Excited to be going to Portugal for the first time, I was curious to see what Finnair’s Business class product was like within Europe.  Would it match up to the amazing experience we had flying from New York to Helsinki?  We were about to find out.

Airline and Flight #

Finnair AY 1739

Aircraft

Airbus A320-200

Airport and Terminal

Departure: Helsinki Vantaa Airport| Terminal 2

Arrival: Humberto Delgado Airport (Lisbon Airport)|Terminal 1

Scheduled Departure Date and Time

Monday 25th April 2022| 1820 / 6:20pm

This flight left on time rolling out at 1818 / 6:18pm

Scheduled Arrival Date and Time

Monday 25th April 2022| 2110 / 9:10pm

The plane touched down at 2052 / 8:52pm

Scheduled Flying Time

4 hours 50 minutes

Luggage Allowance

Carry-on:

Business class passengers are allowed two pieces of carry-on baggage with maximum dimensions (length x width x height) being 55cm x 40cm x 23cm (22in x 16in x 9in).  Passengers are also allowed one personal item such as a small handbag, a small laptop bag or a small backpack with maximum measurements (length x width x height) being 40cm x 30cm x 15cm (16in x 12in x 6in).  The combined total weight should not exceed 10kg (22lb).  Children who have a seat are allowed the same baggage allowances as adults and any items purchased from the airport including tax free products are counted in the carry-on baggage allowances.

Checked baggage:

Business class passengers at the time of flying are allowed free of charge up to two pieces of checked luggage weighing no more than 32kg each.  Children can have the same luggage allowances as adults and infants are limited to one piece weighing no more than 23kg.  In addition to this, baby car seats and strollers are also allowed to be taken on free of charge.

Depending on the departure and destination, flights to and from Japan may have a more generous allowance of three pieces of checked baggage up to 32kg per piece.

Fun Facts

• Registered as OH-LXA, this A320-200 had its first flight on 16th January 2001
• Founded in 1923, Finnair is part of the Oneworld airline alliance
• Finnair is Finland’s largest airline carrier
• Finnair has its hub in Vantaa at the Helsinki airport

Check-in and Security

When flying Finnair you can check in in advance online or at the airport using the self service kiosks or at the counter.  This can be done up to 36 hours prior to departure. Check-in at the airport opens at the latest 2 hours prior to departure. When flying from one European country to another check-in should be completed 45 minutes prior to departure with the gate closing 15 minutes prior to departure. Check-in at the airport opens at the latest 2 hours prior to departure and passengers have the option of checking in and dropping off bags the night before between the hours of 6pm and 9:30pm. 

Business class passengers can use the priority security lane which is much shorter. We were flying between Schengen zones, so going through security was very straight forward.  We didn’t need to remove shoes or liquids and passengers and their luggage are X-rayed.  They do random swabs on bags or items in them and did a swab on both our bags and we waited a short while for the results to come back negative.

Lounge

You can reach this newly opened (Feb 22) Finnair Schengen Business class lounge by heading to Gate 23 and  walking upstairs.  Open between the hours of 0530 and 2330 each day, the lounge welcomes passengers flying Business class on Finnair as well as frequent flyers of the OneWorld alliance flying Business class or at a high enough tier.  For this reason the lounge was extremely busy. There is seating  for 320 people with a separate work area, play area for the kids and an area to relax.  The best thing about this lounge is its large windows with seating that faces the apron giving  you a great view of the aircraft.  The lounge is also nicely decorated with its aesthetically pleasing Nordic design.   Where it fell short was It was way too busy and crowded, the narrow areas made me feel a bit claustrophobic, there was insufficient toilets for the number of visitors and unlike the rest of the lounge these were quite dated, and the food was limited and not that appetising .  There was also little in the way of COVID safety measures in place as despite signs saying mask wearing was mandatory, it wasn’t enforced and there was plenty of food uncovered.

Seating

Layout – The Finnair A320 is a single isle jet with 168 Economy seats, three down each side of the aisle.  The first four rows are reserved for Business class with the centre seat left vacant.  This allows seating for 16 Business class passengers with 144 seats available for Economy class passengers.  So you could argue this is not a true business class seat at all.  There is no privacy from the passenger seated in the same row as you and the window seat passenger will have to clamber over the aisle seat passenger or ask them to move in order to leave their seat.  Fortunately I was travelling with my partner so this wasn’t a problem.

