Continue reading this review to see what the long-haul business class flight was like.

Transfer, Lounge & Boarding at Zurich Airport

After getting off an Austrian Embraer E195 from Vienna, we made our way to Terminal E, which is a satellite building used for flights to countries outside the Schengen Area.

With immigration being quick and still having a few hours to spare before our 10:40 p.m. flight to Johannesburg would board, we headed to the Swiss Senator Lounge, which I could access and guest my dad into as a Star Alliance Gold member.

I spent most of my time in the lounge being outside, on its excellent observation deck. A great plane spotting location and unlimited drinks and food? Yes, please!

We left the lounge just before 10 p.m. and headed to gate E23, which was at the very end of the terminal.

In front of the gate, one of the ground agents checked our documents and stamped our boarding passes. Outside, HB-JMB, a 21 years old A340-300 delivered to Swiss in 2003, was almost ready for the flight.

Boarding started at 10:04 p.m. with first class passengers being invited first, followed by business class passengers and Star Alliance Gold members.

Swiss A340 Business Class Cabin & Seat

At this point, Swiss only has four A340-300s remaining in its fleet.

All of them have been refurbished with the airline’s current long-haul seats also used on its A330-300s and 777-300ERs and can seat 215 passengers in four classes including eight in first, 42 in business, 21 in premium economy, and 144 in economy class.

The aircraft’s business class is split into two cabins – a small cabin with two rows between the single-row first class cabin and the second pair of doors and a larger cabin with eight rows of seats behind the second pair of doors.

Swiss uses staggered seats on the aircraft in an alternating 1-2-1 and 2-2-1 layout.

Because of the layout, not all seats are equal. The single seats on the left side of the aircraft are “throne seats” with a console table on each side and more personal space than the remaining seats. The window seats on the left side of the aircraft do not offer direct aisle access, which is not ideal if you are traveling on your own.

My dad and I chose a pair of seats in the middle of the cabin to both be able to talk to each other and each have access to the aisle. Since the flight was nowhere near full, I moved to an empty “throne seat” to sleep after dinner and to another window seat to enjoy the scenery during landing.

Zooming in on the seat, the seat back in front was home to a decently sized personal entertainment screen with good resolution.

There were also a coat hook and a compartment holding a variety of printed material including a safety card and a duty free catalog next to the screen and a small storage compartment that could hold glasses, a cell phone, or similar items under the screen.

Most seat controls could be found on the console on the side of the seat.

Additional seat controls (lumbar support, cushion firmness, and massage function), as well as an in-flight entertainment controller with a small screen that could be used to watch the map, for example, could be found in a covered compartment right next to the main seat controls.

A hook, which held headphones and a coat hanger upon boarding, a tray table release button, an audio output, a USB port, a universal power outlet, and a bottle holder could be found on the seat’s privacy partition.

Lastly, on the side of the console between the two seats was a storage compartment that could hold shoes or other similarly sized items.

Swiss Long-Haul Business Class Pre-Flight Service and Departure

When we got on board, a rather thin blanket (certainly below average for business class) and an OK pillow were placed on each seat.

Each seat’s bottle holder already had a bottle of water in it as well.

Lastly, Victorinox-branded amenity kits were placed on the console tables. The amenity kit pouches were designed to expand and be reusable as a rather handy packing cube. The content of the amenity kits was rather underwhelming, though. Each kit only included an eye mask, a toothbrush and toothpaste, lip balm, earplugs, and socks.

Just a few minutes after we settled in our seats, we were brought breakfast cards, which were later collected with our breakfast order details on them, and menus. More about the food on board later, though.

The menus were followed by pre-departure drinks. We were offered a choice of champagne or a non-alcoholic elderberry drink. Both my dad and I got the latter and enjoyed it.

Hot towels were offered around the same time as well.

The crew closed the doors just after our 10:40 p.m. scheduled departure time and four minutes behind schedule, at 10:44 p.m., we were pushed back and started making our way to the runway.

At the same time, we were welcomed on board by the chief purser, who mentioned that we would be flying for 10 hours and five minutes before reaching Johannesburg. The captain welcomed us onboard at a later point as well, mentioning that we were expecting an on-time arrival. Between the two welcomes, a safety video was played.

We took off at 10:59 p.m. and started climbing in a typical A340-fashion (i.e., slowly but surely) to our cruising altitude.

Swiss Long-Haul Business Class Dinner

Ten minutes after take-off, the cabin crew was released from their seats and started preparing for dinner service. Another four or five minutes later, the seatbelt signs were switched off.

