Introduction
Welcome to the second part of this new series of flight reviews!
We always take advantage of my son's breaks from preschool to take a trip. For autumn break this year we decided to go to Finland. I'd never been to Finland–outside of changing planes at Helsinki airport–and I thought it would be a fun experience for my son to meet Santa Claus, at the famous Santa Claus Village in Lapland, just two months before Christmas. I was also crossing my fingers to see some Aurora Borealis, after having missed them in Lofoten, Norway the year before due to overcast skies.
Though we live in San Diego, we often fly out of LAX for these types of short trips as there are more nonstop options and generally lower fares, due to more competition in the market. However, this time we decided to book a one-stop itinerary from San Diego as there was no nonstop flight to Helsinki operating on the date we needed to depart. Finnair operate the route 5-6 times weekly over the spring/summer season, but drop down to 3-4 weekly in autumn/winter.
A one-stop from San Diego to Helsinki via Dallas turned out to be the most convenient as Finnair operate at-least-daily flights throughout the year out of American Airlines' DFW mega hub. Finnair have been growing their presence in the U.S. and adding frequencies lately so I hope to take the nonstop flight from LAX in the future.
Routing
Enchainement de vols
- 1
- 2AY20 - Premium Economy - Dallas ✈ Helsinki - Airbus A350-900
- 3AY533 - Economy - Helsinki ✈ Rovaniemi - Airbus A321
- 4AY532 - Economy - Rovaniemi ✈ Helsinki - Airbus A320
- 5AY19 - Premium Economy - Helsinki ✈ Dallas - Airbus A350-900
- 6AA1634 - Domestic First - Dallas ✈ San Diego - Airbus A321neo


Transit & Lounges
Having arrived from San Diego at Terminal B, we made our way up to the Skylink inter-terminal train to head to International Terminal D

There are always nice views of aircraft from the Skylink train, granted it's not super varied, with AA dominating.



Once in Terminal D we headed towards the lounges.

The Capital One Lounge and the American Airlines Flagship Lounge share a lobby area on the concourse level. Interestingly, Finnair, despite being a member of oneworld, use the Capital One Lounge at DFW rather than the American Airlines lounges, so we had access to both lounges–the Capital One Lounge through Finnair, and the AA Flagship Lounge through our oneworld Emerald status.

No photos from the lobby area as it was a crowded mess in there with tons of passengers waiting for access to the Capital One Lounge, which was apparently full to capacity. We still put our names in the wait-list for the Capital One Lounge as I wanted to check it out. We were told there was about a half-hour wait and that we would receive a text message once we could enter. I know this is very common in the US, but it's not a great experience for those flying Finnair who may not be aware they can also access the AA Flagship Lounge.
We headed right to the elevator up one level to the Flagship Lounge. Coming off the elevator the Flagship Lounge is on the right and the Capital One Lounge is on the left. Again, it was a crowded mess coming off the elevator with tons of passengers standing in a queue to access the Capital One Lounge, winding all the way through the corridor separating the two lounges and ending right at the entrance to the AA Flagship Lounge! If I were AA, I would not be pleased that AA passengers have to fight their way through another lounge's messy crowds.

Once inside it was much nicer and calmer than outside! We were greeted with Piper-Heidsieck right at the entrance after checking in.

For those who may not be familiar with American Airlines Lounges, Flagship Lounges are AA's premium lounges for travellers with oneworld Sapphire and Emerald status or Business/First class passengers on long-haul itineraries only. Standard American Airlines lounges are branded Admirals Club and have a more basic food and beverage offerings.
No crowds here! There was plenty of available seating. It's usually more crowded in the evenings in my limited experience.



As usual, food options are quite good by U.S. Lounge standards, with several hot and cold dishes to choose from.



After about a half-hour, I received a text that we could proceed to the Capital One Lounge. We headed over as it was just across the corridor, but the long queue to check in was not a pleasant sight–and this is despite receiving the text that we had cleared the wait list.


As expected, it was crowded throughout the lounge, which is much smaller than the AA Flagship Lounge.


