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THE ALVIATOR'S VERDICT
There's a little cost-cutting going on in Finnair premium economy, and this isn't one of the world's best premium economy products. However, I found it to be much less "low-cost" than I was expecting, given the airline's recent challenges |
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I’m trying to find the world’s best premium economy product, especially between Europe and Asia, a route I fly very often. In November 2025, the opportunity arose to try Finnair’s A350 premium economy class quite cheaply. I took up this opportunity, and booked a flight from Shanghai to London via Helsinki (both in Finnair premium economy).
Now, truth be told, I know Finnair has been through a rough patch in recent years. Finland borders Russia, and when Russia closed its airspace to most Western countries in 2022 (due to the Russia-Ukraine war), Finnair was hardest-hit, with many 9-10 hour flights to Asia being extended to in excess of 14 hours. Finnair struggled with the increased fuel costs this brought along, and restructured their onboard product, as well as many other aspects of the airline’s daily running, in order to make ends meet.
My experience on Finnair showed some of these cost cuts. At the same time, I didn’t find the experience to feel as cheap as I expected – perhaps I came in with overly low expectations, though this is definitely still a very acceptable premium economy class product. If anything, after a couple of the free-flow (canned, but delicious) cocktails on offer to premium economy passengers, I was as happy as a clam.
Here’s my review of Finnair’s A350 premium economy, including the seat, catering, service, and more.
Booking Finnair’s A350 Premium Economy Class
I booked a Finnair one-way premium economy ticket from Shanghai to London via Helsinki, which I found on Google Flights (and booked directly via the airline’s website). This was a ticket I found to be a really good deal – it was priced at 5,615 CNY (£597.78/HK$6,320) including taxes and fees, which is one of the best premium economy fares I’ve seen between Europe and Asia. In fact, flying out of Hong Kong would’ve cost around £200 more, which meant that I could use the “spare” budget to review Cathay Pacific business class on my positioning flight.
The itinerary I booked was as follows:
21/11 Finnair 88 Shanghai Pudong (PVG) – Helsinki (HEL) dep. 21:00 arr. 05:15+1 (Premium Economy)
22/11 Finnair 1331 Helsinki (HEL) – London Heathrow (LHR) dep. 07:50 arr. 09:10 (Economy)
I credited this flight to British Airways Avios (I figured it made the most sense to do so via a distance-based chart as opposed to a revenue-based earnings chart, since my ticket was on the cheap end). Go figure as of writing this post I’ve realised British Airways hasn’t actually credited my account yet. I’ve just submitted a missing Avios claim, and will see when (or if) they get gifted to me.
Finnair Premium Economy Ground Experience at Shanghai Airport
My Finnair experience began at Shanghai Pudong Airport. While I landed at Shanghai Pudong’s Terminal 2 and had a mobile boarding pass (which meant I technically could’ve done a sterile airside transit), I ducked out of the airport to visit a friend, which meant I entered the airport from landside. Finnair’s check-in desks are located at aisle C of Shanghai Pudong’s Terminal 2, so I headed over, figuring I might as well get my document check out of the way (I have an eVisa for the UK, which they would’ve had to manually check).
I knew I was pushing my luck, since I had a fairly heavy carry-on suitcase and a bag. Finnair only allows you to bring a combined 8 kg of carry-on luggage onboard, and this includes your personal item. The total weight of my two items added up to around 16 kg (oops), so I begrudgingly said goodbye to my roller bag, which I’d see again in London.
Finnair Check-in Desks at Shanghai Pudong Airport
Finnair doesn’t offer lounge access to premium economy passengers, though with an AmEx Platinum supplementary card I could access the No. 170 VIP lounge in the satellite terminal, where I took a shower. I then took the train back to the main area, where our flight was departing from gate D81.
Finnair Boarding Gate at Shanghai Pudong Airport
As a side comment, Finnair really manages to optimise their aircraft utilisation on these routes. Finnair’s flights to Asia usually leave very late at night (around 12-1 AM, as opposed to 7-10 PM like I’m used to for most Europe-Asia flights). They reach Asia in the very late afternoon, and then are scheduled for early evening departures out of their Asian ports. For example, this Shanghai flight arrived behind schedule at 7:20 PM, and was turned around and boarding by 8:25 PM – Finnair certainly doesn’t let their planes sit around!
Boarding was scheduled for 8:20 PM, 40 minutes before our 9 PM departure time. In reality boarding started around five minutes after this, and began with business class passengers. As a premium economy passenger without status I was assigned Group 3 – as you can see above, the gate agents lined up group 1, groups 2-3, group 4 and group 5 in four separate rows.
