Finnair Business Class (HEL-OSL)

Krister travelled on Finnair flight AY917 (operated by Norra) from Helsinki to Oslo in business class. 

Krister started his trip at the Finnair Schengen lounge, which both his business class ticket and BA silver card gives him access to.  His 19:15 flight meant that he was in the lounge at dinner time, but he opted to not eat much so he could try the food on flight to Oslo.  Despite this being Finland (which you can confirm by all the dill in the buffet), there is no sauna to be found here unfortunately, but Krister did take the opportunity to sample some cranberry liqueur before his flight. 

Finnair and Norra (Finnair’s regional airline in partnership with Danish Air Transport) combined operated this route 4 times that day (22 Jan); twice with mainline aircraft and twice with regional aircraft. He bought an economy ticket for this E190 flight for a conference in Oslo, and then I used 7 500 Finnair points to upgrade him to business class.  Finland is still exiting the long winter nights, which meant a large glare on the windows.  Boarding was slightly delayed but the entire flight times were shifted by less than 10 minutes. 

As is typical in Europe, the business class seats are the same as those used in economy.  The E190 has a 2-2 configuration with 18” of width and 31” of pitch.  Unlike some carriers, Norra does not block off one of the seats, so the seats are exactly identical to those in economy.  While the E190 does have wider seats than most regional aircraft, Krister found these to be a bit smaller compared to his previous experiences on this aircraft type.  This flight had 2 rows defined as business class, separated from the rest of the plane by a moveable curtain.

Upon boarding, Krister quickly found his seat, 1A, upon which a Marimekko blanket and pillow were waiting.  The Finnair Marimekko amenities add even more Nordic charm to an already very Nordic airline.  Seatguru notes that row 1 has restricted leg room, but Krister (coming in at 6’ 1”) did not find this to be the case. 

Shortly after take-off, the meal service began, which is what Krister was here for anyway.  On this 80-minute flight, they served a small three-course meal.  The starter was 2 pieces of Finnish sourdough rye bread (Krister’s favorite) with a tiny salad.  Krsiter opted to have the white wine, which was served in a signature (unstickered) Iittala glass, and the rest of the small bottle was left for him.  For the main course, Krister opted for the chicken, which was served with (French-fry shaped) roasted turnips and mashed potatoes, as well as a nice, rich sauce.  Finally, the small dessert was a piece of almond cake and a cup of tea.  The meal service concluded about 15 minutes before landing, and the flight attendant was extremely efficient at preparing business class for landing.

So how did Finnair do?  For this 90-minute flight, Krister got lounge access (4/5), a three-course meal (5/5), excellent service (5/5), but slightly narrow seat and the lack of a blocked seat wasn’t completely made up for by the extra legroom (3/5).  Overall, Krister gives the flight a 17/20.