Hello from Helsinki! I’ve just gotten off a 14h 15m flight in Finnair’s A350 premium economy from Shanghai to Helsinki. While I’ve flown Finnair from Rome to London via Helsinki before (including in their no-recline business class product onboard their A350), this was my first time flying longhaul with Finnair, and was also my first time flying their premium economy product.
I knew coming in that Finnair was in a tough financial situation, so was expecting an experience with cut corners. While I did notice a couple of cuts on my flight, I was quite impressed that Finnair seemed to be able to deliver a decent premium economy product – I felt like the basics were just as good as you’d get in premium economy onboard other European carriers. Their seat is comfortable and has good recline, entertainment is good, WiFi is reasonably priced, and the catering was better than I was expecting.
Finnair tends to lead the industry when it comes to low pricing, so I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them as an option between Europe and Asia. I also really like Finnair’s brand, and think it’s awesome that there’s fleet consistency in all classes throughout their entire longhaul fleet.
Here are my first impressions onboard Finnair’s A350 premium economy, and I’ll write a full review in the days to come.
Finnair’s A350 Premium Economy Seat
Finnair’s A350 premium economy cabin is intimate, with only three rows of eight seats (so 24 premium economy seats). I’m a fan of the cabin finishes in the premium economy cabin, perhaps even more so than I do in business class, which feels more monotonously blue.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Cabin
These seats are HAECO Vector Premium seats, designed by Hong Kong firm HAECO. The seats have a very generous amount of recline – I definitely noticed the difference in recline compared to my China Eastern flight a couple of days back.
The adjustable headrests are also large and comfortable, and there’s a fold-up legrest – though no footrest. I didn’t find this to be an issue personally, as my feet just snugly fit on some bars holding up the seat in front.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Seat Recline
In terms of at-seat storage, I felt that there were a couple of missed opportunities – for example, there wasn’t any storage below either of the armrests, despite the fact that there definitely was space for one. However, the seat has a massive storage pocket under the TV screen (great for glasses or a phone), and one of the largest and sturdiest seat pockets I’ve ever seen, more than enough for a laptop as well as other similarly sized items.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Seat Storage
There’s a USB-A charging port in the storage nook, and each seat features a 110V power port. There’s also a water bottle holder for each seat.
Finnair debuted these seats before Russian airspace was closed, and it’s clear that they had big ambitions. The design of this seat is thoughtful and customised.
The only complaint that I have about the seat is the 38″ seat pitch. This is a normal amount of legroom for most airlines, though Finnair’s seatbacks are quite thick. So realistically, the usable legroom felt a couple of inches fewer than you’d find on a majority of airlines in premium economy. This wasn’t a deal breaker however, and even when the people in front reclined, I still felt like I had sufficient space (as long as I wasn’t leaving my seat, which is a struggle regardless of which premium economy seat you’re sitting in).
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Amenities
Amenities is an area where Finnair cost-cut quite aggressively (they’re the only full-service longhaul airline I know that doesn’t give pillows to long-haul economy passengers – yep, no pillow provided on a 14-hour flight). I was surprised that premium economy amenities didn’t seem to be cut back at all, though that’s not to say it wasn’t quirky.
I was particularly impressed by the headphones, which were Phitek headphones (among the better headphones you’ll find in premium economy). The blanket itself was also soft and comfortable.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Headphones and Blanket
The amenity kit did seem to be cost-cut slightly – despite the fact that it was Marimekko branded, the pouch felt like it was made out of cardboard. That’s understandable though, and the dental kit, eyeshades and earplugs were appreciated.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Amenity Kit
What I don’t get is this neck pillow. Finnair doesn’t offer a proper pillow for any of their premium economy passengers, though instead offers this neck pillow. Surely this is more expensive to supply, while being less comfortable (unless they scored a great deal on it?). The neck pillows had a side release buckle to fasten it around your neck, and if you unbuckled it, it’d extend into a long sausage shape which also wasn’t great for sleeping. I appreciate that many bring neck pillows on planes, though had the impression it was because they were more compact, as opposed to being more comfortable.
Not only this, but the neck pillows were collected around 45-50 minutes for landing, for whatever reason (maybe so they definitely weren’t taken off the aircraft?).
