Finland’s national airline, and one of my favourite European carriers, has announced a big investment in their onboard products which is making quite the stir in the frequent flyer community. Here’s the lowdown.

Refreshing the aircraft look

Passengers flying onboard Finnair’s refurbished aircraft, will see a big difference in the aesthetics. Gone are the clean whites that have been a staple of the Finnair A350 aircraft since 2015 and in is the signature Finnair blue alongside greys in differing hues. One really impressive aspect is the new hotel lobby style entrance that will greet all passengers as they step on-board which just looks gorgeous and close in terms of quality to what some Middle Eastern airlines have. The new look embraces modern Scandinavian design which, if as long-term readers will know, is one of my favourite styles.

New business class on-board all long-haul aircraft

Dubbed ‘AirLounge’, Finnair’s new seat in Business Class is said to be creating an experience that is less of an aircraft seat and more taking experience from lounge furniture - effectively an extension of the excellent lounge at Helsinki Airport. Designed as a ‘contoured shell’ it does not feature traditional recline function that is found on most competitors but instead is emphasising that this increases space in the seat and the addition of a variety of cushions will help improve the comfort. The seat can be put into bed mode which ensures that the section between the core shell and footrest is filled to create a bed that can be topped with a new mattress topper and Marimekko-designed duvet. I actually quite like the concept they’ve introduced since I quite like crossing my legs whilst sitting down and this should allow extra space to do so.

Additionally, around the seat an increased number of storage options have been incorporated such as a dedicated space for a laptop, mobile phone and essential items to reduce passengers needing to get out of their seat to get items from the overhead locker. Multiple connectivity methods have been added including USB ports, USB-C, ‘PC power’ (assuming a multi-country plug) and Qi wireless charging. This is in addition to the upgrade Inflight Entertainment System which has been refreshed (despite the previous being very good) and increasing the screen size to 18 inches.

Introducing Premium Economy

In slightly less exciting news, the airline has also introduced the new Premium Economy Class to their long haul fleet. Although this class has been a feature on airlines like Virgin Atlantic and British Airways for a couple of decades, it is becoming increasingly popular as a ‘middle class’ option. As business travel continues to lag in its recovery, emphasis on this travel class will be important as a method to increase revenue post-Covid. What can you expect from this new class?

Some of the new introductions from Business Class, including USB-C connectivty and Inflight Entertainment improvements, have been carried across. Finnair tout Premium Economy as having:

• ‘50% more space’ than Economy Class

• 8 inch recline - which does go into the space of the passenger behind you

• 38 inch pitch/legroom (TOTH: Flightradar blog)

• 13 inch screen

I’d say the new cabin looks pretty sweet and I love the colour scheme - but I wouldn’t say it looks like anything revolutionary. The whole Premium Economy proposition will come down to two elements - how good is the soft product i.e. food, blankets, amenity kits, pillows and cabin crew service, as well as how much the price increase is. I’ve generally had positive interactions with crew on Finnair in both Economy and Business so if the rest is right, I hope Finnair can be onto a winner.

I’ll reserve my full judgement of Finnair’s new product until I’ve tried it for myself, but I’m impressed by Finnair making the huge EUR 200m investment at this time as well as the innovative design for their new business class setting them apart from the herd. The airline have made clear their ambition to rollout the new cabin design on their 16 A350 and 8 A330 aircraft by their 100th anniversary in 2023 - the exact date of which is 1st November which seems pretty ambitious. I hope to fly the new Business Class and to grab a peek of the Premium Economy class on my Oslo to London via Helsinki flight in March - keep an eye out for my review!