#31 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings.
206 reviews
I arrived into Helsinki Vantaa Airport by train from the city centre. The journey time is about 30 minutes from departing the central station to the Airport's train stop- which is located underneath the Airport, so you only need ascend up some escalators and elevators to get to the check in areas.
I had checked in online, but I opted to get a proper boarding pass as a momentum of the last flight on this trip considering I was flying business class. This would mark my third time flying business class on Finnair, but my second time on the A350! Helsinki Airport had recently opened up a dedicated check in area for Finnair, replacing the older facility which had now become part of the airside area. The new area was very modern in appearance and looked a lot more brighter and cheerful!
I went airside afterwards, but it took a bit longer for me as I had misread some signage looking for the priority security lane and ended up going into the regular lane… Whoops-a-daisy! I got through in about 15 minutes, so it wasn't that bad. But I know where Priority is for my next few visits to Helsinki Vantaa!
Getting airside I decided to make haste for the Finnair Lounge in the non-Schengen Area. There is a Schengen Lounge available- but as I was flying to London Heathrow, the non-Schengen lounge was the ideal one for me to visit, I cleared the security check point and made a pass of Duty Free to grab a bottle of Valhalla drink- which is easily accessible in Finland and Norway, I enjoy the drink myself and I regularly pick up some when I come home.
I went to the Finnair Lounge, which since my last visit in May 2019, had undergone a major make over! It looked fantastic compare to my previous visits in March 2018 & May 2019!
The Lounge had a new bar area and the kitchen area had become more open and offered a buffet service. As I am not a OneWorld Emerald flyer, I couldn't enter the Finnair Platinum Wing, but the main lounge is just great on its own, so don't feel to down if you can't get into the Platinum Wing. I was intrigued by the Finnair Merchandise display!
I also got myself an Airport Lounge shower, it was a really hot day in Helsinki during my visit and the shower was a welcome freshen up, ready for my final flight of this trip around Finland. Its a huge bonus in my travel book!
Of course there had to be some Lounge snacks and treats to enjoy and I opted for a few different things, including kicking off with a cocktail from the bar- a Manhattan! Seeing the bar tender create this drink was somewhat satisfying to watch! I opted for some meatballs and rice from the hot food area, which was really nice.
Finnair is one of Europe's oldest airlines and in November 2023 they celebrate their 100th Anniversary- so the airline is aging some barrels of Finnish whiskey for the occasion! I look forward to seeing how Finnair mark their 100th birthday (can we get a retro jet or two), following on KLM & British Airways*.
A few more snaps of the lounge bellow to convey the experience I had, I spent a good 3 hours in there. I was blown away when I found they offered Karl Fraser hot chocolate, and I might have accidently slipped a sachet in my bag to take home to the UK!
As much as I enjoyed the lounge (and I will enjoy a few visits here on my OneWorld Sapphire membership in 2023), I had to leave and go to find my flight at Gate 45-A. Which wasn't far off where I was dropped off on arrival two days earlier, but on the way I did locate some things of interest, including an awards cabinet full of Awards acquired by Helsinki Vantaa during the 2010's!
Here's my full itinerary if you want to catch up on this Summertime Finnair extravaganza!
There was some deep breath held for this flight as I had cashed in 10,000 Award Miles for this upgrade, but it wouldn't be confirmed until 36 hours ahead of departure. Initially Finnair emailed me to say that my request was not upheld as the flight was "Full", but for some reason my booking didn't change from Business Class to Economy- then when I checked in, I was checked in as a Business Class passenger for the flight alongside a Window Seat- 2L, which was a great result, why I had two conflicting things going on- I have no idea???
My latest flight on the Finnair Airbus A350-900 would be operated by OH-LWP. This aircraft was delivered to Finnair on February 10th 2020, right before the global pandemic hit Europe and caused the biggest crisis in the Aviation & Travel Industry. It is one of the newest planes in the Finnair fleet as only two more Airbus A350-900 were delivered after this aircraft. Note the Boeing 787 of Japan Airlines next to our plane in the photo, it's something to keep in mind for later!