Group 1 was boarded at around 8:30 PM, and the group 2-3 line kind of just tailed along – there wasn’t a specific gate agent manning when we could start following suit. On the way to the plane, I saw our Finnair A350, outfitted in the Oneworld livery – what a beauty!
Finnair A350 at Shanghai Pudong Airport
Finnair Flight AY88
Friday, November 21, 2025
Origin: Shanghai Pudong (PVG) T: 2Gate: D81 Dep: 21:00 (21:00)
Destination: Helsinki-Vantaa (HEL) Gate: 46 Arr: 05:15+1 (04:40)
Duration: 14 hr 15 min (13 hr 40 min)
Aircraft: Airbus A350-900 Reg: OH-LWB
Seat: 8L (Business Class)
We boarded through the second set of doors, and I turned right. This was one of Finnair’s A350s with two business class cabins (and fewer economy seats), so I passed through the aft business class mini-cabin to find the premium economy cabin.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Cabin and Seat
On this aircraft, the Finnair premium economy cabin featured 24 seats, laid across three rows in a 2-4-2 configuration. (On the higher-density A350s, 26 seats are featured here instead.) I like Finnair’s cabin finishes, especially with the mood lighting – the cabin looks sleek and modern, which was a refreshing change from the Cathay Pacific regional A330 I’d just gotten off.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Cabin and Seat
I’d selected myself seat 22L, located in the second row on the right side of the cabin. While I have a strong preference for the back row in premium economy (so I don’t recline into anyone), unfortunately I booked quite last-minute, so the row behind was taken.
Note that seat selection isn’t free on Finnair – my seat selection cost 443 CNY (£46.97/HK$499). While not a fun addition, I was willing to pay this in order to guarantee a window seat, and realistically a <£50 seat selection fee is in line with other European competitors – and more palatable than the £90 seat selection fee British Airways charges in their premium economy product.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Seats 22J and 22L
Finnair’s premium economy seats are designed by Hong Kong-based HAECO (they’re called Vector Premium seats), and I believe they’re the only airline to currently feature these seats onboard their aircraft. I think these are the same line of seats that Cathay Pacific’s A350-1000 economy seats are from, which I’ve personally never flown, but as a site we’re a big fan of.
The seat is quite comfortable and well-padded, and features a generous amount of recline. My China Eastern premium economy seat just a couple of days prior didn’t feature much recline, so I was especially aware of the contrast onboard this flight. There’s a fold-up legrest, but no footrest – this wasn’t an issue for me, as I just rested my feet atop some bars underneath the seat in front. The adjustable headrest was also very large, supportive, and comfortable.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Recline
I’m a fan of the way the seat was designed, which starts from the storage options. Below the TV screen was a flip-down compartment, which could easily fit a phone, glasses, or AirPods. This compartment also had a USB-A charging port (there was no USB-C charging at this seat, which maybe is a little disappointing, since the seat was introduced in 2022).
Then the literature pocket was one of the sturdiest I’ve ever seen, and could very easily fit a laptop, amenity kit, or other bits and bobs.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Storage Nook and Seat Pocket
The seat controls were to my left. They weren’t marked, though it didn’t take too long to figure out which was which (although an indicator would be nice) – once I figured them out, they were easy to use. Next to the seat controls was a shared cocktail table.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Side Table and Seat Controls
The tray table folded out of the left armrest, and was sturdy, with faux wood finishes.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Table
In terms of other charging options, I found a 110V power port by my legs.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Power Ports
The one issue with premium economy (a cabin I cover very regularly) is that you don’t get great views, particularly during takeoff and landing, as the premium economy cabin tends to be directly over the wing. Unfortunately this was no exception.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy View from the Wing
What would I change about the seat? Well, maybe on the legroom front there was a bit of room for improvement. Finnair has 38″ of seat pitch, which is industry standard – however, they have very thick seatbacks (which is delightful in terms of padding and storage). So if you’re tall and the person in front of you is reclined, you may find this seat to be tighter than other premium economy class seats out there. I didn’t mind this too much, though it’s something to be aware of.
Otherwise, I found the seat to be thoughtfully designed and customised, and particularly appreciated the good padding, recline, and storage. Finnair debuted these seats in 2022 just before the Russia-Ukraine war began (and the airline fell into cost-cutting mode), and it’s clear that they had big ambitions.
