Finland’s national carrier has unveiled a new long-haul Business Class product – which includes new seats, food & beverage offerings, more space, stylish furnishings, and fresh Nordic designs. Noting that passengers are actively travelling in premium classes, the airline has also launched its first long-haul Premium Economy product.
Ole Orvér, Finnair Chief Commercial Officer said: “Premium leisure is a trend that has significantly accelerated during the pandemic.”
The new cabins – which will be brought into service this month – will appear in all Finnair A350 and A330 long-haul aircraft. The full roll out for the new Business Class, Premium Economy and indeed refreshed economy class products will be completed over the next two years.
The airline uses the moniker “modern premium” to describe its design aim with its new products. Finnair has retained its signature cabin look – Nordic-cool – but has added light wood, dark blue hues, and greys to give the interiors a premium feel while adding intimacy to the proceedings.
The Business Class seat – the AirLounge – has no recline instead it features a fixed contoured shell that – at the touch of a button – allows a variety of sleeping or sitting positions by moving the foot and leg rest.
Finnair says that the AirLounge is inspired from lounge furniture – and maximises comfort, space, and freedom to move.
The lead designer of Finnair’s customer experience team David Kondo said, “We wanted to create more of a residential environment” and followed “by doing away with complicated seat mechanisms and using 3D curved shells, we’re able to provide a larger flexible living space. This allows you to move more freely and take up different positions that traditional aircraft seats do not allow.”
The high cocoon shell provides privacy and there is a divider that can be raised & lowered depending on if you have a travel companion. Note that the seats do not have privacy doors like some Business Class suites in the skies today.
Each seat features an 18-inch (46 centimetres) screen to play Finnair’s upgraded inflight entertainment offerings. There are a plethora of charging points and a fancy lighting system that allows every Business Class passenger to create their own mood lighting – resulting in a personal “nest”. The biggest advantage of the AirLounge is that it gives a sense of space – more than what Finnair Business Class passengers have enjoyed before.
The Finnish design house Marimekko has created a comfortable duvet and pillow set for Business Class passengers. The country’s Harri Koskinen designed new tableware – which will compliment Finnair’s new menus. The airline’s iconic Iittala Ultima Thule glasses will remain.
Read the BusinessClass.com review of Finnair Business Class
Premium Economy - a new cabin class for Finnair
There will be no more than 26 Premium Economy seats per cabin – which will feature 50% more space than economy. Passengers will also enjoy an upgraded seat and a new inflight menu.
With added charging points and privacy lighting, Premium Economy passengers will enjoy the use of a 13-inche (33 centimetres) entertainment screen.
Finnair plans to serve nearly 100 destinations this Summer including new long-haul routes to Busan, in South Korea, Tokyo Haneda in Japan as well as Dallas and Seattle in the USA.
Long-haul flights are key to Finnair’s strategy and its concept of “modern premium” is at its heart. With added passenger facilities including refreshment bars in each cabin, it hopes that it will satisfy the growing Nordic market for premium air travel.
The Euros 200 million investment into its long-haul fleet is a game changer for Finnair – time will tell whether it will pay off – but the signs are good!
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