Finnair A320 short haul business class review from London to Helsinki

This is my review of short haul business class on Finnair, the Finnish flag carrier.

Finnair now flies four times a day to London, with British Airways effectively ceding the route to its oneworld partner.

That’s not a bad thing, as two of these four are operated by Finnair’s long haul A330 or A350s, replete with its brand new business class, premium economy and economy cabins which I will review over the next few days. But this still leaves two daily flights on single aisle aircraft. How does the experience compare?

As I was flying to Nagoya (Japan) via Helsinki I thought it was the perfect opportunity to take a look and add to our growing portfolio of European short haul business class reviews.

Check-in and bag drop at London Heathrow

Finnair operates from Terminal 3 at Heathrow. Although this is now the oldest terminal at the airport, the good news is that you have your choice of some of the best lounges in the UK.

Finnair check-in and bag drop is operated from Zone C. If you’re flying economy then this is via self-service machines; if you are flying business or have oneworld status (eg. British Airways Gold, as I do) then you can use the staffed desks on the left:

There were literally no other customers when I arrived so I marched right to the front and checked my bag in, before being informed that I had access to fast track security and the Cathay Pacific lounge.

Heathrow continues to replace its existing scanners with new 3D CT scanners so the Fast Track lane wasn’t where I was expecting it. Nevertheless, the three lanes were quiet and I put my bag straight on the belt.

Whilst the Cathay Pacific lounge is Finnair’s designated lounge, you can take your pick of any of the oneworld lounges which gives you quite some choice:

• American Airlines lounge (review)
• British Airways Galleries Club lounge (review)
• Cathay Pacific Business Class lounge (review)
• Qantas London Lounge (review)

If you are oneworld Emerald then you can also use the American Airlines First Class Lounge, the British Airways First Class Lounge or the Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge.

Don’t know where to start? You can see my ranking of the best Heathrow Terminal 3 lounges here. If you have time, you can pop into several lounges successively and do a lounge safari. If you don’t then you can’t go wrong with the Cathay Pacific lounge, which in my opinion is the most stylish of the lot and offers a noodle bar as well as staffed bar.

Onboard Finnair’s A321

The gate was announced about 40 minutes prior to departure and I walked down to Gate 3A, at the far end of the A380 pier. For whatever reason, most gates at Terminal 3 feature holding pens so once you’re beeped in it’s not the easiest to leave! It does mean that you don’t need to scan your boarding pass again, though.

Unlike the long haul fleet, which has been refurbished in deep midnight blue upholstery and warm wood (effect) touches, the short haul fleet sports the airline’s old branding. That means you are greeted with a sea of light grey seating:

It does make you wonder who thought putting grey seats in a grey interior was a good idea! Thank goodness for David Kondo, the designer behind Finnair’s new branding.

I had seat 1F, in the bulkhead row. Like other European airlines, Finnair’s short haul business class is in a 3-3 configuration but with the middle seat blocked. As you can see, there is no special middle-seat table like you find on some BA aircraft: the only distinguishing feature between business class and economy is the curtain a third way down the cabin.

In the front row your tray table is inside the armrest, which pops out into a bi-folding table:

This features a clever tablet stand, too:

As far as I could tell there was no in-seat power of any kind. A bottle of water was in the seatpocket in front:

Food and service on Finnair short haul business class

Shortly after take-off an automated PA explained what both business class and economy passengers could expect – a hot meal in business and water or blueberry juice in economy.

As soon as the seatbelt signs went off the crew jumped up and offered us a drink from the bar cart. I went for the classic Finnair blueberry juice and a glass of sparkling wine – Finnair dropped champagne from short haul business class in early 2023.

Both are served in the iconic Iittala Ultima Thule glasses by Finnish designer Tapio Wirkkala. These have been a staple on Finnair for literally decades, since 1969. Whilst it originally stocked a wider range of this glassware on board, in 2022 it was replaced with newer, more modern and crucially lighter glassware for water and other drinks.

About 40 minutes later – delayed slightly by the onset of turbulence and the cessation of service – the meal service was offered. You don’t get a choice of dishes, unfortunately, and on my flight it consisted of an artichoke tartlet and some kind of chicken orzo with tomato sauce. You also get a choice of rye or white bread:

The artichoke tartlet was surprisingly flavourful and delicious. The chicken dish, however, was nothing to write home about: the orzo was plain with a piece of cooked chicken, some tomato sauce and green beans on the side.

Notice the blue cup on the tray: this is for water. However, the size is a joke: it must hold less than 100mls. It is so small it is practically useless and the crew gave me an Ultima Thule cup of water instead.

After dinner, I was offered tea or coffee as well as a cinnamon bun. I went for Roobois tea and enjoyed the warmed bun with it – I like that dessert was a local touch. It’s a shame it wasn’t served on a plate; the napkin felt a bit economy.

A final round of drinks was offered about 40 minutes before landing whilst a little chocolate was also offered prior to descent.

Conclusion

If I am being honest, there is little to differentiate Finnair’s short haul business class offering from other European airlines. These days, it’s about small details such as the Iittala glassware, blueberry juice or cinnamon bun.

For better of for worse, 3-3 seating with an empty middle seat is now the standard. That said, with two daily A330 or A350 departures you can obviously do a lot better (ie a flat bed!), and if you have the time it is worth booking yourself onto one of these.

But back to the A321. The lack of in-seat power was disappointing, although fortunately I didn’t require it on my trip and knew I could charge my phone in the lounge later. Ditching champagne in favour of (French) sparkling wine is also a shame.

However, I can’t fault the service which was attentive and friendly from both crew at the front.

Stay tuned for reviews of Finnair’s new no-recline sofa seat business class, its new premium economy cabin and lounges in Helsinki, as well as a couple of hotels in Japan. It was a busy week ….

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