April Europe Weekend/Review Trip! Part 4: Helsinki to Los Angeles

After arriving into Helsinki, I proceeded directly to my next flight.  I did not run through the airport, but I did walk with purpose.  If I missed the flight, they would’ve (probably) just rebooked me onto the flight to New York and all would’ve been fine, so I wasn’t bothered if I missed it.  I arrived at the gate about 10 minutes before the scheduled departure time and was one of the last to board.  After I boarded, they actually held the plane for another roughly 20 minutes for other people with tight connections.  So, I really was, in fact, not in danger of missing the flight at all, haha. 

I selected a bulkhead seat on this flight (as I usually do).  On the A350, this seat is called 2L, since the middle seat of seats is slightly offset with the side seats.

The seat on the A350 felt a bit wider than on the A330, but I didn’t bring a tape measure, so I can’t be sure.  Either way though, the seat is massive.

I was definitely tired by this point though.

Waiting for me at my seat was an amenity kit and a menu.   

Since I had booked this flight through American Airlines, I didn’t have a chance to check out the menu ahead of time, but I was looking forward to seeing how Finnair approached this flight, which would become my new second longest flight!

Finnair offered two cold plates and three warm main course options, as well as a couple of dessert options.  This seemed pretty standard for a primary business class meal.

Separate to the menu, a wine list was distributed, which had multiple dessert wines, which was very exciting for me!

I decided to again start with Finnair’s new signature cocktail, the “Northern Blush”, which was served in a can.  This time, I knew to expect them to give me the can, haha.  I also ordered a Bailey’s to go with it as I often do.  These drinks were served with roasted almonds.

After the drinks service, they came through with the meal service.  Like in intra-European business class, the meal was served on a single tray.  I thought it was interesting though that this meal wasn’t actually much larger than the meal I’d received from Budapest.  The main There was a second small plate (and dessert would be served separately).

This meal was even more Finnish than the previous meals on this Finnair-heavy trip.  Fish and root vegetables, fish, and root vegetables.  Pairing this meal with dessert wine was, perhaps, a bit odd on my part, but I do love dessert wine.  So I was happy with this atypical combination.

After the meal, I was not offered a cheese course like the menu suggested there would be but instead I was offered a choice of the cheese board or one of the desserts.  That was fine by me; I didn’t need a cheese course, but that’s not what the menu seemed to suggest.  I ordered the apple pie.  It was fine.

After I finished eating, I slid down in the seat to relax and watch a movie. 

Around halfway through the flight, they came around and offered some potato chips and Fazer chocolates.

The final part of the service came a couple hours before landing.  They served a second meal along with more drinks.  I selected the reindeer (peak Finnish!), which was served with some fruit and a salad.  I enjoyed this meal a lot.  I found the main dish to be more fun than the main in the first meal, but the salad was a bit sad (which is usually how I feel about airplane salads).  I also had another glass of dessert wine!

This second meal was one of the best pre-arrival light meals that I’ve had on a flight from Europe to the US.

In summary, this intercontinental Business class flight was excellent.  The efficiency of Helsinki Airport is as peak as promised, and if it hadn’t been, then I would’ve been very happy to wait in the Finnair lounge before this flight (5/5).  This seat was just as great for a daytime intercontinental flight as it was for an overnight flight (5/5).  The service on this flight was great; they were attentive throughout the flight (5/5).  Each individual dish on this flight was good, but serving the entire first meal on a single tray felt a bit skimpy (4/5). The in-flight entertainment was typical, with a good selection of shows and a short duration of free WiFi (4/5).  This flight gets an overall score of 23/25, which reflects how much I enjoyed this flight and the strength of Finnair’s new seat. 

I booked this flight as part of an American Airlines ticket from Budapest to San Francisco to Milan.  This flight cost around $750 as part of that overall ticket and earned me 140 BA tier points, as well as 14 035 Avios and 3 750 Amex points, for a total points return of around 31%, which is great.