Being in the middle section, my dad and I were served by different flight attendants. It took 20 minutes or so from the point the seatbelt signs were switched off until the flight attendant working my aisle came to take my drink and starter order. I opted for sparkling water and the latter of the two choices below:

• Steamed fjord trout with white wine sauce and herb infused oil Fennel crust with Rochat pepper
• Roasted cauliflower with mint and saffron labneh

Another 20 minutes or so later, the flight attendant came back with a tablecloth and a glass of sparkling water. The starter itself, which I enjoyed, followed another fifteen minutes later, around 12:15 a.m. It was served together with a small salad, a selection of cheese, and bread from bread basket.

The main followed about half an hour later (I was offered another drink before that so got a glass of Coke Zero).

Options available on board included:

• Beef tenderloin with basil sauce; pesto polenta slice and courgette
• Grilled chicken breast with mustard sauce; Gnocchetti di Zita pasta, peas and leek
• Sauteed sea bream with tomato sauce with olives and capers; pan-fried groncchi and spinach
• Casarecce with pesto cream sauce, broccolini and pistachios

That said, both my dad and I opted to use the meal pre-booking service that Swiss offers and that, in the case of our flight, came with four options on top of the four above:

• Gnocchi puttanesca
• Chicken massaman curry
• Fried seabass
• Sliced veal Zurich style

I opted for the veal, which was very tender and came with flavorful sauce. My dad opted for the fried seabass, i.e., the Japanese meal.

To finish off the meal, we both had the sole dessert option – eclair with raspberries and caramelized pistacchios.

The flight attendant serving my aisle was very excited about it, saying “you have to try the eclair,” and he was most certainly right. I enjoyed it alongside a cup of peppermint tea.

For reference, below is the full drink menu:

Swiss A340 In-Flight Entertainment System

As mentioned earlier, the seat was equipped with a decent screen. A pair of noise-cancelling headphones was available at the seat during boarding as well.

While I did not watch anything on this flight, those that wanted to had the option to choose from over 200 movies and dozens of TV shows.

As usual, there were only a few episodes of a random series for each TV show. That said, at least for some of the shows, there were half a dozen or a dozen episodes rather than the two or three that some airlines provide.

Additionally, there was a selection of audio content including music albums, audiobooks, and podcasts. A good portion of the latter two was, understandably, in German. Eight simple games were available as well.

One thing worth noting is that ads and informational videos were played throughout while taxiing for departure and during take-off and so it was not possible to watch content during that time.

The in-flight entertainment system was also equipped by an in-flight map made by Panasonic. It included everything one would expect including a number of different views, the ability to move around the map freely, zoom in and out, and so on.

I loved that in the children’s menu, the map was accessed through an “Are We There Yet?” button.

Swiss A340 Onboard Wi-Fi

All of the Swiss A340s including the one that we were flying on are equipped with onboard wi-fi.

While I didn’t use it, three plans were available: messaging-only (free), four hours (25 CHF), and full flight (35 CHF). The latter two did not appear to have any bandwidth restrictions (other than the inability to watch content on streaming sites such as Netflix).

At about 30 and 40 dollars for the paid plans, they were on the pricier side. On the other hand, the free plan allowed not only text messaging but also photo sharing through messaging apps, something that many airlines block on their messaging plans.

Sleeping on a Swiss A340 in Business Class

Wanting to be as fresh on our first day in Africa as possible, I moved to a “throne seat” across the aisle from my assigned seat and tried to get some shuteye as soon as I finished dinner just after 1 a.m.

While Swiss does not provide much in terms of bedding (other than the OK pillow and mediocre blanket I mentioned earlier), I was able to partly rectify that by using one blanket instead of a sheet/mattress pad and having an extra pillow. Add to that the fact that I am not picky in terms of surfaces I can sleep on and I slept well for quite a few hours.

That said, I briefly woke up in the middle of the night at around 4 a.m. At that time, we were flying over the middle of Africa, an area I haven’t flown above once in the over 600 flights I took before this one.

I paid a quick visit to the lavatory, which was kept clean and had a number of other amenities in addition to the standard soap including Soeder herbal lotion, face cream, and face spray. I also used the opportunity to check the galley. There, a basket with a fairly decent selection of packaged snacks was available.

Swiss Long-Haul Business Class Breakfast

I truly woke up around 7 a.m. At that time, we were flying somewhere between Angola and Namibia and had about two more hours left to go.

Shortly after that, I was served breakfast. Given that my dad woke up earlier, he was finished with his breakfast by the time my table cloth was set and breakfast served just after 7:30 a.m.