There were a few tables with no one here and there, but they had "Reserved" signs on them.


Unable to find an open table without a "reserved" placard on it, I asked a nearby attendant who explained they did this to save some tables for groups and families coming in to the lounge. In essence, the tables were reserved for us, he said before showing us to a table.
Unfortunately, by the time I'd learnt that "reserved" wasn't really reserved, the table I'd originally wanted near the windows was taken.

There was a decent food selection, similar to what I'd seen at the Washington-Dulles Capital One Lounge, which I'd previously reviewed here.
Only basic alcoholic beverages were complimentary, all other "premium" alcohol was for a charge. Typical of Domestic U.S. lounges, with a few exceptions like the higher-end Chase Sapphire Lounges.


I wasn't terribly hungry since we'd already eaten in the Flagship Lounge.

Although the Capital One Lounge is decent by U.S. Domestic Lounge standards, it didn't feel nearly as premium as the American Airlines Flagship Lounge so, after about an hour or so, we headed back across the corridor to the AA Lounge.

The Flagship Lounge is quite large with many different seating sections. We had no problem finding seating against the windows further back down the long central corridor.


It was nice and quiet in this area furthest from the entrance. A nice change from the chaotic and crowded Capital One lounge.

My AvGeek side always loves a good window view from a lounge to watch the ballet of aircraft arrivals and departures with a nice cold glass of champagne



Also got a good look at our aircraft arriving from Helsinki.


About 10 minutes before boarding, we left the lounge to head to the gate.

Boarding
Boarding was just about to begin when we arrived at the gate. When Group 1 was called, we joined the queue to board; however, the agent told us that we needed to have our boarding passes re-printed as they were printed by American Airlines. What is this silliness? Ugh…so we had to get out of line and join a separate queue to have our passport information entered into the system all over again. It was a chaotic mess at the counters as there were tons of transit passengers needed to have their documents checked to reissue boarding passes…I was getting flashbacks of flying internationally during the pandemic.

It never ceases to amaze me how terrible communication is between different airlines' systems…even within the same alliance!
The gate agent explained that Finnair don't accept boarding passes from AA as they don't transfer the passport information. I showed her my Finnair Mobile boarding passes and told her that not only had we already provided all of our passport information during online check-in, but also again while checking in with AA in San Diego. She apologised, but had to enter all of our information AGAIN…such a needless waste of time for passengers due to poor IT infrastructure.
By the time we'd finished this whole process they were boarding Group 4…great…so much for being in Group 1


Upon entering the aircraft, we turned right, passing through the unique new Finnair Business class cabin. Had I bought the tickets directly through Finnair, I would have been able to buy upgrades to Business; however, as we'd bought the tickets through American Airlines, as I had some AA credits to use, it was not an option until the day of departure directly at the airport. Unfortunately, the Business cabin was sold.


No problem, I was still excited to try the new Premium Economy product, first introduced in 2022 and rolled out to the entire long-haul fleet by 2024.

First impressions of the cabin were positive–it looked very chic, sleek and modern, and different from any other airlines' Premium Economy seats.

By comparison, the economy cabin looked standard and unremarkable.

As usual, I'd selected seats in the last row of the cabin for more privacy, and also because it allows reclining without guilt of encroaching on anyone's space on night flights.


And there was indeed enough space behind the last row to allow the seats to fully recline. Another nice feature of the Finnair's Premium Economy seats is that there are legrests in all rows which raise up higher than on most airlines, making the legrest actually useful for sleeping.

Pre-placed on each seat were a pillow, blanket, noise-cancelling headphones, and a small amenity kit. I thought it was quite creative that Finnair provided neck-pillows in Premium Economy, rather than standard pillows. They turned out to be very comfortable and soft.


The small amenity kit had very simple contents.

The provided noise-cancelling headphones were of decent quality.

With 38 inches of seat pitch, the legroom is technically standard for long-haul Premium Economy; however, the well-designed seats with a non-intrusive seat pocket make the legroom feel more spacious as there's more knee-clearance.


Well-placed bottle holders, also not taking up any leg space.

