Polar Route: Finnair A350 Business Class Seoul To Helsinki

Welcome back to yet another Finnair Business Class review featuring their AirLounge seat on the flagship A350. I wanted to put the product to the test on a much longer flight and on a standard business class seat as opposed to a bulkhead, to ascertain the true reflection of it’s comforts for what the majority of passengers will experience.

Adding to the excitement, this flight took a unique path over the North Pole – a first for me in over thousands of hours of flights. In right conditions, this in itself  would be a real highlight over this almost 14 hour odyssey.

Flight Details

• Route: Seoul Incheon to Helsinki
• Flight Number: AY42
• Date: April 2024
• Departure Time: 23:00
• Flight Duration: Blocked for 13 hours, 45 minutes
• Aircraft: Airbus A350-900 ( AirLounge Seats)
• Seat: 5L

Check-In

Seoul Incheon airport is a rather pleasant and efficient airport. That said, it is getting busy, and many airlines are unable to open their check-in desks until 3 or sometimes even 2 hours to departure.

This was one of my rare trips where did have a checked bag, and since there was no way to just drop the bags in, I had to wait around 20 minutes for check-in desks to open.

There were already several passengers waiting ahead of me, but thankfully the Priority lanes moved reasonably fast.

Lounge & Security

Finnair doesn’t operate its own lounge in Incheon, and like many Oneworld carriers, use the Oneworld Lounge.

Though can get slightly crowded, the lounge is well-equipped, offering a chance for a nice dinner before the flight.

Also of note, there is no Fast Track for security here, so passengers join the main queues, which are organized by boarding gate zones. Although it isn’t as fast as Fast Track options elsewhere, it was adequately efficient.

Boarding A350 Finnair Business Class To Helsinki

After a bit of a wait for the showers in the lounge, I found myself rushing out around 10:30 pm, alerted by staff that boarding would soon close.

As is often the case, the gate was quite some distance from the lounge…

Inside, the cabin looked fresh and welcoming, as you might expect for a new product!

Here, you will immediately notice a difference between Finnair retrofitted A330s with AirLounge and newer A350s which have galley entrance much more in tune with the whole design scheme.

Inside however, the look is almost the same, besides the larger A350 windows..

In setting the mood for the long overnight flight, the cabin was kept almost dimmed throughout.

I was impressed with the efficiency in which the crew welcomed me and managed to serve not one, but two welcome drinks

and we still pushed back from the gate a few minutes early!

Finnair A350 Business Seoul To Helsinki Service

As standard for a while now, Finnair, like United provides a great highlight of what flight services you can expect during your flight, so you can prepare your rest accordingly..

Having eaten a light dinner in the lounge around 9 pm, I was not particularly hungry at first.

To my surprise, dinner service began just 30 minutes after take-off. There was not even a pre-drink service !

The meal was presented on a single tray, an express-style service that included an impressive selection of appetizers, main courses to choose from..

Here’s what was on my tray:

Appetizers:

• Beef bulgogi and cucumber roll with celery, apple salad, and cherry tomatoes
• Tuna tataki with pickled carrots, turnip, and grapefruit

Main Course:

• Teriyaki chicken with plum, steamed rice, mushrooms, and bok choy

The flight menu with Finnair is now available as part of the IFE, though the paper menu was already placed in each seat as well in this instance. For reference, this was the onboard Menu:

As in my other recent Finnair Business Class flights, the meal was excellent with fresh delicious ingredients. Despite not really being hungry I relished the Teriyaki chicken and managed to clear up my entire plate ! If that is a not a good sign, what else could be?

The crew checked in on me during the meal, and the plates were cleared promptly afterward.

Opting for a leisurely pace, I enjoyed a cheese plate and a light dessert afterward, which rounded off the experience nicely.

The cheese course – was near identical to my last two Finnair Business flights..

And finishing up the meal with a nice light dessert..

The cabin atmosphere considerably quietened down after this as not everyone opted to have a dessert or cheese.

Finnair Business Class Amenities

Finnair provides a well-thought-out amenities kit and a full bedding set, including slippers, which is a nice touch for long flights.

However, pajamas aren’t provided, so I brought my own comfortable sleepwear, which helped a lot.

The amenity kit, whilst largely the same as last few years, has some updated product to include eye cream and lotions from local Finnish brand SEES

Midnight Snacks and an Exciting Route Map

Around 1.5 hours after dinner, the crew brought out snacks for those still awake. These snacks were also available in the galley throughout the flight.

Meanwhile, the unique route over the North Pole kept me entertained – a refreshing change in perspective from typical flight paths…

It is intriguing to see a world map where you cannot even see most of Europe or USA. An entirely refreshing perspective to otherwise rather strangely Eurocentric world maps most people

Sleep time on Finnair AirLounge Business

4 and half hours, 1 movie and a couple of episodes of stand up comedy into the flight, I was suitably tired enough for sleep.

This is where things started to unravel, compared to my previous glowing views of this new product.

Whilst the bed surface was still very snug and comfortable, the perennial issue of a restrictive foot chubby resurfaced. Even the seat belt itself become somewhat problematic. I found myself in awkward angles and woke up several times.

Now to be sure, this is not as bad as the infamous Singapore Business Class footwell, which is made worse by a harder bed surface. The slight awkwardness of it did remind me of it.

In all, I managed about 7 and half hours of interrupted sleep, before my body clock gave up on sleep.

Finnair Business Class Breakfast

As our long flight drew closer to Europe, the cabin lights gradually came back and the crew began the breakfast service.

It was still pitch black outside, but given the 7 hour time difference between Seoul and Helsinki, most passengers were wide awake.

So it was rather surprising to see Finnair had decided to make the breakfast service far too condensed, with everything served in one tray..

As for the contents of the breakfast, lets just say it was editable. Nothing more or less.

Overall Thoughts

Just before landing, the crew thanked each passenger individually and handed out a small certificate to commemorate the unique route over the North Pole –

a nice touch, too bad I’d missed the exact moment we crossed it.

Long-haul flights like these, with interesting or scenic routes, make for a memorable experience, so it was somewhat ironic that I’d long anticipated this flight specifically due to this, and yet I missed it. I did ask the crew, and there was no magical northern light shows on display either, which was somewhat comforting.

The AirLounge product holds up well over long distances, though unbeknown from my previous flights, where I may have been guilty of a more rose tinted view, the footwell design is still an issue and may feel a bit restrictive for some.

Finnair’s staff and service was levels are now amongst the best in Europe, I do feel the breakfast service should have been a more elaborated service given the length of the flight.

However, considering Finnair’s competitive pricing, it’s a product I’d choose again.