I recently flew from Helsinki to London on a Finnair A330-300 (OH-LTP) and had the chance to experience Finnair’s brand new business class product, a couch-like seat which does not recline. Interestingly, my concern over comfort while in the sleeping position was wholly misplaced while I found the seat not as comfortable as I had assumed it would be in the upright position.
Finnair New Business Class Seat Review – My First Impressions
Finnair has chosen the Collins’ AirLounge seat to refresh its longhaul fleet. The retrofit process has already begun and by the end of 2023 Finnair plans to offer a standard business class product across its Airbus A330 and A350 fleet. I’ve offered more details about the retrofit here.
> Read More: New Finnair Business Class Already Flying (Routes)
When I saw that Finnair was consistently operating the A330 with new business class on its morning London flight, I booked it. By the way, Helsinki Airport is under construction right now and security was a mess, but the new terminal is gorgeous and this will be a world-class airport when complete (it was already one of my favorites because of the Platinum Wing lounge).
We departed from Gate 52, which includes a very long walk from the gate to the aircraft. That gave me a chance to scamper ahead and take a number of pictures on the aircraft while other passengers walked instead of ran onboard.
As I stepped into the cabin, my first impression was that seat was as beautiful as the pictures. I loved the dark blue fabric over the chairs and the new AirLounge seat appeared wide and comfortable. The wood finishes in the cabin, including the main galley, were also very attractive.
Settling into the seat itself, I was impressed at the personal storage space, which included a large compartment on the side, shoulder-level compartment for valuables, and even space for items under the portion of the seat that flipped up to from the bed.
One concern about the side compartment was that I had a lot of trouble closing it when the headphones were plugged in and the IFE hand-held unit removed (the cords disabled the door from latching shut). A light inside cannot be turned off, which shines into your face.
So how about that bed? I think many of were concerned that it would simply would not be large enough, especially because the cutout for your feet is angled. Keep in mind that unlike the Singapore Airlines business class seat, which flips down to create a bed, this seat truly does not recline at all. Instead, two leg rests flip up to create the fully lie-flat bed. You then slide forward to sleep, with the back of the seat never reclining.
I was concerned a reinforcement bar might also impede knee or ankle space as well, but it did not.
The seat is actually immensely large. I’m 6′ 1″ and had no trouble fully stretching out on my back or on my side. Even while stretching my toes there was plenty of room left over. I think this seat will receive high marks from taller people.
Here’s a video I took:
I expected the seat to be very comfortable while sitting and here is where it surprisingly fell a bit short. You simply lean back like you are sitting in a couch, but really need both pillows in order to be comfortable. Even then, I felt (like sitting on a couch for an extended period) that my neck and upper back were not properly supported.
By the end of the flight, I sat with my legs crossed (almost yoga style) in the seat. Now that’s pretty cool that the seat is large enough to make that possible. I’m not certain, though, that the seat is more comfortable overall than the current reverse herringbone seat on most of Finnair’s A350-900 fleet.
Other features of the seat I quite liked included the very sturdy tray table (it flips out of the side) and the cell phone charging pad which made it so easy to charge my phone during the flight.
Overall, this seat is a winner.
CONCLUSION
I was happy for the chance to try Finnair’s swanky new business class seat onboard the A330-300. This is a huge upgrade for the A330, though the reverse herringbone seats on the A350 are still one of my favorites in the industry. In the sleeping position, I found this seat has immense amounts of legroom. My only concern is that it was not as comfortable as seats that partially recline while in the upright position. I cannot wait to fly this product again on a longhaul flight. I’ll have more details on this flight, including onboard dining, IFE, service, and amenities in my full review.
Great concept for the cell phone charging pad. They must be the only carrier in the world that has this?
I also still prefer the reverse herringbone seat over any other. I tried this on LHR-HEL last week and was unimpressed. It might be OK as a bed but as a seat, it’s a disaster in that there is no recline. Given that Finnair now operate the majority of their returns from east and south east Asia as daylight services people will be awake for much of the time, I tend not to sleep on those services at all. The idea of 12ish hours in this seat was enough to make me decide to spend my money elsewhere in future. I do commute LHR-HEL and back monthly so I’ve no doubt I will be using it – but then I might just start to opt for services operated by A320 series aircraft especially if they start differentiating the price for the wide bodies as they have before.
Matthew, I love your iconic style when taking these kind of trips (blazer and a striped crew neck sweater). If I can ask- who are you wearing?
Very kind of you. I don’t like spending lot of money on clothes…the sweater is from H&M and the jacket from Uniqlo. Pants from Theory.
Well, Theory isn’t cheap – or did you get it in Camarillo? Lol. It is a very nice travel style though.
Are you concerned currently about visiting HEL on a stopover on the way to MAD from DFW? I know much can change right now up until my FinnAir flight May 12, but in your opinion should I book a backup to MAD in case HEL needs to be skipped altogether due to the Russia situation. Any feedback from the crews or anyone you met in HEL about the situation?
I had a lovely stopover in Helsinki – we’ll have to see how things play out, but right now I had no issues over my safety. A lot of pro-Ukraine blue/yellow lights and flags all over the city. I cannot imagine Finnair airspace being impacted for European travel.
Wow you are out of touch with reality
All that storage place! A perfect place for you to stash your passports for safe keeping!