There are two headphone jacks and two 110v universal power outlets on the front of the central armrests.

Screens are nice and large with crisp images; however, they are glossy with high light reflection.


There is a well-placed USB port in a small compartment just below the screen that is ideal to hold and charge a phone. It's too bad that such new seats didn't feature USB-C, however.

There are also coat hooks integrated to the seat backs.

Headrests are adjustable and have integrated reading lights just behind.


As mentioned earlier, the seat-back pocket is well-designed. You can fit quite a bit in it, including a laptop, without the pocket protruding into your space.


The wide central armrest has a convenient drink tray. The recline and legrest buttons didn't have labels, which I found odd, so it was trial and elimination to figure out which was which. I get they were going for a minimalist aesthetic vibe, but it's not super practical.

Let's have a look at the in-flight entertainment. There's quite a bit of information about the flight itself, including the meal times and food & drink options, which we'll take a look at in more detail later.

The IFE interface was intuitive and fast. There was a decent amount of content, but not as much as most larger airlines.



The Flight
Despite the mess with re-checking transit passenger documents at the gate, we surprisingly pushed back from the gate on time.

The Premium Economy cabin went out 100% full, as did Business class. It seems there's a good amount of premium demand on this route, considering it wasn't a particularly busy travel time of the year.


The safety video played as we pushed back and taxied to the departure runway.

After the safety video wrapped up, I was excited to find out that Finnair A350s are equipped with live camera views! Including a tail view…

…and a belly view.

From a conversation I'd overheard in the Lounge, this BA A380 had been cancelled from the day before and was hanging out since…I didn't think to actually check, though.

Off we go!


Looks like I'm not the only one that enjoys tail camera views

A rather nice-looking wingtip


After takeoff, I explored the IFE a bit more. There is a large informational section that includes updated connecting flight gate and departure time information, tips on transiting between flights at Helsinki Airport, and information about the seats in the cabin.

As an in-flight amenities nerd, I certainly appreciated Finnair sharing stats about the seat pitch, recline, etc



As mentioned earlier there's also a ton of information on in-flight food & beverage services.

There's a detailed descriptions of both complimentary meal services



There's also quite an extensive drinks menu. All non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages are complimentary in Premium Economy, except for champagne, which can be purchased for 12 EUR.





It's not entirely surprising to see Finnair charging for champagne as the carrier has struggled financially since the onset of the Russo-Ukranian war, which cut Finnair off from using Russian airspace to their Asian routes. Connectivity between Europe and Asia was previously Finnair's main bread & butter due to the Helsinki hub's advantageous geographical location offering short flight times to Asia and easy transit. However, losing access to Russian airspace has lead to much longer routings and flight times, and therefore increased costs, and a much less attractive proposition for connections from Europe. As a result, Finnair have responded by changing their Business model to a hybrid full-service/low-cost carrier, which seems to be getting them through the hard times.
Alcoholic beverages and snacks outside of mealtimes are therefore available for an additional fee, though the prices seem relatively reasonable.

There's also information about the in-flight Wi-Fi

The Wi-Fi pricing is pretty similar to fellow European oneworld carriers British Airways and Iberia.

Even if you don't purchase a Wi-Fi package, there are several complimentary digital services available through the Wi-Fi portal, including magazines in multiple languages…



As well as audiobooks

A pop-up message on the IFE screen informed passengers that the meal service was about to begin.

For the apéritif, I went with a Northern Blush cocktail, which was quite nice. It was recommended by the flight attendant working our side of the cabin. She was very cheerful and took time to chat with us on several occasions. Top notch service!

Very Nordic indeed as it contains Lingonberry.

As with most airlines, the special meals came out first, which included my 5-year-old son's Child Meal.

Chicken breast is very common in child meals in my experience.

For my meal, I went with the salmon option.

Appetiser:
Pork tenderloin porchetta served with spicy peach compote,
roasted pistachios, and Peruvian pepper

Main:
Wasabi crusted salmon with mashed potatoes,
Carrot yuzu, snow pea pods, and orange sauce

I appreciated that Finnair had a rosé wine available, which is quite rare on any airline, in my experience, especially in Premium Economy.