Features –

The seats are made from a grey velour and from their condition suggests they had recently been refurbished.  The material felt nice and soft and was comfortable to sit against.  Seat width is 46cm (18in) and seat pitch is 79cm (31in) whilst recline is 8cm (3in) which is the same as the seats in Economy.  So no lie flat seats on this Business class flight.

There was a blanket on each of our seats wrapped in plastic and spring water in a recycled plastic bottle.  The armrests were adjustable on one side only.  

We were seated in seats 2A and 2C on the left hand side of the plane when facing forward.

Tray tables – These are old style, a bit on the small side and do not fold out.  There is a circular indent for your drink and no separate cup holder.

Storage – There is a coat hook for hanging coats or jackets although this can’t be used on takeoff or landing.  The seat in the centre can be used to store items after takeoff but will need to be shared with your fellow passenger.  The floor in front can hold a small bag tucked under the seat in front and the small net in front can hold small and lightweight items.  Overhead compartments are small and could only just fit my cabin bag which is a large carry-on hard case.  So with limited storage, it’s best not to take too much with you onto the plane if it needs stowing.

Amenity kits – There were no amenity kits on this A320 Finnair flight from Helsinki to Lisbon.  To see Finnair’s amenity kit on longer haul flights please see my inflight Business class review from New York to Helsinki.

Cabin Comfort

For a business class flight there is little in the way of creature comforts on this aircraft.  With little leg room, Economy seating, little in the way of storage and no power, inflight entertainment or reading material, it fell way short of the comfortable Business class flights I had experienced in the past.  Some things that did make the flight comfortable were:

• The velour seats felt nice
• The blanket provided some warmth when the temperature dropped
• A bottle of water to quench your thirst is always good to have
• Individual adjustable lights and air vents are handy
• The welcome drink is always appreciated

In-flight Entertainment

Electronic Devices

• Electronic devices can be used whilst boarding using the aerobridge but not if you’re using the tarmac to board.  These cannot be charged during takeoff and landing.
• Once doors on the plane have closed you need to then switch your device to flight mode.

Power

• No power was available for Business class passengers to use on this flight be it mains or USB

Reading Material

• In the document holder you will find only Finnair’s A320 safety card

WiFi

• WiFi was either not available on this flight or didn’t work, with our devices unable to connect to Nordic-Sky.Finnair.com

Entertainment System

There was no inflight entertainment on board this flight and only a screen up the front displaying a flight map.

Catering

Menus

• There were no menus on this flight

Food/Drinks

Finnair served a welcome drink followed by a choice of just one meal on this flight.  Drinks were offered throughout the journey.

• 1805 – Disinfecting hand wipes were distributed after boarding
• 1847 – Hot face washers were handed out
• 1857 – A welcome drink was served.  I had Finnair’s famous Blueberry juice in one of their fancy Littala glasses.
• 1928 – A hot meal was served which was an Indian vegetarian meal of rice, spinach curry, peas and paneer.  I thought this an odd choice for a flight between Helsinki and Lisbon.  This was accompanied by a salmon salad, a piece of bread with butter and a large Aunt Mable’s double belgian chocolate cookie.  Cold drinks and tea and coffee were also served.

Restrooms

This aircraft has a toilet up the front on the left hand side and another two at the rear in Economy.  When I checked it out I noticed the floor was wet and the sink appeared to be a bit blocked.  There was nothing to suggest this would be any different from the bathrooms at the rear of the plane in Economy.  As with many aeroplane bathrooms, it was also very cramped.

Service

The staff on board this flight were friendly, just as I’ve always found Finnish people to be.  I liked being given an antibacterial wipe and also a face washer prior to the meal being served.  Although the bathroom wasn’t spotless when I went I did see cabin crew pop in to clean it on more than one occasion. 

Pros

• The velour material the seats were made from was comfortable
• The seats appeared to be new and in good condition
• The chocolate cookie was tasty
• The staff were friendly

Cons

• No proper business class seats for this business class fare
• The food was below par for a business class meal and there was no choice other than the Indian vegetarian meal on offer.
• No other snacks were served throughout the flight
• No personal entertainment systems
• No working WiFi
• Small luggage compartments for storing luggage

Conclusion

As this is my first time flying within Europe, it’s hard to know how this Business class experience would compare with another airline doing the same or similar route.   But compared with any other Business class flight I’ve done, including a 25 minute hop on Qantas between Sydney and Canberra, this one fell way short.  I therefore would not recommend paying to go Business class with Finnair on a flight within Europe as it was not a true Business class experience.  Save your money!  Luckily for us, our discounted around the world ticket included some long haul flights so I didn’t feel too ripped off.