Finnair, Business Class Flight New York to Bangkok, October 2018
Details
- Flight Duration: 18 hours
- Seat: 10H, 6A - Business Class Pod
- Number of seats on plane: 46
- Type of plane: Airbus a350
- Cost: $3098
The Seat
The seat is a business class pod with shared walls on most, some are individuals (those book fast). 6 1/2 feet long, wide enough for one American to sit in it. It encompasses 2 windows on the side of the plane, and converts into a full length, lie flat bed.The Cabin
The business class cabin is at the front of the aircraft, and completely separated from the other cabins and even any of the plane entrances. The traffic continues past you as the entire plane boards, but since you're so far in your pod, you don't get bumped and have space.Bathrooms are normal sized, but separated from economy. The Finns are thrifty, functional people, and the flight reflects that.
Amenities
The amenity kit comes in a bag from Marimekko, a Finnish fashion house, and is filled with L'Occtaine brand lotion and face cream, a sleep mask, ear plugs, toothbrush and toothpaste (that my daughter stole immediately after I took the picture). The bag is well built, and padded so it can withstand travel nicely.Preflight
They offer juice, water, or champagne during the preflight service. I did not ask for anything else on the first flight, but the second one I did ask for Camus XO Cognac which is so good I now buy it for my home (it's also in the Cathay and JAL First class lounges; this is exquisite cognac).Dining
The food was good, if a bit odd for a midwestern American's tastes. The real gem is the wine list. They blow out first class service on other airlines.Arrival
We prepared for landing only 20 minutes before touchdown. We collected our things and disembarked. In Bangkok, you got special customs line for business class travelers, and with their insane situation there? So worth it.Summary
It's not first class, it's business class. There is a difference. The Finns are very Scandinavian and there is a 'You don't need too much fancy' for life attitude. While it's not totally accurate for the flight, it does show a bit in the décor and ambiance on the plane.For the price, and the excellent service, I think this is quite a bargain and made my forever time up in the air so easy to adjust from when I arrived.
Tip: If you can, and you're alone (like I tend to be), get the single seats against the windows. JFK is their cheapest USA departure point. I booked 2 tickets, one to NYC (where I got upgraded both ways by American), and a second on Finnair to Bangkok. Lounge access was included with the ticket. If you want a special wine, pre-order. Options and ordering are available on the website. My layover was in Helsinki, a very manageable city with ample bag storage in the basement of the airport so you can daytrip in. Take advantage of it.