Review: Finnair A321 Business Class

You poor poor man. Flying c on a intra eu a321.

I've had nothing but charming and delightful experiences flying Finnair. As a AA Executive Platinum, I wish they had more options from the USA so I could fly them more often.

My experience is just like yours and is very consistent. Finnair is my favorite European airline. I choose them whenever possible.

By the by, the personal greeting you received from the purser was because you’re OW emerald. I receive the same whenever I fly Finnair. Also the new Platinum lounge at Helsinki is great!

Yes, the purser comes by to welcome Finnair Plus Platinum Lumo and One World Executive Platinum. I specifically asked the purser on my last AY flight.

This is slightly nitpicking, but the free internet for AY elites (in economy) is for Golds and above. And Lumos get free internet for the whole flight. Intercontinental flights have slightly different rules: both Plats and Lumos get free internet for the whole flight, and Golds and business class paz get 1hr of free internet.

Hopefully you tried the blueberry juice at some point with your travels on Finnair!

Finnair use the A350 and the A330 between LHR-HEL, the A350 operates the morning rotation and the A330 one of the evening ones. The rest of the services are A319/320/321.

I've flown on both the A350 which is excellent and the A321 which is no worse than any other European airline. The seats are the same as the ones on SAS and they are slightly less a*se numbing than the LH/LX/OS ones. Finnair beat most except TK and A3 on food.

" I’m surprised by just how far they kept back the curtain on this flight"

A lot of the European airlines do that.
Sort of a message to tell you: look you paid for an economy class ticket, so you are all grouped like sardines, look how much space you would have got if you had paid for business...

"the standard, with the exception of a few airlines, including Aeroflot and Turkish."

Yes but the competition is not with Aeroflot & Turkish when you need to do a return brussels-london flight on only one day for a business meeting.
The airlines know that.

That's different of course when you arrive in Europe from outside a European country.

Catering has improved so much since Finnair opened their own subsidiary some two years ago!

I've been consistently impressed with the service on Finnair flights, no matter the route I've taken. I've not been able to catch their A350 yet, but am looking forward to it. Catering is always quite good and the FAs have always been sincere, professional, and kind. The one exception was on a recent flight from CDG to HEL, the starting leg of my return journey from Paris to Bangkok: boarding commenced but the crew wasn't quite ready yet; when I reached the boarding door (I was the only J passenger on this leg) I was screamed at by the purser. It was a very uncomfortable experience, to put it mildly. However, once airbourne, she was outstanding...especially when she noticed I had a bit of a sniffle and decided to mother me for the 2 hours to HEL.

"Browse (basic browsing and email access) costs 6.95GBP
Stream (audio and video streaming) costs 12.95GBP"

You mean EUR not GBP.

And how come you have pics from the front of the wing if you were seated behind the exit?

I’ve been consistently impressed with Finnair. Brilliant service and an added bonus is the ultima thule glassware which is stunning, and the marrimeko cushions and blankets. Brilliant airline that feels properly Finnish.

@Bob: “A lot of the European airlines do that. Sort of a message to tell you: look you paid for an economy class ticket, so you are all grouped like sardines, look how much space you would have got if you had paid for business…”

The last time I flew AY biz on an A321 (CPH-HEL), though, it was a more typical three rows of J. Perhaps this was because it was a route with more frequency and more biz demand than those with less frequency.

That having been said, though, if I were in Ben’s shoes, I’d have chosen the A350 flight - that flight is one of the best I’ve ever been on, period.

In the future you should choose a seat in a row before the first Exitrow. The A321 usually has more legroom there. At least for one of the Finnair A321 configurations that should be the case.

Did you head into London in the morning?

And I've had the experience of the curtain slotted after row 1, as my Wife and I were the only biz class passengers on the flight from HEL-AMS. Felt a little awkward with such a stunted cabin but we had the front loos all to ourselves.

Putting the curtain so far back is mostly about balancing weight. If the A321 is not very full, they will need more pax in the back, and as people tend to want to sit towards the front, they’ll force Y pax to the back in this way. Makes for a large and calm J cabin, too, with most J pax in the first rows. I once flew FCO-HEL in exit row 10 in J, with the next pax in row 5. Felt like private transport…

The pillows and blankets are available for Y pax, too, but there are usually just a handful loaded so if you want one in Y, grab it right away as you enter the plane.

The talk you received is the AY ”Plat Talk”. It’s a bit hit-and-miss, there are six-hour flights where I haven’t received it and one-hour flights where I have received it although the opposite is the norm. (Flights to Stockholm and Oulu are full of Plats, and there’s no way the purser would have time to chat with them all before the flight lands.)

Those wifi connectivity dead zones are disturbing, especially for Dubai flights. AY uses these planes on the Dubai route, and as you can see from the map, there is no wifi for the whole six-hour flight.

I believe AY must have one of the best meal services in Euro-J. Might not always look very appetizing, but the taste is usually quite good. I’m glad you liked it!

I've never flown with Finnair before, but have been interested in seeing what their service is like in Business Class. Love the glassware. Looking forward to your next report!

Just wanted to say thanks for yet another excellent trip report. You really are in a league of your own. No one even comes close. Please keep up the good work!

@ Lukas -- Awww, thank you, that's very sweet! 🙂

Btw, just flew in biz on a TK a321 ist-arn with 3-3 ”euro style” seating as the only passenger i C and the curtain was at row 12 as well. Felt a little strange but enjoyed the best service of my life with two dedicated FAs up front.

When you're looking at a one stop to Asia from Europe this isn't very competitive. Finnair always seen significantly more expensive that BA in this route, even in economy. Sometimes 3 or 4 times as expensive

@Matthew N

The glassware is from Tapio Wirkkala’s Ultima Thule line designed for iittala in the 1960s. It’s an iconic Finnish design and widely distributed globally.

Lucky, I think we watch the same shows while flying.... and judging by the picture, l would speculate that you are on Team Porsha 😉

Ben, I’ve been reading sooo many articles about the danger of drinking water on planes, even in hot beverages. I basically make it a point to drink only sparkling water. Recently on a flight from Hong Kong to Boston on Cathay Pacific I woke up so parched I took a glass of water the flight attendant offered. It was warm and incredibly bad tasting. Comments? I have an upcoming flight on Turkish Air to Amman via Istanbul ( in economy ) and plan to avoid the water. Thanks.

Darn, I would have ran into you at the Qantas lounge had I not been lazy that day. I was flying back to the US at the same time, but was soo late I had to skip the
Iounges.

I was already upset that I missed some good gin drinks...

Anyway, keep up the good work.

That's pathetic business class, no lay flat seats or separation between seats like most other airlines. I'm not paying thousands of dollars to sit for 11 hours in what amounts to economy seats