeth out reclining his chair.

The seat is comfortable for about 6-7 hours and I would rate it quite highly. It does suffer from a lack of support in the lower spine but this is true of nearly all airline seats. The armrest could be a bit more generous, and I hate the fact that the headset has to plug in where your thigh needs to go.

But all in all, a good seat, with good legroom and a first class entertainment section.

I would rate this Finnair aircraft very highly and I actually choose to fly this airline on this route for the comfortable experience it offers.

frustratedflyer flew Finnair Business, on a A340-300 (08/09/2010 05:42)

Business Passenger boarding started before general boarding. Staff were swift in taking my jacket and in offering a drink.

After take off food was served promptly although I skipped this. The seat is not horizontal but angled lie flat. I made it a bit more comfortable by putting a spare pillow under my feet as I did tend to slide down. The seat arm also drops to give added width.

I was seated in 1H.

I liked the seat but disliked the people who wanted to climb over my feet to the toilet rather than go through the galley.

I skipped the hot breakfast but had a nice croisannt , fruit and cereal. Bags came out quickly.

All in all a good a reasonably priced flight.

frustratedflyer flew Finnair Business (Short haul), on a A319 (06/09/2010 19:21)

At LHR, Finnair shares the new Cathay Lounge which is good.

Business Class passengers were allowed to board as they wanted which was very swift.

I was seated in 1C. The seats are adjusted so that the arms are close together and only seats A&C used. Seat was average.

Service was good. There were probably about six occasions that the crew came through the cabin offering refreshments.

A three-course meal service was offered with one choice of hot food (beef).

I was not hungry but the smell was certainly good!

iloveONEWORLD flew Finnair Economy (Short haul), on a Embraer 190 (09/07/2010 19:56)

I love finnair!!! I flew from AMS-HEL-OULU and back, the service suprisingly good for a domestic flight and even in economy. The fligtht was as good as long haul flights of finnair.

iloveONEWORLD flew Finnair Business, on a A340-300 (09/07/2010 19:53)

I flew AMSTERDAM-HELSINKI-HONG KONG-HELSINKI-AMSTERDAM. I really liked finnair but the way how they control problems such as a broken tv is bad.Overall, I still really like finnair business class although their bed is not 180 degrees flat horizontal. Hopefully they will insert the same business class product as swiss international airlines

Bollcat flew Finnair Business, on a A340-300 (01/06/2010 21:57)

As this was a connecting flight we didn't need to check in but I will talk about the transit process. We landed at 21:05 on the Finnair flight from LHR and went straight through the security check. The airport is compact and was not busy which gave it a calm & reassuring feeling. Although we had access to the Via lounge at Helsinki the area where the long haul flights departed seemed well served by seats & dining opportunities. The transfer walk took no more than 10 minutes which was a breeze & I was supping a beer in the lounge in no time at all.

Lounge - The Via lounge at Helsinki was moderately busy but there was still seating available. Free wifi was available with a voucher and was fast and easy to connect to. There were several Apple PCs to use and with a voucher given to us when entering, a hot meal from the counter. Soft drinks, beer on tap and wine was free but any other spirits or fizz needed to be paid for. Lots of snacks and salad was available as well as some decent coffee! Next to the lounge is the Via spa which you have to pay to get into (unless you have status with the Finnair rewards program) and provides a wide range of spa treatments as well as a sauna overlooking the apron! We didn't partake due to the cost & the shortish transit time we had.

Boarding - The flight was called in the lounge unobtrusively and it was a 3 minute walk to the gate. There was a separate bizz class lane which we took advantage of and we were onboard and seated quickly.

Seating - Seating on the A340 with Finnair is in a 2-2-2 setting and has an angled lie flat product. There is a new lie flat bizz class seat being rolled out by Finnair which is currently being done on their A330 aircraft. I don't know the rollout timetable for the rest of the fleet but it looks a good product. We had seats 4A & 4C which have more than enough space and the seat width is good too. Travelling together the seats allow for easy contact but if you're on your own and require some privacy then the layout of the BA seat plan & the herringbone seat plan e.g. Cathay Pacific are better. There is a dividing screen on the Finnair product but it is a token gesture. Nonetheless the shell seat is solid and when turning over it doesn't bother the person next to you and there is enough space to step over them to get to the aisle. If you like a window seat then don't be put off if you're worried about disturbing a neighbour or restrictions getting out.

There are several set positions for the seat and a free control to allow you to put it in any configuration you like. Once flat the seat is angled but is very comfortable. The pillow is generous and the 'duvet' nice and warm. Generally a lie flat product is better for sleeping than an angled lie flat product and this trip confirmed that view. That said I found this seat comfortable enough and I got to sleep easily when extended to the angled lie flat position. The cabin was a bit noisy and being a summer eastwards bound flight soon after takeoff it became light which spilled into the cabin frequently. The amenities bag was well stocked and I made use of the eye mask. It also contained a small bag to put your shoes in which was a nice touch. I prefer to sleep on my side and I found that it was comfortable to do and easy to move around in.

