Although it was only a short journey from Amsterdam to Helsinki, I quite enjoyed the Finnair A350-900 in business class…the onboard experience was lovely. The delay that caused me to misconnect in Helsinki? Not so lovely.
Finnair A350-900 Business Class Review (AMS-HEL)
This was my first time flying the Finnair A350 since the premium cabin was retrofitted with new seats….that don’t actually recline. I used AA miles to book my ticket as part of a larger itinerary from Hong Kong – Amsterdam – Helsinki for 75K miles and less than $100 in taxes/fees.
Check-In + Lounge
I was checked in for this segment in Hong Kong so there was no need to see an agent in Amsterdam. Finnair officially uses the Aspire Lounge since it is the only oneworld carrier departing in the Schengen Zone, but I also used the oneworld lounge.
Flight Delay
My first sign that there was trouble ahead was when I got to the gate an hour before departure (20 minutes before boarding was to begin) and noticed no gate agents present. I checked where my inbound aircraft was and saw it had just left Helsinki.
Ugh..and the gate areas in Amsterdam Schiphol are positively depressing.
Finally, at 11:00 am the aircraft landed and pulled up to the gate.
I should note that gate agents failed to make an announcement about the delay and the departure board did not update until about 20 minutes before scheduled departure to indicate a delay.
We finally boarded at 11:30 am.
Finnair 1302
Amsterdam (AMS) – Helsinki (HEL)
Thursday, February 6
Depart: 11:20 AM
Arrive: 2:45 PM
Duration: 2 hr, 25 min
Distance: 948 miles
Aircraft: Airbus A350-900
Seat: 4L (Business Class)
Onboard, I turned left into the business class cabin.
Seats
Finnair has two versions of this aircraft: one with 30 seats in business class and another with 43 seats. This configuration had 30 seats. Finnair’s “Airlounge” seats are based on a Collins Aerospace platform, configured 1-2-1. They do not recline, but are like a small couch that enable you to sleep in the lie-flat mode without reclining, as you would on a couch or chaise lounge (the partition between the footwell and seat flips up to create the lie-flat bed).
Each seat has a large side table with wireless charging, a reading light, and a cabinet.
The cabinet includes an IFE handheld control unit plus a USB-C and USB-A charging port (there’s a universal A/C port near your feet).
The A350 has noticeably wider seats than the Finnair A330 and while I do not find these seats particularly comfortable when not lying down, I also do not find them bad…they certainly felt wide and with two pillows behind my back, I could comfortably work or eat.
The cabin was lightly filled (it is unclear to me why Finnair runs the A350 between HEL and AMS every day) and I settled into my seat, 4H, for the two-hour flight to Helsinki, though ended up moving across the aisle to 4L for a window seat.
No air vents on the A350 in business class…there are also no overhead bins in the center section, giving the cabin a more spacious feel.
Food + Drink
Lunch was served after takeoff, beginning with a hot towel.
I had pre-ordered a mushroom risotto dish and it was served with a side of beet hummus and dark bread. This was a very delicious dish with a nice appetizer and bread. Any sort of pasta is a rare treat for me, so this was even more so a special treat.
Another treat only on Finnair: blueberry juice in a stylish Ultima Thule glass.
Dessert was also a treat: it was korvapuusti (I use the Swedish word kardemummabulle, but think of a cinnamon roll with cardamom). I had enough coffee on the ground, so I had herbal tea with it.
Lavatory
Business class has two lavatories in the front of the aircraft. These lavatories have windows and soap from SEES (a Finnish company) with a pleasant aroma of cedar and orange.
IFE + Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi was not functional on this flight, though ordinarily Wi-Fi packages would be available, including 1-hour and full-flight packages. Finnair has 18-inch screens in business class. The full IFE library was available (including games, TV shows, movies, and music) but sadly only poor-quality disposable headphones were offered.
My favorite features of the IFE system, as on most A350s, was the tailcam:
Service
The flight attendants on board were very seasoned…and very lovely. Mature women who loved their job and were very hospitable and friendly. One saw I was taking pictures and asked for my feedback on the new seat, which I provided (see below).
Old Versus New
I flew on a Finnair A350-900 in business class several years ago from Helsinki to Beijing and thought the reverse herringbone seats were excellent…even today those seats are highly competitive. But Finnair went in a different direction and retrofitted its entire A330 and A350 fleet with a unique seat that’s more like a couch. And of course, couches do not recline…neither does the new seat. It’s quite spacious though, and I give Finnair credit for creating a unique product that is comfortable in the lie-flat position. That said, I prefer the old seat…
Delay
Although we boarded at 11:30 am and the flight was lightly filled, further air traffic control congestion delayed our departure until 12:30 pm. By the time we took off, my connection in Helsinki had been whittled down to eight minutes…
and soon four minutes…
We landed at 15:38 and taxied to the gate by 15:45…right next to my flight to LAX! But because we were on a Schengen flight, we had to wait for busses and be bussed to the other side of the airport.
I then had to run back (through passport control) to the LA gate, where the aircraft had just pulled back from the gate for departure. I was five minutes too late…
> Read More: Ugh…I Misconnected In Helsinki
> Read More: My Dilemma In Helsinki
CONCLUSION
I was expecting to offer a more detailed Finnair A350 business class review on 12-hour Helsinki – Los Angeles flight, but thankfully, at least I got to review it from Amsterdam to Helsinki. I do prefer a more traditional reverse herringbone seat, but the cabin is attractive and comfortable, and I enjoyed great food and service onboard.
I’ll have to try the A350-900 from HEL-LAX on another occasion….
Depart: 11:20 AM
Arrive: 2:45 PM
Duration: 2 hr, 25 min
Distance: 5,773 miles
Fast aircraft !!!
Fixed.
For me, the big question (not directly answered here) is: How is that”seat” for sleeping? I’m looking at a long Finnair flight next year in that seat, and I’m gonna want to spend most of it sleeping. All the other stuff is relatively unimportant (to me), it’s all about sleep quality.
Can you elaborate on that?
A330 review coming tomorrow. It’s not bad for sleeping…I enjoyed a nice nap. A330 has air vents while A350 does not.
Take any other airline
I will never fly with Finnair again
I have never had such an uncomfortable flight and the seat/bed arrangement is awful.
They operate the 350 to AMS for the same reason they send it to LHR – cargo. There’s no point leaving them sit on the ground at Helsinki all day between long hauls, when they could be making money carrying expensive air freight. NZ do the same with their big jets to Australia and Oceania.
I did do a couple of long hauls in those seats and they were absolutely fine for sleeping, but I do agree that they’re not the best for lounging in. Which is quite unfortunate when you consider that the avoidance of Russian airspace means that ICN-HEL takes something like 13.5 hours nowadays. Few people are interested in sleeping on a plane for 12 hours.
Random response to this great review.
“Ugh..and the gate areas in Amsterdam Schiphol are positively depressing.”
no joke. I don’t understand why some love AMS so much. It’s somehow the ugly twin of CLT but designed by Russians in the 1950s as a Siberian gulag.
That said, if you love Gouda cheese, it’s the one airport in the world for you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an entire airport or country stake its entire identity on a cheese like that. Even the Swiss don’t go nuts for Swiss Cheese like that…
Risotto is not pasta.
Close enough for this gringo.