Finnair, Qatar or Singapore business class

[KeithEDI]

Flying from singapore to edinburgh in Dec this year in business class

narrowed choice down to:
– Finnair via helsinki
– Qatar via Doha
– Singapore via Frankfurt

All one stop and Flight times not hugely different. Price range is c £500 between most and least expensive, with Finnair cheapest and Singapore most expensive with Qatar roughly in the middle.

I will be flying out on Qatar and have flown them before. Obviously they were V Good and i know Singapore gets good reviews but any thoughts on Finnair A350-900?.

[Froggee]

I was always very happy with Finnair although you could argue it is a somewhat utilitarian business class experience. If being fawned over by cabin crew is important then I would pick one of the others. I have been castigated for my dislike of Qatar. I hate the Doha lounge (soulless and invariably a queue for the toilets) and dislike Q-suite if I’m awake although it’s better for sleep.

I can’t comment on SQ as I haven’t flown J with them for more than a decade but the Finnair transfer experience will be by far the best of the three. I’m assuming you around be taking SQ via LHR which is a truly rubbish connection but I guess it could be AMS or FRA also?

So if you haven’t flown Finnair then go for it. I love the airport, the lounge is fine, connecting is easy and you have a long flight for your big sleep and then a short hop home (albeit in a rubbish short haul business configuration similar to BA’s)

I used to do EDI-SIN pretty frequently and Finnair was my first choice if the connections allowed it. Failing that it tended to be Qatar for the tier points!

[Blair Waldorf Salad]

Someone else commented here that they had the same problem I have with SQ flipover seats – namely that they’re hard as hell and leave you with bruised hips/coccyx.

[QwertyKnowsBest]

+1 for Finair but not if you like fuax fawn, then it has to be Qatar. Singapore good but Frankfurt transfer less so.

[John]

Well you said the prices are roughly the same, so I would then choose based on departure/arrival times (not just the total flight time).

But if they all have roughly the same schedule, I would choose Qatar to avoid short-haul planes and it breaks up the journey more evenly (although some people don’t like having to get up “in the middle of the night”)

As mentioned HEL would have the best transfer experience, but for me the worst thing is coming off a long-haul flight in HEL, which unlike DOH feels like you are almost home, and then realising you still have 5-6 hours of travelling left. The same applies to FRA, but transiting in FRA is awful (except in F). You are probably flying Lufty between EDI and FRA too.

[SamG]

Frankfurt to Edinburgh transfer is one of the better scenarios as you’ll likely be let off into the transfer hall without having to clear security (it’s happened to me twice, I don’t know if it’s guaranteed) but who knows with Frankfurt, seems to be a different process every time I’ve transferred there !

SQ A380 has a new seat that doesn’t flip over. SQ service and food are very nice though I think Qatar is better

Finnair I believe have made some cuts to their business class service so worth investigating

[AJA]

I like Finnair and would choose them however be careful to check that the fare isn’t BusinessLite unless you already have at least OWS ie BA Silver status as the BusinessLite fare will not include lounge access.

Same thing with Qatar and their cheaper business class fares which do not give lounge access

I am not a fan of Qatar Airways amd avoid it if possible but it is a good option if Tier Points are of interest. You will get 280TP if you fly via DOH one way. Finnair will give you 180 or 220 on BAEC depending on whether the HEL-EDI leg earns 40 or 80TP

Singapore Airways is lovely but that is Star Alliance for points earning so a different choice altogether but I’m not sure on your routing. If via LHR you are opening yourself to the LHR-EDI leg being on BA and subject to last minute cancellation. just seen you would fly via FRA. That’s actually decent.

[BA Flyer IHG Stayer]

HEL-EDI in business earns 80

[PointsChaser]

I have flown Finnair business class once and will not be flying them again. I would pick Qatar for your trip.

[CamFlyer]

The most important consideration: AY and QR are OneWorld, and SQ is *A. Where do you need/want points, and elite credit? This to me would be the most important. As others have noted, if BA TPs are important (and they should be if you read this site!), then QR will yield the most. QR would also be long-haul aircraft for all flights, whereas LH/SQ and AY will be European short-haul business class for the FRA/HEL-EDI segment.

While it has been a few years, I have never had a pleasant transit in FRA. I’m trying again in early June, however.

[JDB]

I flew Finnair from Doha to Copenhagen in business last week – it was seriously unimpressive. I wouldn’t choose to fly with them again.

[BA Flyer IHG Stayer]

PointsChaser wrote:

I have flown Finnair business class once and will not be flying them again. I would pick Qatar for your trip.

Please tell us the when, where and why.

[gtellez]

I would definitely choose QR, service is the best and (at least in my opinion) the seats are better (except the old 2x2x2 planes).
I flew SQ last November, BKK-SIN-MAN, the first flight was much better with the new regional business class seats on the 787. I didn’t like the 777 seats for the longer flight at all. Having to ask the flight attendant to put the seat into bed mode is not fun at all.
My wife flew SIN-HEL with the new AY business class seats and didn’t like it at all (I haven’t tried myself).

[BJ]

Finnair by a significant margin because-
1. You have EC/UK261 protection that you will not have with other two.
2. The best, or presumably still close to best, safety record in the industry.
3. Sofalounge is a better bed than Qsuite, I have not tried latest SQ seat.
4.Finnair holds flights within reason for transit pax.
5.A350 is bested only by a380.
6.Best transit airport of the three.
7.Best business lounge of the three transit airports.
8.cheapest price
9.Depending on booking class, excellent earning rates on BAEC or Alaska MP.
10.You might get reindeer to eat.

SQ would be clear second choice, mainly because of a380 and obe long plus one short flight. Book the cook is not as good as the hype. Service is good but a bit impersonal.

Qatar would be last choice because of 2x 7h-ish flights, metal lottery, overcrowded lounges in Doha. Some love the servuce but others find it phoney and annoying.

[Froggee]

In summary @KeithEDI, different people have wildly differing views.

Weirdly Mrs Froggee keeps telling me that everybody’s different and I’m now starting to believe her despite my usual protestations that I’m exactly the same as everyone else.

[KeithEDI]

Thanks for all the input and certainly highlighted a few things that i had considered before so v useful. Like a few people here, I found QATAR really good but perhaps not quite living up to the hype of a lot of reviews. Eg, the main business lounge in Doha is like a big barn (albeit v well appointed barn) with no views of the runway which all good lounges should have 🙂