Passing into the boarding area, the gate agents called for Group 1, which was the Finnair Plus Platinum flyers (or OneWorld Emerald flyers) and Business Class passengers, including myself. I turned down the first jet bridge allowing me to enter the Business Class cabin direct from the first door, and I got a nice view looking down my Finnair Airbus A350 for the afternoon!
Oh my goodness- this was worth the 4 year wait since my last Finnair Airbus A350 business class experience!!!
It was nice to see the Northern Lights mood lighting was still in full swing, I was on the older Finnair A350 business class cabin, but despite its age and that its being replaced- it was nice to get to fly it again- just in case its phased out by the time I get to do *That* Singapore trip, I was meant to do in late 2020!
But may I digress……
A short delay in pushing back was incurred, but it we eventually left the gate and were off for London Heathrow, fittingly we departed behind the afternoon Airbus A350 flight from Helsinki Vantaa to Amsterdam Schiphol! So two European A350 services back to back!
I took great pleasure watching the departure from my window and from the tail cam from my IFE Screen! One of my favourite joys of flying on the Airbus A350-900!
Departing out of Helsinki, we flew in the Westerly direction towards Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands and onward to the UK! With a good 2 1/2 hour flight time, I opted to relax into the flight and enjoy the perks of this service.
First line of business was to extend the seat's recline!
A dinner was served and I opted to enjoy the beef option which appeared to be a casserole with a large dumpling, a side of smoked salmon, a chocolate cake and the usual bread roll rounded off well. I opted to enjoy a vodka & coke with my dinner. I had also being enjoying a blueberry juice from the initial drinks round. I really enjoyed this meal!!!
After the dinner service I sat back and enjoyed a rock playlist that was offered by Finnair, whilst watching the inflight camera and tracking map. The day was really nice at 40,000ft!
Whilst I didn't get any pictures, the toilet was really nice and clean as well as noticing the business class loo had a big window for me to overlook Denmark whilst using the facilities! I am so glad we didn't get a fighter jet fly up alongside us!!!
Returning to my seat, I opted to ask for a cognac as well as a Karl Frazer chocolate bar, as this was a buy on board product from economy class, I did have to pay for it- I wasn't too worried considering I was getting a lot more for free in business regardless!
The one complaint I have about business class flights in Europe on wide body airliners is that they go a bit too fast for my liking!
The time and flight passed and we had to arrive into London Heathrow, landing on the same Northern Runway I had departed only 3 days earlier. We had a few extra minutes in a hold, but we were down and taxiing over to Terminal 3, but the flight was not quite over yet!
After taxiing over to Terminal 3, we had to hold for a good 30 minutes on a remote area as our gate was occupied by a late aircraft. This is quite common in London at LHR & LGW due to staff shortages. I think a number of other major airports are having this too, but I wasn't going to complain too much as I got to enjoy the Finnair business class seat for a bit longer before we finally got the all clear to park up, ironically, next to a Japan Airlines Boeing 777-300(ER)!
I grabbed a final shot of the cabin seats before leaving, having decided to sit back and wait for everyone else to leave the aircraft, I then filled out in between the Economy Class passengers- bagging a final look at the iconic Finnair Airbus A350!
A fitting conclusion to such an amazing trip that I certainly won't be forgetting soon!
Finnair Business Class- Despite everything since my 2018/19 flights the Finnair business class experience is still one of the best in Europe and I would vouch for this to anyone who wants a unique experience flying in Europe!
Helsinki Airport- Looks nice on the areas they've currently worked on since the pandemic, HEL is my second favourite airport in the EU as far as experiences go and I think they have at least one amazing lounge to offer!
2 Comments
Always great to get a widebody on an intra-European flight. Would have been cool to get the new AY J cabin, but this cabin is certainly nothing to sneeze at. I was actually kind of surprised when AY came out with their new J seats considering that these seats are relatively new, only a few years old and very spacious.
The catering looks quite good for a 2.5 hour flight and the cognac at the end adds to the premium experience.
Thanks for sharing!
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