LOL.
By the way, I appreciate your updates on Ukraine and am praying for your family there.
Thank you for the prayers and thoughts. All relatives in Lviv and Odessa are in communication. Is there a flexibility to the URL rule? This is a rather stunning photo. It’s on Derybasivska St in Odessa. To the left, my daughter and I ate in that McDonalds back in October.
https://meduza.io/live/2022/03/13/voyna?fbclid=IwAR0W89uEdVQwkCL7pqKtQx7wHg9mkzSk54SBLR4OMsL5IbtNzErQpn-TDkY
Regarding, I think, the lesson you’ll take to your old age about keeping your passports in your main bag (I personally worried that if I had to evacuate, I wanted it on my person), I was thinking I should patent an idea I just had to validate that all the storage spaces in a seating area are empty as a passenger disembarks. But then again, this is much like Edison’s invention of a quick vote tabulator for congress (which they didn’t want since the point of voting on a bill was meant to be slow to allow horse trading), the airlines probably may LIKE people leaving behind all kinds of fun valuables. 🙂
Great review, and that seat really does seem something of a double-edged sword, in some ways, but on the whole it looks like a really good product. One thing that has just occurred to me is this, given your lack of a mask: has Finland/Finnair lifted its mask mandate yet? I keep a fairly neutral stance on masks – if they’re mandatory I’m happy to oblige, of course, if they are optional, then I likely won’t, unless someone asks me to (say if they are vulnerable). I know the flight was to Heathrow, and masks are optional in the UK as of March 2022 – but I think the only airline that has dropped the mask requirement entirely is Jet2, a British leisure airline (you’ve mentioned them before, regarding their absolutely justified zero-tolerance approach to misbehaviour on board – but that was years ago, well before the pandemic hit)…
Hi Derek, I removed my mask briefly for the photos, but had it on throughout the flight. British Airways just announced the end of masks onboard (many routes) and I look forward to leaving the mask behind, but did have to wear it on this flight.
I’ve got some Finnair upgrade vouchers. Hope to be able to use them on this.
And nice to see you in person at FTU!
Nice to see you as well!
The giant thing that makes me pause for thought is that when you’re in the sleep position, your face is literally an inch & a half (maybe thickness of the pad) from where 500 people before you have farted. It’s kind of as if your footrest was raised to be your tray table for every meal, but “that’s OK because you’ve got a tablecloth”.
True Gorpalm. This was my first thought as well. I would not want to lay my head where everyone’s butt has been!
It’s not something I considered earlier, but you do have pillows, right?
Have to imagine for Finnair the seat in-op rate with these has to be minimal which must be a great thing for them. With almost no moving parts on the seat they simply wont break as often.
A cell phone charging pad? Not crazy about that…possible (localized) magnetic field emanation. Would need to measure.
MF on some planes / seats is high enough already. Higher the MF, more tired you get. No bueno for health.
You look different then the B&W image tagline! hahahaha.
Feet space looks pretty tight. Kind of a claustrophobic feeling I sense. I’ve flown Finnair Business throne seats a couple
of times some years ago and that’s something I kind of recall.
Well..nice review and photos. I’ll look forward to trying it someday perhaps.
Appears they chose these crappy seats to save on the weight of the units up power them to recline etc. We have loved Finnair but we liked to recline to read or watch movies going West and face where people’s butts have been is a no
I think the new cabin looks like trash. That might be exaggerating it a lot but for the price we pay for the cabin, it ought to be better than that. This looks reminiscent of the old ANA cabin in business class. The light wood veneer paneling in the boarding area is 15 years outdated. It is not even commensurate with the Finnish wood products as the Finnish wood products are darker. The blue seats do nothing for me. The beige color of the seat backs is boring. SAS is also disappointing. What’s up with these two airlines.
Not true! Birch is a traditional and one of the most common trees in Finland. Greetings from Finland, not from Alaska!
Looks like a decent seat but if going long haul, might not be that comfortable for a daytime flight. Would be great for an overnight flight, though.
Is there a privacy screen at all, for when you are lying down?
No, but these are extremely private seats…I could not actually see anyone else from my vantage point.
I have to add that the A350 XtraWideBody has a much wider cabin and Finnair will keep the same 4 seats per row which means the seats are somewhat wider than in the A330 you tested.
Related sleeping on the “farts of previous passengers” I think that is the reason why Finnair will be providing mattress which then can be cleaned after every flight and isolates the sleeping passenger from the “farts”.
It’s a shame they didn’t provide the mattress (did you ask?) on the short LHR flight for demonstration purposes.
I did ask. Sadly, not loaded.
It is great that you have a lot of space but is it comfortable beside sleeping fully flatt on it? You probably need a least two big pillows and a lumbar pillow to make your self comfortable, like TK used to provide in Business Class years ago. Have to try it personally, to get my own verdict.
You definitely need the pillows.
One comment about the handset and headphone cables stopping the upper stowage door from closing. There is a small gap designed into the bottom of the door frame (to the right of the door button) to allow cables to pass underneath the door even while it’s closed. I know because I was one of the engineers who designed the seat 🙂 It’s great to start hearing feedback about the seat!
@Vin: Thanks for your comment. Nice job on the seat – overall, I loved it and think it is gorgeous.