Finnair A350 Economy Class
As I was one of the first non-business class passengers onboard, I was able to peer into the economy cabin. Finnair’s A350 economy cabin looks comfortable, though do note that they cut pillows entirely in economy class (being one of the only full-service longhaul airlines to do so). This A350 featured 211 economy seats, spread across two cabins (I’d need to head back and forth from this cabin – as I’ll detail later, the premium economy cabin on these lower-density A350s doesn’t feature a dedicated lavatory, whereas the ones on the higher-density A350s do.)
Finnair A350 Economy Class
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Amenities
Waiting at my seat was a pillow and blanket. The blanket itself was quite standard for premium economy, being soft and comfortable.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Blanket
Meanwhile, the pillow wasn’t standard. I don’t know whose idea this was, but Finnair offers neck pillows in premium economy class, in place of a proper pillow. Surely this is more expensive to supply, while being less comfortable (unless they scored a great deal on it)?
These 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 Pillow
Okay, rant over. Apart from the neck pillow and blanket, I also found a pair of sturdy Phitek headphones at my seat. I find Phitek headphones to be good quality as far as airline headphones are considered (and helpful – Finnair’s entertainment system is nice, though doesn’t have a Bluetooth audio feature).
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Headphones
The amenity kit was a little less impressive, and made out of washable kraft paper. It didn’t feel very sturdy to me (though I haven’t put my amenity kit in the wash, so maybe I should try that?) The actual contents of the kit were on the basic side, even for premium economy, consisting just of a dental kit, eyeshades, and earplugs.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Amenity Kit
While the pillow was bizarre, I was fairly happy with the amenities offered. No, there aren’t slippers like on British Airways/EVA Air or a duvet as on Cathay Pacific, though there was plenty to get comfortable onboard this flight.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Entertainment System
While Finnair’s entertainment system isn’t the latest and greatest (and doesn’t feature modern features like Bluetooth audio), I’m a fan of the UI. On the front screen is an approximate timeline of the flight, showing the mealtimes, as well as when was best suited to get some rest.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Entertainment System
The actual selection of movies was extensive – the airline has 239 movies and 33 TV shows (as of February-March 2026). Do note, however, that the airline doesn’t always upload full episodes of TV shows. For example, there were only four episodes of the Two Broke Girls season uploaded, and five episodes of Gilmore Girls.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Entertainment System
Outside of the entertainment selection, I quite liked that there was not only connecting gate information, but also a map of Helsinki Airport. I could even click on the flight that I was transiting to, see how long my layover was, and see how I could get to my gate.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Connecting Gate Information
Lastly, this A350 featured my favourite feature onboard any entertainment system (as far as I’m aware this makes every other feature of the entertainment system a moot point) – the tail camera.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Tail Camera
There are better entertainment systems out there, though you won’t get bored or frustrated using Finnair’s system.
Taking Off from Shanghai Pudong Airport
Boarding was swift, albeit the fact that the flight was quite full (every seat in premium economy was taken, whereas economy looked mostly full as well). We were boarded around 8:45 PM, twenty minutes after boarding started, and 15 minutes before our scheduled departure time. During the boarding process, there was a repeated automated “welcome onboard” announcement – Finnair likes their automated announcements, as I’ll detail in a bit.
After boarding was completed, there was a PA call mentioning a small bag containing tech equipment that was left at the gate. It didn’t seem like there were any takers.
Austrian 777 at Shanghai Pudong Airport
The captain came onto the PA to announce our flight time of 13h 5m (over an hour shorter than our block time), and this was followed by a safety video.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Safety Video
We pushed back from gate D81 just before 9 PM (being ahead of schedule), though our taxi took quite a while. We were departing from runway 35R, which required going around Terminal 2.
Taxiing at Shanghai Pudong Airport
Takeoff happened at 9:25 PM, 25 minutes after our scheduled departure time. We didn’t have much of a view due to the placement of the wing, though we did a left turn to fly over northern Shanghai, before doing a right turn to fly northbound towards Europe.
Takeoff from Shanghai Pudong Airport
Once we reached cruising altitude, there was a video screened that marked the commencement of inflight service. Finnair sure likes their videos!
Finnair A350 Premium Economy WiFi
Finnair’s A350s feature WiFi, which was enabled within 5-10 minutes after takeoff.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy WiFi Graphic
WiFi on Finnair is priced as follows:
- €7.95 (£6.91/HK$73) for one hour – €6.95 (£6.04/HK$64) for Finnair Plus members, or 700 Avios
- €14.95 (£12.99/HK$138) for three hours – €12.95 (£11.25/HK$104) for Finnair Plus members, or 1,500 Avios
- €24.95 (£21.67/HK$230) for the full flight – €19.95 (£17.33/HK$184) for Finnair Plus members, or 2,400 Avios
You can pre-purchase WiFi on the “Manage Your Booking” page. I decided to do so, as I figured it’d save a few minutes of waiting for the portal to load in the air. Annoyingly, entering my seat number and last name didn’t work, so I had to show a flight attendant a receipt (which I had luckily screenshotted) and receive a voucher code.