The breakfast card, which I filled out at the beginning of the flight, offered two choices of mains:

• Swiss breakfast (selection of cold cuts and cheese)
• English breakfast (sun-dried tomato quiche with tomato sauce)

I opted for the former with a number of sides including a croissant, fresh fruits, and bircher muesli. For drink, I checked the boxes next to smoothie and water.

The breakfast was quite light but sufficient given the late dinner time. I enjoyed the bircher muesli in particular.

The flight attendant serving my aisle came to pick up the tray just before 8 a.m. and offered me a hot drink. I got peppermint tea, which was brought just a couple of minutes later.

The meal service finished with a Swiss chocolate.

Arrival at Johannesburg Airport

About 40 minutes before landing, the first officer made an announcement mentioning that the weather in Johannesburg was nice, with a temperature of 11 degrees Celsius. Around the same time, a lady that was sitting behind me asked the crew where she could get the cream that was available in the lavatory, which the crew kindly explained.

At 8:30 a.m., hot towels were provided and a couple of minutes after that, the crew was asked to prepare for landing.

While descending, amazing views of Johannesburg, as well as of Rand Airport where a museum with two Boeing 747s is located, could be had.

We landed at 8:56 a.m. and reached our arrival gate 10 minutes ahead of schedule, at 9:00 a.m.

With business class passengers being eligible to use priority immigration and Japanese passport holders not needing visas to enter South Africa, immigration was a breeze and in no time we were meeting with our guide in the arrival lobby to see a bit of Johannesburg before continuing to Sabi Sands the next day.

Swiss A340 Business Class Summary

Overall, I enjoyed the flight – the food was sufficient and, unlike on my Lufthansa flight a few years ago, tasty, the seat was comfortable for both relaxing in and sleeping in, and the crew was professional but friendly.

Especially so since I was able to move to a “throne seat” after dinner.

The post Review: Swiss A340 Business Class from Zurich to Johannesburg appeared first on KN Aviation.

Continue reading this review to see what the short hop to Zurich in business class on Austrian Embraer E195 was like.

Check-in, Lounge & Boarding at Vienna Airport

After driving to Vienna Airport from my parents’ home in Slovakia and dropping the car off at a parking lot near the airport, we found ourselves inside Terminal 3 around 1:45 p.m. We headed straight to Austrian’s relatively spacious and – at the time of our visit – underutilized Senator and Business check-in area, which consisted of a row of check-in counters closest to the security checkpoint and offered access to a dedicated lane.

With no one else in the area, it was our turn right away. Once the kind staff confirmed that we did not need visas to visit South Africa as Japanese passport holders, he tagged our bags through to the final destination and handed us boarding passes for both flights.

With the boarding passes in our hands, we went to the deserted priority security check lane.

While there was no queue and my dad was through security in no time, it took a while for me to get through due to having to undergo a more thorough check (my camera kit triggered that before several of the flights I took on the trip).

Since we still had over two hours until our flight’s scheduled 4:45 p.m. departure time when we got through security, we visited the nothing-to-write-home-about (although I did enjoy the cevapcici offered!) but fine Austrian Senator Lounge.

We left the lounge just before 4 p.m. and headed to gate F08, which was just a couple of minutes away.

Outside, an E195 registered OE-LWH and wearing the Star Alliance livery was being prepared for the flight to Zurich. The 12 years old aircraft was delivered to Lufthansa Cityline in 2011 before being transferred to Austrian in 2016.

Around 4:15 p.m., an announcement was made saying boarding would be delayed by ten to fifteen minutes due to the late arrival of our aircraft. Ten minutes later, an announcement was made delaying that by another ten minutes. Ultimately, boarding started at 4:41 p.m. but we had to wait another five minutes in the boarding bridge until we were let into the aircraft.

In the meantime, the gate agent approached a random passenger asking him to come with her to gate check his bag. When he politely suggested she also ask someone else, she said “Sir, could you come? Otherwise, I have to call my supervisor and offload you.” Given that he was the first person approached and she has not asked if there were any volunteers, I thought that was an unnecessary escalation.

She asked a couple more people who refused/ignored her before someone volunteered.

Austrian E195 Business Class Cabin & Seat

Austrian’s Embraer E195s are equipped with 120 economy class seats in a 2-2 layout. Like on most other European airlines, the first few rows (the exact number being dependent on demand and set using a movable curtain) are used as business class. In the case of our flight, the first four rows were designated as business class.

Unlike some airlines that do not do so anymore, Austrian continues to block the seats next to business class passengers even on the E-Jet (i.e., each business class passenger gets a pair of seats).