After dinner, cabin crew proposed tea, coffee or after-dinner digestifs. Overall, the main meal was quite tasty.

Lights were lowered and mood lighting was turned on as the service wrapped up.

With over 9 hours of flight time, there was plenty of time to sleep after the meal service.
As mentioned earlier the legrests go up quite high–higher than any other Premium Economy seat I've tried before–which made for a comfortable sleeping position.

I watched a movie and slept on and off for most of the rest of the flight and was pleasantly surprised to see cabin crew in the aisles offering water several times during the night.

As morning approached, the mood lighting was turned brighter for the breakfast service.

This is where the LCC-hybrid side became most apparent. The breakfast looked to be the same as was served in Economy, and it was served in a cardboard box. It doesn't necessarily bother me, but it does look a bit cheap for Premium Economy, where transatlantic fares are often in excess of $2500 roundtrip.

I was pleasantly surprised by the hot meal inside. It was a pretty complete western breakfast with a cheese omelette, potatoes, and stewed tomatoes.

My son was still sleeping so I kept his breakfast for later. I suppose it's the convenient side of the meal coming in a box!

Not much longer to go



As the aircraft began its descent, a video was shown with safety instructions and information about international arrivals and transiting at Helsinki airport.


Still sleeping!

The seats are rather comfortable for sleeping compared to most Premium Economy seats. The recline is quite generous without being invasive to the row behind as the seat pan moves forward. And again, the legrests are actually useful as they go up quite high. Overall a very well designed seat.


The seatbelt sign came one just about 10 minutes before landing.



The cabin looked nice in the morning light.

Once again enjoyed the camera views on landing


Autumn colours on landing

We landed about a half hour before scheduled arrival time.



Taxi took about 10 minutes and we arrived at the gate 20 minutes ahead of schedule.


Last views of the cabin on disembarking


Thanks for the ride!

Nice impression of the airport. Clean lines and light-filled despite the grey weather, very Nordic.

We made a quick stop before immigration so my son could eat his breakfast. While it didn't look great–probably because I'd shaken it a little too much while walking–the CHML breakfast was quite nice, consisting of pancakes in sauce with fruit. Perfect for kids.

Nice model of the terminal in the International/Non-Schengen area.


And of course, there were year-round Christmas-themed shops.

With our European passports, immigration was very fast. There was no queue and plenty of agents.

Baggage were already on the belt by the time we got to the claim and we were out of the airport by the scheduled arrival time! Efficient airport!

It was an easy walk to the airport train station where we caught the train to Helsinki Central Station.

Welcome to Helsinki!

