Nathan's Insights

Finnair
Date: 5 May 2024
Gate: 42
Seat: 34D & 34H (Economy Class Seats)
Plane: Airbus 350-900
Boarded: 23:52
Pushback: 00:23 (Scheduled 00:25)
Arrived: 17:43 (Scheduled 18:35)
Duration: 12 hour 20 minutes
Distance: 9,271 kms

This flight was from Helsinki-Vantaa (Finland) Airport to Changi (Singapore) International Airport. The flight was the second flight of two with the first one being Split to Helsinki (review here) followed by an 8 hour transit in Helsinki.

The Cost

I purchased this economy flight as part of a reward ticket that covers Melbourne to Singapore (Jetstar – review), Singapore to Helsinki (Finnair – review), Helsinki to Berlin (Finnair – review), Split to Helsinki (Finnair – review), Helsinki to Singapore (Finnair – this flight), and Singapore to Helsinki (Jetstar – scheduled 6 May 2024).

For one 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 Euros $33.00 each. To use cash it would have been AUS $560.00.

Check In / Bag Drop / Immigration

Our bags were checked in back in Split for the first flight and where automatically transferred to this flight.  As the previous flight Split to Helsinki was inside the European Schengen travel zone and this flight was leaving Schengen travel zone it was in Helsinki we cleared Border Control.

On arrival a significant number of passengers where transiting onto flights leaving the EU so Border Control lines were long. I came back after 30 minutes and with empty line we were through in 2 minutes. This EU Border has a fast track for Australian Citizens (and a number of other countries) that made this quick and easy.

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. This applies to both myself and one guest. 

As a result, both Darby and me accessed the Finnair Non-Schengen Business Class Lounge Helsinki (review here). This Lounge was located near Gate 5.

There was an issue at reception linking my QANTAS status to entry access but after a few minutes it was correctly linked and we gained access.

Boarding

This flight boarded from Gate 42. We arrived just before boarding was scheduled to commence. We used the priority access lane due to my Oneworld Sapphire status. After check of our passports and scan of our boarding passes we moved into a small holding area.

After roughly 10 minutes the plane boarded. A small water bottle was handed out as you boarded the plane.

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.

Amenity Kit

No amenity kit was provided in the economy section.

Meals and Drinks

Two meals were served on this flight, dinner was quickly served after take-off at 01:00 and a light meal approximately 1.5 hours before landing. 

Note: Finnair does not offer a choice in economy on the meals served unless you ordered a dietary restrictions meal.  Darby ordered a vegetarian meals for this flight and as a result was one of the first served before regular meal service commenced.

For those who didn’t order a dietary restriction meal dinner was spaghetti with beef meatballs, tomato marinara sauce and cheese. Coleslaw, bread roll and chocolate bar. You could also get a soft drink (which I did), water or alcoholic beverage. The soft drink was mini can size.

The second light meal served 11:00 (Helsinki time) / 16:00 (Singapore time) roughly 1 hour 50 minutes before landing. The light meal was Nadi Goreng with rice and vegetables plus a drink (juice, water, coffee or tea).

Both meals were tasty.

Service

The service was prompt 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 however used my iPhone to watch some shows and listen to music. I used the inflight entertainment system to watch the flight map and use the planes external cameras.

You can also purchase internet access for 1 hour (6.95 Euros), 3 hours (12.95 Euros), and entire flight (19.95 Euros) but neither Darby or I did this as it was very late and we both wanted to sleep.

The Flight

This was a smooth flight with no air turbulence during the flight. The cabin temperature was on the cold side I almost needed to use the included blanket and Darby did. The flight was 50 minutes early which was good given how long the duration was.

Arrival

On arrival we then had to clear Border Control as we are staying in Singapore for a day. It only took around 2 minutes to clear Border Control using the lanes for Australian citizens.

Our bags which we originally checked in back in Split showed up after about 15 minutes of us waiting. Since we had nothing to declare we were though Customs and officially in Singapore.

Summary

This scheduled 13.5 hour flight was very smooth and comfortable. The economy seat was comfortable enough and having the seat next to me empty made it even better.

The A350 plane is very quiet and I managed multiple ‘mini naps’ despite being in economy on a full plane. The Jetstar staff were very attentive and professional across this overnight flight.

Overall a very good long haul economy product and flight.