While the standard regional jet economy class seats, advertised as having a 29-inch seat pitch, were not the most comfortable seats you can fly in as a business class passenger, they did the job for the one-hour flight.

Each seatback was equipped with a document compartment at the top and a small seat pocket at the bottom with a single-piece tray table between the two.

The passenger service units were equipped with individual air vents.

Austrian Flight 553 Departure

Boarding was completed just before 5 p.m., and soon after, one of the pilots welcomed us on board, mentioning that we would be ready to go in a few minutes. The purser then welcomed us saying “Good Afternoon and Servus,” and mentioned that our flight time would be one hour and five minutes.

We were pushed back nearly 20 minutes behind schedule, at 5:03 p.m., and a couple of minutes later, the flight attendant in charge of the business class cabin handed us packaged wet tissues.

The push back was followed by a short taxi to runway 29, from which we took off at 5:11 p.m.

Austrian Short-Haul Business Class Light Meal

Seven minutes after take-off, the seatbelt signs were switched off and the light meal service started.

Another few minutes later, both my dad and I were served drinks – sparkling water and Coke Zero, respectively. A full can of the latter was provided.

About ten minutes later, just after 5:30 p.m., I was served the meal with the words “Enjoy your snack, sir.” It came on a tray, which included a Greek salad that wasn’t overly voluminous but was more than sufficient for the short flight and a cake. I enjoyed both.

Soon after serving the tray, the friendly but professional flight attendant came back with a bread basket.

Five minutes into the meal, Austrian’s signature “Servus” chocolates were distributed.

Then, just before the seatbelt signs were switched back on, hot drinks were served. I decided to have a cup of peppermint tea.

I had that along with the cake, which the flight attendant mistakenly took to the galley before bringing it back when I asked for it. “Sorry, you told me to take the tray away,” she said when bringing the cake back. Fair enough.

Separately, I also had one more cup of sparkling water.

Austrian E195 In-Flight Entertainment System and Onboard Wi-Fi

The Austrian E195 was not equipped with in-flight entertainment of any form. It was not equipped with onboard wi-fi either.

Arrival at Zurich Airport

The seatbelt signs were switched back on at 5:45 p.m., when I was still enjoying my peppermint tea and cake.

Ten minutes later, the first officer announced that we would be arriving about 10 minutes late, and that it was 23 degrees Celsius with a bit of wind and clouds in Zurich.

At 6:09 p.m., the landing gear was lowered, and two minutes later we landed at Zurich Airport.

We reached our parking spot at 6:18 p.m., 18 minutes behind schedule.

Austrian E195 Business Class Summary

Aside from the slight delay, the Austrian flight from Vienna to Zurich in business class was perfectly fine.

While the seats were regular economy class seats, at least Austrian continues to block seats next to business class passengers on its E-Jets. Similarly, while the meal was nothing to write home about, the salad was perfectly fine for the short, one-hour flight.

The post Review: Austrian E195 Business Class from Vienna to Zurich appeared first on KN Aviation.

Continue reading this review to see what the flight from Helsinki to Tokyo was like in the airline’s business class seats which made the news for being non-reclining.

Transfer, Lounge & Boarding at Helsinki Airport

After arriving on a Finnair A320 from Vienna, I briefly visited the Finnair Lounge in the Schengen area of Helsinki Airport which I wanted to review for quite some time, and then headed through immigration. Once in the non-Schengen area of the airport, I spent some time in the Finnair Business Lounge.

The latter was much quieter than the former. In fact, the Schengen lounge was so crowded that if I was taking an intra-Schengen flight, waiting in the public area of the terminal would probably have been more comfortable than waiting in the lounge.

With my flight to Tokyo Haneda being scheduled to depart at 6:30PM, I left the lounge around 5:45PM and headed to gate 43. Most of the passengers were already gathered around the gate, waiting for boarding to start. Outside, OH-LWI, an A350 delivered to Finnair in 2017, was undergoing final preparations for the flight.

Priority boarding for business class passengers and frequent flyer status holders started at 5:51PM and I was among the first passengers to head down the jetway.

When I got on board, I was surprised to find another passenger already sitting in my seat 3A. It turned out that he was meant to be seated in 2A and didn’t realize there were no window seats in row 1 – i.e. the first window seat row was row 2.

Finnair’s New A350-900 AirLounge Business Class Seat

Originally, all Finnair A350-900s were in a two-class – business and economy – configuration with reverse herringbone seats in business class. In 2022, however, Finnair started refurbishing its A350 fleet with brand new cabins. In addition to being equipped with different seats, the aircraft are also equipped with premium economy class on top of business and economy.

