Finnair will offer an exciting opportunity next year to fly within Europe with a real business class. From the end of March to the end of October 2024, the Oneworld member will fly to Munich several times a week with an Airbus A350. Such flights are already available to Amsterdam and London.
The use of a wide-body aircraft will significantly increase capacity for cargo and passengers. The A350 used for these flights will have a total of 30 seats in business class (with lie-flat seats), 26 in premium economy (currently blocked), and 265 in economy class.
Flight Schedule
As of now, the Airbus A350 will be in Munich throughout the summer. There will be between 5 and 7 flights per week with the following flight numbers:
- AY1401 Helsinki
HEL– MunichMUC: 08:00 – 09:35 - AY1402 Munich
MUC– HelsinkiHEL: 12:00 – 15:25
The long-haul aircraft will operate at least on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Occasionally, the A350 may also operate on Mondays and Thursdays under the same flight numbers.
There is no guarantee that the Airbus A350 will be used. Finnair may change the aircraft at any time, without any entitlement to compensation or rebooking.
Lie-flat Seats in Business Class
The most interesting news is for all business class passengers. Normally, Embraer jets (without a free adjacent seat) or Airbus jets of the A320 family (with a free middle seat) operate on this route.
Now, there are 30 real business class seats, as shown in the seating plan:
These are the new business seats. They cannot recline but can be transformed into a flat bed. This is a great opportunity to try whether you find it comfortable or not. From my perspective, the sleeping comfort is good, but sitting is not particularly comfortable. More details can be found in the following review:
One thing is clear: the comfort is definitely higher than in the aircraft that are regularly used. Unfortunately, the prices of €600 for a round trip in business class are not particularly attractive. An award ticket would probably be more appealing. In the BA Executive Club, one-way Helsinki → Munich in business class costs 16,500 Avios + €33. Departing from Germany, the taxes are about €30 higher.
Finnair Plus frequent flyers can also use their upgrade vouchers. A round trip from Munich to Helsinki in economy class starts from €163. These tickets can be upgraded to business class using one short-haul voucher per direction.
So, these are the best options to try out these business class seats within Europe:
- Booking an award flight (business class starting at 16,500 Avios + €33 one way in the BA Executive Club)
- Booking an economy ticket and upgrading with Finnair Plus vouchers (from €163 round trip)
Currently, premium economy is displayed as blocked, even with frequent flyer status. It may be released during check-in, but one should not rely on that.
Source: Airliners.de