Coming off the relative high of experiencing Finnair’s newly refurbished Embraer E190 from Hamburg to Helsinki on my journey home from the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX), I was far more excited about the much longer hop ahead of me. Finnair’s Airbus A330 fleet isn’t the most premium of premium products, but it only recently introduced Premium Economy so this would be a new experience to me.

I picked (and paid extra for) a bulkhead seat after visually confirming using Finnair’s excellent aircraft virtual tour that the extra legroom provided meant that even in a window seat I would be able to access the aisle without forcing my seatmate to get up. I was seriously interested in upgrading to Finnair’s unique AirLounge business class product, but the combination of booking through a third party and as a British Airways codeshare meant I couldn’t even inquire about it until I arrived in Helsinki.

On a whim, I stopped by the transfer desk after clearing the EU exit process to ask about upgrade pricing. To my surprise and delight, the upgrade from Premium Economy to Business Class was a very reasonable 420 EUR, or just under $500. This was a no brainer for me. Unfortunately, this meant that the $82 seat selection fee for my Premium Economy seat was a throwaway but it was still a good deal.

Upgrading to business at the airport means no lounge access is included, but my flight was close enough to departure time that it no longer mattered. I may not have been able to access the lounge, but my newly upgraded ticket at least let me escape the worst of the atrocious “boarding” pen used for this US-bound flight. The general side of the holding pen was very overcrowded with lots of people forced to stand for an extended period, while I was able to find a seat on the priority side.

I knew what to expect out of Finnair’s AirLounge seat from a brief sit at the Collins Aerospace booth at AIX in 2022, but this nearly nine-hour flight to New York JFK would be a real test.

For the uninitiated, the AirLounge seat differs greatly from a traditional modern business class seat.

Rather than using a complex set of motors and gears to manipulate the entire seat from a fully upright position to a lay-flat bed, the AirLounge seat is fixed. A single motorized extension provides leg support while a second manually operated extension flips up to create a rather sizable flat surface for the passenger to stretch across.

The passenger makes themselves comfortable however they can in the space by using a few provided pillows and the expansive fabric-lined seatback.

I really like how Finnair even covered the little storage area containing the headset and power outlets in the same material as the rest of the seatback to create a truly huge space.

But as much as I wanted to love this seat, and as much as it suits the needs of some other #PaxEx reviewers (read an alternative take here), I just couldn’t get fully comfortable in a position to simply relax and watch movies.

I can see how the seat would be great for a snooze, but the lack of any true recline just isn’t for me on a daytime flight. I always seemed to want to be positioned right on the seam between the fixed seat cushion and the flip-up cushion.

Meanwhile, I often found my head resting against the somewhat concealed seatbelt in the upper part of the seatback despite Finnair’s attempt to hide it away. This sounds crazy, but I also ended up with what I’d call a sort of rug burn on my elbows from constantly propping myself back up into a comfortable position. That’s a first.

The onboard service couldn’t have been better, however, as Finnair’s flight attendants were lovely and present throughout the flight. The main lamb dish served for lunch was fantastic.

Even the pre-arrival ravioli dish was a hit.

I especially enjoyed the mid-flight fresh fruit service, something I have never seen another airline do. It’s amazing how a little glass full of basic sliced fruit can leave a positive impression.

The only true miss by Finnair in my opinion was the lackluster Wi-Fi pricing options. While its Viasat-powered narrowbody fleet offers some reasonable pricing, the legacy Panasonic IFC-fitted widebody fleet offers prohibitively expensive Wi-Fi at €24.95, without even so much as a free messaging tier in business.

At least the Panasonic inflight entertainment system was relatively well stocked.

It may not be my favorite seat in the sky, but I do applaud Finnair for trying something different.

I’d love to one day try ANA’s take on this style of seat with its Crystal Cabin Award-winning THE Room FX product and see how the Japanese airline worked with Safran to iterate on the concept of a fixed-back business class seat.

Related Articles:

• Flying Finnair on its refreshed E190: spotless cabin, few amenities

• Brussels Airlines BRU-JFK: distinctly Belgian and rather decadent

• ANA offers sofa-like experience with THE Room FX for 787-9

• Collins AirLounge exceeds Finnair business class promises

• Finnair Platinum Wing lounge in HEL is almost heaven

All images credited to the author, Jason Rabinowitz

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