Entertainment - The AVOD system worked well well and the noise cancelling headphones were decent although they were 3 pin so even with an adaptor I couldn't use my own which I prefer. The movies were varied and the in-fight map was one of the newer versions.

Food & Drink - We were served champagne early (Joseph Perrier 2003) which I stuck with for most of the flight. My wife said the white & red selections were very good too. A menu was given out early and my selection was available. The quality was good and served promptly.

Service - As per their short-haul product I found the attendants to be pleasant and professional. They made frequent trips through the cabin during the long overnight flight and took care of our coats early on.

Baggage - Our luggage was checked in at Heathrow & arrived promptly at HK. Immigration took longer than normal at HK and the walk from the gate was a fair way but nice after the flight.

Conclusion - I booked this flight through the Finnair website back in January when they had a sale on & the price was extremely competitive against fellow Oneworld carriers on the route, BA & Cathay. Although I always prefer a direct flight where possible the connection at Helsinki was painless & given that the flight was approx £1000 cheaper than the Oneworld competition I would chose this option again in a heartbeat. If they can keep the fairs keen even with the introduction of the new bizz class product then Finnair have a new repeat customer on their hands.

Bollcat flew Finnair Business (Short haul), on a A320 (01/06/2010 20:59)

Check in - For some reason the on line check in was not available for my flight so we pitched up at T3 to check in at the airport for flight AY840 departing LHR at 16:10 and arriving at Helsinki at 21:05.

The Business class check in desk was empty so we were seen straight away and the whole process lasted no more than 5 minutes. As this was a journey to HK via Helsinki we were given boarding cards for both flights and the seats I had chosen when booking directly with the Finnair website were confirmed. The check in agent reminded us we could use the fast track lane through security which we duly used.

Airport - T3 at LHR has had some cosmetic work done to it in the past year or so & it is looking much better for it. There are still areas to be completed but on the whole it is a better experience than before. The security checks took no more than 10 minutes as the queues were small and fast track pax are usually a bit more savvy and prepare for the checks before they get to the scanners! As we were travelling biz class and we're BA Silver card holders we used the newish T3 BA lounge which was very good and had all the facilities you would expect. The Finnair flights were not listed on the screens in the lounge & having the Oneworld partners on the screens would have been nice.

Boarding - It was a short walk to the gates past several of the other airlines lounges but we were a bit disappointed that they didn't have a separate bizz class lane in operation. We sat for a while until most of the pax had boarded and then went through.

Seats - We were in seats 1A & 1C on the A320 used for this flight. Finnair leaves the middle seat free for their short-haul bizz class flights although the 2 seats occupied are no wider than economy and the seat pitch is also the same. If you are flying on the short-haul Finnair bizz class product on the Airbus family chose the seats in row 1 which do have more legroom as they are by the bulkhead. Had I been sat in the other rows in bizz class I would have been very disappointed by the pitch and width in combination.

Entertainment - There is no individual entertainment system on the short-haul product with Finnair.

Food & Drink - The meals were served promptly & were of good quality. The choice of drinks was wide and the crew were keen to keep you topped up.

Service - The crew were pleasant and professional throughout the flight. As we were connecting at Helsinki one of the flight attendants made sure we knew which gate we would would board the connecting flight from as well as letting us know how to get to the Helsinki business lounge which is called the Via lounge. It must be said that connecting at Helsinki is a breeze as it's such a compact airport. Don't forget though, as you're in transit, don't buy any liquids more than 100 mls at the Duty Free in Heathrow as you won't be allowed to take it through.

Baggage - The bags were through checked to HK & made them through with no problems & they came out promptly at HK thanks to the great airport there and the priority tags. Conclusion - A solid product at a good price with everything done efficiently. I would have been disappointed with a seat in anything other than row 1 but that would be my only gripe. Having done the same route with BA short-haul product I would probably pick BA if the price was equal only because I prefer the BA seat & I like T5.

lostantipod flew Finnair Business, on a A330-300 (Config. 1) (23/03/2010 18:37)

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lostantipod flew Finnair Business (Short haul), on a A321 (23/03/2010 18:19)

Before leaving home I checked the progress of the incoming flight from HEL and found it was 50 minutes late, which of course had the potential to delay my 0945 departure, and I was aware of the tight connections on this trip. En route to LHR I received two SMS messages from Finnair, advising me that the departure would be 50 minutes, and then 30 minutes late. I thought that was a nice proactive touch.

I arrived >2 hours before departure, and there was no queue at the Business Class check-in desk in T3, where I was energetically reassured by the clerk that I would make my 1 hour connection in Helsinki. I was told the delay was due to fog in London preventing the flight from taking off from HEL.

Through “Fast Track” security in about 10 minutes, I found my way down some corridors and up a lift to the Cathay Pacific lounge, which Finnair shares. While it is a windowless space, it is reasonably large and modern, and provides free wireless access, some internet terminals, a wide array of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and some light food including two Chinese-style options. The lounge was quite empty at this time in the morning.