Thanks for sharing Kevin, and happy new year!
I would hope they prioritize airline passengers versus cash customers, but it likely comes down to who is paying more.
An advantage of OW, since UA’s Polaris restrictions are much higher and the drop off in amenities in UA Clubs makes them not even worth visiting. Polaris is branded as premium with its dining rooms, but can’t say that the Flagship’s buffet offering looks any worse and clearly has the square footage to meet demand. Nothing looked particularly premium about the CapitalOne Lounge, maybe not surprising since at the end of the day it is designed for profitability.
Flash backs to when UA tried these out in Y, albeit as a completely unfunctional product. Have to give credit to AY for actually making it work and everything Marimekko adds a touch of class.
Overall, the hard product looks very good and there are some good premium touches to the amenities/features/finishes. You didn’t mention this, but the fact that it is a single piece of fabric from seat bottom to leg rest also likely makes a big difference in comfort to reduce the number of gaps in the padding that causes discomfort when sleeping. One of the biggest struggles I have in Y is the light pollution from monitors in forward rows from between seats, which is why I guess (having never flown it^^) the design of CI’s cabins is the best on the market (not to mention they are 2-3-2, LH/LX are too unicorn to include at this point), but AY’s do look very solid overall.
These kind of hybrid models can be confusing and off-putting (as you said, some things look "cheap"), but for the length of flight, it is competitive W offering to its "full-service" competitors in the European market. The meal tray looks light mainly due to the small packaged desserts, but the presentation looks good on both starter and main and the use of real tableware elevates the experience. The pre-arrival meal while boxed, is still better than what any other carrier gives you in Y on TATL flights of this length since it is an actual hot meal so not much to fault if you can look away from the presentation.
Hey, thanks for your comments!
Me too! But judging by the half-hour wait as an airline pax...it seems the answer is no.
Despite my love-hate relationship with OW, the simple and generous lounge-access policies is something I love about OW. *A and ST lounge policies are too inconsistent and complex...not to mention the whole Polaris vs United Club difference you highlighted. Even if I drop down to Silver with BA (which will likely be the case in 2026), I'll still get Flagship lounge access in the US, I'll just no longer have First class lounge access, but they're few and far between anyway...I'll be fine slumming it in the Business lounges 🤣
You're right! Great observation. Yes, that does indeed make a big difference in comfort!
Indeed. And yes, it remains competitive as several carriers serve the standard Y meal for the second service in Premium Economy, namely Air France (unless that's changes recently).
Thanks for stopping by!
Looks like a great hard product for premium economy, although it seems the soft product could use some improvements... would it really be that difficult for them to not serve W breakfast in a box?
Thanks for your comments!
I agree, though I understand their reasoning as they're barely keeping their heads above water financially with Russian airspace being cut off. I am confident service standards will improve again post-conflict.
Yep the Russian airspace issues are devastating for them. Hopefully they improve it as their finances improve but if people are willing to pay for the current product they may not bother
nice flight review on the premium economy product of the a350 900 with meal service improvement hope to try the economy seat soon
Thanks! Yes a meal in a box it odd, but the contents were decent and it was still a full hot meal, so I didn't mind it so much. Thanks for your comments!
youre welcome feel free to catchup with my latest trip report you can stay tuned for more trip report as well.
Hi Kevin,
Nice report, informative as usual. Finnair's A350 looks like a fairly unique and innovative product. I've been meaning to check Helsinki off my list as well and hope to fly them at some point (though would be nice if they flew to IAD).
I might have the chance to check it out briefly on arrival in a few weeks, will let you know what I think.
This is a great touch, especially when you're trying to fall asleep when at a 45 degree angle.
Great that they provided the 187ml bottles, not so great that they serve it in a clear plastic cup.
Hey George, thanks for your comments!
Exactly. Really smart to have a neck pillow. More airlines should do this in Premium Economy
Haha yes, it goes with the weird meal-in-a-cardboard-box for the second meal. An interesting mix of premium and not-so-premium service items in AY W
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Kevin, been looking forward to reading this one, so thanks for sharing!
This is one aspect which AA does fantastically. DL nor UA do this in their lounges, but having a nice gold glass of champagne when you walk in the lounge sets the mood.
Ehh? This is one I haven’t heard of. That makes no sense, and not great from Finnair since my guess is this isn’t AA’s fault.
Out of curiosity, do you know how much the day of depature upgrades would have been? Or does it depend on how sold the J cabin is?
A big fan of this design, in fact a huge fan. The seats look quite nice, and the colorway even more chic.
Thanks for sharing, it seems that Finnair is a good way to cross the Atlantic in premium economy!
Hey there, thanks for your comments!
I'm not one to say nice things about AA, but you're right. AA does better here than the others. On this one little thing anyway haha
I'd seen this happen before, but like 15-20 years ago...I would have thought airline systems would all communicate better by now, but NOPE!
From what I understand it's not a fixed price and does depend on demand and capacity. There were none available on our flight, so I have no data point to offer on airport upgrades. However, for those who are able to grab upgrades online prior to the day of departure, I've read about anywhere from $400 on the low end (probably shorter flights like JFK or ORD to HEL) and $800ish on the higher end). But again, to be able to use the cash upgrade feature on the Finnair website, you have to have a reservation ticketed and marketed by Finnair (i.e. can't be a codeshare).
Thanks for stopping by!