Once I was able to successfully log on to the WiFi (I’d purchased a full flight package), it wasn’t the best quality, unfortunately. I’m forgiving of WiFi being spotty when flying over mainland China, though it actually got worse as we flew into Europe.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Meal Service
The meal service commenced about half an hour after wheels-up. Finnair doesn’t provide printed menus for premium economy passengers, though you can find the menu on the entertainment system:
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Menu
As shown, there were two choices to choose from for the first main course, whereas there wasn’t a choice for breakfast.
The meal began with a drinks service. There wasn’t a drinks menu available, but soft drinks, red and white wine, and beer were available. I knew that Finnair provided a mixed cocktail on longhaul flights (in all cabins) called Northern Blush, and asked whether that was available – it was, and I was even offered ice and a slice of lemon with it. This was served with a packet of pretzels.
The Northern Blush cocktail featured lingonberries, gin and orange peel, and was absolutely delicious – if you typically don’t mind a drink on flights, I’d definitely recommend ordering this. It reminded me of the Sky Spritz served in Qantas premium economy.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Pre-Meal Service Drinks Service
The main course was served swiftly after, within five minutes. Between the pan-fried pork shoulder and sea bass, I chose the former. I guess I had low expectations of ex-Shanghai catering, and had also known that Finnair had recently cut costs around the meal service.
While admittedly the meal presentation wasn’t the most premium, I found the meal to be surprisingly delicious. The pork shoulder was incredibly juicy and flavourful, the linguine and vegetables were cooked nicely, and the cold plate of smoked chicken, tofu and mushroom salad was really tasty. The packaged bread roll and dessert did feel a bit lazy to me, though overall I was very happy with the meal.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Meal Service
The meal was offered with another drinks service, and I asked for some of Finnair’s signature blueberry juice. I think Finnair has one-upped its signature drink with the cocktail, though of course I enjoyed the blueberry juice as well.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Blueberry Juice
While the meal service was delivered very swiftly, it took a little bit longer to clear (45-50 minutes). After our tray tables were cleared, the cabin lights were dimmed, allowing passengers to go to sleep.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Cabin after Meal Service
As aforementioned, the meal service exceeded my expectations. I do wish Finnair could’ve tightened up the presentation of their meal service (maybe there could’ve been a plate for either the bread roll or the dessert, even if not both?), though I found the actual food quality to be very good. I also enjoy the Finnair signature drinks available in all cabins, including the signature cocktail, as well as blueberry juice.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Lavatory
Finnair has two A350 cabin configurations. On this one (with more business class seats and fewer economy seats), there isn’t a dedicated lavatory in premium economy class. So premium economy passengers share six lavatories with economy passengers, making for a 39:1 passenger to lavatory ratio. This meant that there was sometimes a wait for a lavatory, though it wasn’t ever very long.
Finnair A350 Economy Cabin after Meal Service
As you’d expect for an economy lavatory, everything was fairly standard, and it was quite compact.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Lavatory
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Mid-Flight Dining and Drinks
Between meal services, you’re able to order mid-flight dining and drinks from Finnair’s entertainment system. Don’t get too excited – the snacks are actually chargeable, making Finnair the only airline I know that charges for snacks in premium economy. Drinks are free unless you want sparkling wine, which costs €12 (£10.43/HK$111) for a 200 mL bottle.