I went to the boarding gate half an hour prior to the rescheduled departure time of 10.15; while in the queue to have my BP checked, the Finnair Heathrow Service Director made an announcement apologizing for the late operation of the flight due to fog in London causing inbound delays, and he specifically assured passengers with connections that we would not miss them. The Airbus A320 departed 85 minutes late at 11.10am, with me in seat 1A, nervously wondering about my connection in HEL.

Not long after takeoff drinks were served, and my Gin & Tonic was served in a nice sturdy glass, the gin freepoured generously by the cabin crew, accompanied by cheesy nibbles. Soon followed a lunch that I felt was quite tasty and adequate in portion, with a choice of 2 or 3 mains , and a red or white wine. There was a prosciutto starter, and for main I had a salmon steak with noodles and peppers, accompanied by an Alsace Pinot Blanc, a chocolate cake trifle, warmed bread rolls, and coffee. Cognac was offered as well.

As we approached HEL, we were advised that the HKG connection was 30 minutes late , and we were given the gate numbers for all connecting aircraft. Frustratingly, we pulled up to a remote stand, but a bus quickly took us to the terminal. It was well below zero - I do wonder if the metal stairs get regularly de-iced !

Finnair are promoting their new lounge in HEL (reviews elsewhere on this forum) but as my connecting flight was already showing as “last call” I rushed to the gate. The lounge looked quite full as I hurried by.

Summary; a perfectly good intra-European business class offering , I would not hesitate to return . However, my baggage did not make my connecting AY flight , despite having nearly an hour to do so (and despite the bragging in the HEL airport magazine about their "award winning" baggage handling systems).

frustratedflyer flew Finnair Business (Short haul), on a A321 (13/01/2010 13:16)

Seat 3C from London to Helsinki. Modern plane, reasonable legroom with four rows of business class. The middle seat was kept free so spacious. There was a drinks service with nuts followed by a three course lunch (salad/hotdish (curry) and orange desert). All reasonable quality and better than most equivalent airlines short haul business food today.

JoeyHou flew Finnair Business, on a A340-300 (04/01/2010 20:33)

The food was great! Everything was quite good. It would have been a perfect flight if the seat was fully flat. The check - in counters in airports within europe for business class is too crowded.

asiatraveler flew Finnair Business, on a A340-300 (03/01/2010 01:17)

Great service with good food. I particulary like the wine selection. Acess to the snack bar during the fligt is alsow nice.

xXCerosXx flew Finnair (14/11/2009 06:51)

Worst flying experience ever!!!! cabin crew are unfriendly, crammed and the food was crap. And they showed a film which had nudity in it and my son was watching it.

vgetting flew Finnair Economy, on a A330-300 (Config. 1) (16/09/2009 13:05)

I love the new plane, roomy comfortable, just wonderful. Thank you

terminalfive flew Finnair Business (Short haul), on a A319 (14/03/2009 21:56)

MXP - HEL. Service on FINNAIR business short haul is excellent. Good choice of decent food and a choice of the various wines and champagne. Problem is the seat which is exactly the same as economy - uncomfortable especially as most "short haul" flights are at least three hours. No real inflight entertainment which would be needed on these "longer" short haul services

terminalfive flew Finnair Business (Short haul), on a A320 (05/02/2009 22:41)

CDG - HEL. Tale of two halves - great service and excellent food for a three hour flight but a very uncomfortable, small business class seat with the same legroom as economy. Finnair's European services are short haul but as most flights (Milan, Paris, London etc) are three hour flights, premium paying passengers should benefit from added comfort

Ranerane flew Finnair Business (Short haul) (19/11/2008 16:42)

In AB 300 series seats are 3+3 but they leave the middle seat empty so the width is very good. Seat pitch however is quite narrow. Some routes they use Embraer planes where seating is 2+2. It is equal to economy class and poor value.

Ranerane flew Finnair Business (19/11/2008 16:24)

The seats are pleasant and food exellent.

frustratedflyer flew Finnair Business, on a A340-300 (17/11/2008 02:47)

In business in 1H on the way to HK. Rather too close to the toilets so if you want to be in the first row I would choose the window seats such as 1A. A good service. Food choices sometimes interesting. Reindeer on this flight! Not a flat bed but one of the better angled ones. IFE disapointing as choice of movies limited and no guide. Rather annoying that they made annoucements during the night during turbulence - please keep quiet!

frustratedflyer flew Finnair Business (Short haul), on a A320 (17/11/2008 02:44)

Businesslike service but clearly a problem understanding my English accent as my request for a diet coke brought a vodka tonic and my request for a Bloody Mary mix brought one with Vodka! Otherwise an efficient service. Was sitting in 1C which has the benefit of being able to stetch your legs as the bulkhead does not go to the full width of the seats. Seat 1D-F seem to have more legroom than 1A-B

SURAJPRASAD flew Finnair Business, on a A340-300 (23/09/2008 14:55)

Seat 1H. This is one in the centre bank of seats on the right. For some reason seats 1D and 1H stick out forward from the rest of row 1. so I'd choose 1A,C or 1J ,L rather than these two because you can get knocked by people walking up and down the aisle to the toilet, or by the crew. Service was very good although I wasn't impressed by the food. The seat whilst not horizontal I thought was better than similar products such as the old Sing Airlines seat.