Nathan's Insights

Finnair
Date: 5 April 2024
Gate: D33
Seat: 33D & 33H (Economy Class Seats)
Plane: Airbus 350-900
Boarded: 21:10
Pushback: 21:48 (Scheduled 21:45)
Arrived: 06:25 (Scheduled 06:15)
Duration: 13 hour 37 minutes
Distance: 9,271 kms

This flight was from Changi (Singapore) International Airport to Helsinki-Vantaa (Finland) Airport.

The Cost

I purchased this economy flight as part of a reward ticket that covers Melbourne to Singapore (Jetstar – review), Singapore to Helsinki (Finnair – this flight), Helsinki to Berlin (Finnair), Split to Helsinki (Finnair), Helsinki to Singapore (Finnair), and Singapore to Helsinki (Jetstar). Per each passenger (I am travelling with my niece) it cost 139,800 Qantas points and AUS $361.37.

To use Qantas reward points just for this flight it would have cost 37,800 Qantas points and AUS $88.00 each. To purchase a ticket on this flight it would have cost AUS $1,344.00.

Check In / Bag Drop / Immigration

Our bags were checked in back in Melbourne and should be automatically transferred to this Finnair flight.  We didn’t need to clear Immigration in Singapore as we were just transiting. 

We had to catch an airside bus from Changi Terminal 4 to Changi Terminal 1.  Terminals 1 to 3 are connected by rail transport but the newer Terminal 4 isn’t integrated so no rail transfer option.

The transit bus takes you across the tarmac and gives you a great view of the airport and this massive planes from below.

Lounges

While I was travelling in Economy Class Finnair as a Qantas Lifetime Gold Member, I also hold Oneworld Sapphire member status.  Holding Oneworld Sapphire status means that when travelling on a Oneworld airline (in this case Finnair) I am allowed access to any Oneworld Lounge even when flying in economy, both for myself and one guest.  As a result, both Darby and me accessed the Qantas Singapore International Business Class Lounge.

Boarding

This flight boarded from Gate D33. Changi Airport does additional security at each gate so you need to be at the Gate must earlier than most airports and get rid of liquids over 100 ml, you can refilled water bottles once past Gate security.

Finnair boards their business class passengers first. They then board by different groups starting with 1) status members and the 2) special needs passengers, after this they go to priority groups.

As we had been checked in by Jetstar back in Melbourne we did not have an allocated priority group on our boarding pass but I guessed we were in Priority Group 3. The gate attendant once they confirmed I held Oneworld Sapphire status we were directed to board.

The Seat

This Finnair A350-900 aircraft operates in a three-class configuration with 32 flatbed Business Class seats (in a 1 – 2 – 1 layout), 42 Economy Comfort seats (in a 3 – 3 -3 layout) and 262 standard economy class seats (in a 3 – 3 – 3 layout).

The economy seats I was using for this fight have 18 inches (46 centimetres) width and have a pitch of 31 inches (79 centimetres). There is also in seat power via a USB port (USB-A).  The seats come with a blanket and earplugs for the inflight entertainment system.

A small bottle of water was also provided.

Amenity Kit

No amenity kit was provided in the economy section.

Meals and Drinks

Two meals were served on this flight, dinner shortly after take-off and breakfast 2 hours before landing.  Finnair does not offer a choice in economy on the meals, but you can order a dietary restrictions meal if required.  Darby ordered a vegetarian meal for this flight.

For those who didn’t order a dietary restriction meal dinner was fried rice spiced with Tom Yum and served with chicken, egg and mushroom. You are provided a bread roll and a small kit kat. You could also get a soft drink (which I did) or alcoholic beverage. The soft drink were full sized cans, not the mini cans provided by most airlines.

For breakfast it was an omelette with cheddar cheese, fried chicken sausage, a has brown, and baked beans. I also ordered an orange juice.

Both meals were good economy class meals.

Service

The service was very good on this overnight flight. The focus was on serving the main meal ASAP and then putting the cabin into sleep mode. All announcements were made in both Finnish and English.

Entertainment System

You are provided with a seat back entertainment system carrying many movies and TV shows. I watched two movies; Wonka, and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. I was listened to ABBA’s back catalogue and enjoyed watching the planes camera as we came into land in a snow-capped Helsinki.

You can also purchase internet access for 1 hour (6.95 Euros), 3 hours (12.95 Euros), or for the entire flight (19.95 Euros) but neither Darby nor myself did this.

The Flight

This was a smooth flight with no air turbulence during the flight. The cabin temperature was a little on the cold side, not exactly cold but I almost needed to use the included blanket.

Arrival

We arrived at Gate 42 which arrived 10 minutes late at 06:25. We then had to clear Border Control as Helsinki was our arrival point into the European Union. Most passengers must have had connecting flights as we walked up to the first Border official an two minutes later both Darby and myself were through.

Our bags which we originally check in back in Melbourne for both the Jetstar flight and this flight safely arrived 5 minutes after clearing Border Control which is incredible. We had nothing to declare and were then officially in Finland. The quickest international airport border process I think I’ve ever experienced.

Summary

This 13.5 hour flight was very smooth and comfortable. The A350 was very quiet and even in an economy seat I managed multiple ‘mini naps’ of an hour at a time, probably 5 naps in total and felt refreshed. The staff were very attentive and professional.

Overall this flight provided a very strong economy product which I’d be happy to use in the future.