This means that you can get a free flow of other drinks, including Northern Blush (presumably you can get water and blueberry juice as well, despite this not being photographed in the below selection). There are a couple of other interesting beverages on offer – there’s a grapefruit long drink by Hartwall, lager beer from Finnish brand Sandels, wine from Pierre Rousseau, and a range of spirits from Kyrö, which I’m guessing you can get mixers with as well. So yep, you can get a (canned) specialty cocktail or a gin and tonic with Finnish gin for free on Finnair, but you’d have to pay for candy or dried mango slices.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Mid-Flight Drinks Menu
I find it a bit cheap that you have to pay for any sort of snack in Finnair premium economy between meals (a muffin/crisps for €4 is especially laughable, and I don’t like the €5.50 charge for instant noodles either), but granted the food selection does get quite substantial. I really wasn’t hungry, though did at some point consider ordering a lasagna for €12 (£10.43/HK$111) just for the laughs, as you can’t get that between meals in any other premium economy product.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Buy-On-Board Menu
Alongside this, you can also get a few other duty-free items from the buy-on-board selection.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Buy-On-Board Menu
I had a few drinks over the course of the evening, though one of the things I tried was the Hartwall Gin and Grapefruit long drink. This was also quite tasty, though I preferred the Northern Blush. Ordering from the entertainment system was very straightforward, and the order came within a couple of minutes.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Gin and Grapefruit Long Drink
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 a super minor point of feedback, I personally would’ve preferred if they used a softer light when walking around between meal services to offer water, as they walked around with iPhone flashlights.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Pre-Landing Meal
Since the seat was comfortable, I managed to get quite a good bit of sleep on this evening flight. The cabin lights were turned up for the pre-arrival meal service 2h 20m before landing, though, which seems awfully early to me (especially given how simplistic the pre-landing meal service was).
The meal service was served in a couple of reusable boxes, atop a tray. We were also provided a sustainable cutlery pack, contrasting the tableware we got with the first meal service.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Breakfast
While the reusable containers for breakfast is unarguably a bit cheap, I didn’t mind too much. There was no choice, but we received a hot breakfast, which was scrambled eggs with tomato, chicken sausage, potato, and broccoli, served with fresh fruit.
While the presentation was sloppy, the dish was flavourful, and well executed, albeit a bit greasy (it was steeped in butter, which I’m not sure is a bad thing, given it made everything taste better?).
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Breakfast
After the above photograph was taken, we were offered drinks – I asked for a coffee, as well as some more blueberry juice.
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. This is especially true since I imagine many would’ve been connecting to Western Europe, as I was – this would’ve been around 2 AM Helsinki time, or 12 AM UK time. Not the most helpful time to have breakfast for jetlag reasons!
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Cabin after Breakfast
Landing into Helsinki Airport
Around 45 minutes before landing, our neck pillows were collected (once again slightly flabbergasted by the entire pillow situation in Finnair premium economy, though I won’t beat a dead horse over it).
35 minutes before landing, a video was screened marking the end of inflight service. This was followed by an Uber ad.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Pre-Landing Videos
20 minutes before landing (4:05 AM Helsinki time), the seatbelt sign was turned on, followed by yet another video (instructing us to put our seatbelts on). After that video was screened, I put on the airshow, since it was too dark to see the external camera.
Finnair A350 Premium Economy Airshow
At 4:15 AM, the captain came onto the PA to announce that we’d land in 10 minutes.
I had originally hoped to spend some time in Helsinki, though had to leave after a 3h layover, due to a commitment I had in London in the afternoon. Still, I’d absolutely love to visit Helsinki properly someday, especially after two very brief transits through the airport!
Landing into Helsinki Airport
We landed on runway 04L at 4:25 AM, and were welcomed to Helsinki over the PA. From there, it was a 10-minute taxi to gate 46.
Once we got to the gate, the crew need a couple of minutes before we could get up – they needed to restart the power unit to switch off engine 1, so asked us to stay seated until the seatbelt sign was switched off. This took a couple of minutes maximum, and we were soon successfully parked at gate 46.
Finnair A350 at Helsinki Airport
I figured I wouldn’t snoop around Helsinki this time round, so cleared security and walked around the terminal. Since I was still in the non-Schengen area waiting for my flight to London, I was able to see the beautiful A350 that had taken me all the way from Shanghai!
Finnair A350 at Helsinki Airport
Conclusion: Finnair A350 Premium Economy
Finnair’s A350 premium economy isn’t going to win any awards for being the best in the world. The catering presentation isn’t competitive, amenities aren’t cutting-edge (and a bit bewildering), and charging for snacks between meals in premium economy is a little bit of a low-brow move.
However, I still left with a positive impression of Finnair’s A350 premium economy, much more so than I was expecting. The seat was very comfortable and well-designed (albeit being slightly tighter than other premium economy products on legroom), the actual food was tasty, there was (spotty) WiFi, and free-flow cocktails are definitely a plus.
The greatest asset of Finnair premium economy is pricing. Finnair consistently offers some of the cheapest pricing I’ve seen. The airline usually sets the floor of Europe-Asia premium economy product along with China Eastern and Lufthansa – I’d say that Finnair is roughly on par with Lufthansa, whereas I’d fly Finnair over China Eastern any day.
Have you flown Finnair’s premium economy before? What were your thoughts?