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Neck Pillow
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Food and Drinks
While Finnair doesn’t have printed menus in premium economy, I do appreciate that they upload the menu on the IFE screen. There’s only one choice to make throughout the entire flight – there are two options to choose from during the first main meal.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Menu
While the meal didn’t feel particularly premium, I will say that it was delicious, and definitely better than some other premium economy meals I’ve had. The side salad was interesting and featured smoked chicken, tofu and mushrooms, and the main featured an incredibly juicy pork shoulder with pasta. The packaged date and almond cake and bread roll are a bit lazy, though still I was very happy with this meal.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Meal
In terms of midflight snacks, Finnair lets you order items to your seat. Drinks are free, though the catch is that snacks aren’t. I believe there’s also a small galley setup in economy (with snacks that would be free), though I didn’t get to check it out.
I’ll share the full menus during the full review, though it’s interesting that Finnair can’t let go of a snack bar for free, though they can offer two (admittedly canned) cocktails in premium economy class.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Midflight Snacks and Drinks
This didn’t bother me, as I wasn’t hungry at all but was up for a drink. The Northern Blush cocktail is particularly delightful, featuring lingonberry and orange peel.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Cocktail
Breakfast was a little less delightful, albeit delicious. There were some slightly sloppily presented scrambled eggs, potatoes, sausage, and a single piece of broccoli – this was steeped in butter. We were also served some fruit, and the entire meal was served in disposable cardboard containers (along with wooden disposable cutlery).
This wasn’t my favourite presentation, and there also wasn’t a choice of meals. After taking the below photo we were offered more drinks – I asked for coffee and blueberry juice.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Breakfast
Realistically, if you ignored the buy-on-board selection, I’d still call Finnair’s premium economy catering just as good as Swiss and Lufthansa, with the exception of the way breakfast was presented.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Entertainment and WiFi
Perhaps I just had very low standards after getting off my China Eastern flight, though I found Finnair’s entertainment system UI to be very easily usable, and the selection to be very good. There were countless movies and entire seasons of TV shows.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Entertainment System
I had pre-purchased WiFi for €24.95 (£21.93/HK$224) – I later learned that Finnair Plus members get discounted WiFi for €19.95 (£17.54/HK$179). Unfortunately, this didn’t work very well on my flight. I was quite understanding when the WiFi was spotty over China, though the coverage actually got even worse as we flew into Europe, which is less forgivable.
I will also point out that Finnair really likes their videos. Not only was there a safety video, but there was a separate video commencing inflight service, as well as ending inflight service, followed by an Uber ad. When the seatbelt sign was turned off before landing, there was yet another video played. I was surprised that there wasn’t another video played when the doors were opened at Helsinki Airport.
One of Finnair’s 34,630 videos that they play onboard their flights
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Service
The crew serving my flight were a combination of Helsinki and Shanghai based, and everyone was friendly. Between meals, cabin crew would come over regularly to offer water, and any drinks ordered off the inflight entertainment system were served with a smile. That being said, Finnair’s premium economy flight attendants also serve the economy cabin, so there was limited service personalisation (which is common on most airlines).
As feedback, I would’ve preferred if the cabin lights weren’t turned up 2h 20m before landing, and if the landing meal could’ve been served a little closer to landing – trays were collected a full 1h 40m before we landed. Some airlines serve economy first before premium economy, to give premium economy passengers more of a chance to rest for longer. I would’ve preferred if this was done on this flight.
Conclusion: Finnair A350 Premium Economy
Finnair’s A350 premium economy isn’t the most lavish experience out there. The seat is great, despite the limited legroom – recline is good, storage is good, and the overall seat design is thoughtful. The entertainment system is good as well, and while WiFi wasn’t working very well on my flight, I’m happy to give the airline the benefit of the doubt, and assume that as the exception rather than the norm.
There definitely have been some cost cuts to the soft product, though none of them particularly detracted from what is still a very solid experience, particularly for a European premium economy product. Add in the fact that they usually price a fair bit lower than other carriers, and I’m happy to be forgiving of the airline’s shortcomings.
Have you flown Finnair’s premium economy before? How was your experience?