While I flew on the non-refurbished Finnair A350s equipped with reverse herringbone seats in business class a couple of times in the past, this was my first time flying on one of the refurbished aircraft.

The refurbished aircraft come in two different configurations – one with 278 and the other one with 321 seats. My flight was operated by the denser 321-seater and had 30 of Finnair’s original AirLounge business class seats in a 1-2-1 layout between the first two pairs of doors. The business-heavy configuration has additional 13 business class seats behind the second pair of doors.

The dark blue business class seats looked simple yet elegant and each of the seats had a large privacy shield on its aisle side. With no overhead compartments in the middle section, the cabin also felt spacious.

Without a doubt, the seat’s most unique feature (or lack of feature) was that it did not recline. Instead, the seat was like a small sofa with the privacy shield acting like an extension of the backrest that one could lean against.

At first, sitting in the seat felt a bit claustrophobic and it felt fairly unnatural to sit straight in the seat – I wasn’t sure what the default sitting position was meant to be. The legroom felt a bit more restricted compared to other seat types too.

That said, over time, I got used to the unique seat design and did not miss the ability to recline. Ultimately, I could also find a comfortable position both when sitting and when sleeping. That said, based on some other reviews I’ve seen there certainly are people who prefer more traditional business class seats.

The one downside of the seat was that it was far from the window.

Zooming in on my left-hand side window seat 3A, there was a reading lamp on the seat’s left side.

Under the light was a small enclosed storage compartment good for storing glasses, cellphones, etc. The compartment was also home to an in-flight entertainment controller, audio output, and a pair of USB charging ports – one USB-A and one USB-C.

There was also a console table. While it was not the largest, it could still hold my 13-inch MacBook. The table was equipped with a wireless charger – something that seems to be appearing in more and more seats but is still a relatively rare feature.

Under the console table were the seat controls and tray table. With the seat itself not reclining, there were a tray table release button, overhead and reading light control buttons, and a leg rest control button. The leg rest was the only electronically controlled part of the seat.

The tray table was quite small and flimsy.

Between the console and the foot cubby under the seatback in front was another, larger enclosed storage compartment. Next to it was also a document compartment that held a safety card.

The seat was also equipped with a universal power outlet.

Combined with the USB-A and USB-C ports in the small storage compartment and with wireless charging in the console table, the seat offered all of the charging options one could ask for.

Lastly, the seatback in front was equipped with an 18-inch screen with good resolution. The screen’s position could not be altered.

There were no individual air vents.

Finnair Long-Haul Business Class Pre-Flight Service & Departure

Upon boarding, a bottle of water was ready in the larger storage compartment. There were also an amenity kit and a noise-canceling headset on the console table.

On the seat was a pair of pillows and on the ottoman were a mattress pad, a duvet, and slippers.

Just before 6PM, one of the flight attendants came to offer me a welcome drink. The choice was easy – I went with a glass of Finnair’s signature blueberry juice that I have every time I fly with the airline.

By the time boarding was completed at 6:19PM, the business class cabin was almost entirely full with a good portion of the passengers belonging to a tour group.

A few minutes after that, the captain welcomed us onboard. He introduced himself and the three other pilots on the flight, mentioned the expected flight time of 12 hours 30 minutes, and gave us an overview of the routing. Not having the ability to overfly Russia, the flight took us north toward Rovaniemi and over the North Pole, and then south toward Alaska and Bering Strait before flying over the Pacific Ocean to reach Tokyo.

We were pushed back at 6:29PM – a minute ahead of schedule – and a safety video was played while we were making our way to the departure runway. We took off from Helsinki Airport’s runway 04R at 6:41PM.

Finnair (Revamped) Long-Haul Business Class Dinner

The seatbelt signs were switched off about ten minutes after take-off. Five minutes later, the dinner service began with a hot towel. From there, it took another ten minutes or so for one of the flight attendants to come to ask for my drink preferences (blueberry juice, of course) and to then bring the drink together with a ramekin of almonds.

When the flight attendant came to clear the ramekin later, she asked me if I wanted a drink refill. After saying yes, she asked me which wine I was drinking. Replying that it was blueberry juice, we both chuckled.

Around the same time, another flight attendant came to put a tablecloth over the tray table.

The meal service itself started about 50 minutes after take-off and was done using a cart. The meal consisted of two side dishes served together on a single tray with one of the three entrée options:

• Grilled pork belly with roasted potatoes, chimichurri beans, mustard sauce
• Lightly smoked rainbow trout with stewed buckwheat, roasted cauliflower and string beans
• Fermented pepper spiced and grilled chicken with roasted summer vegetables

I went with the rainbow trout. The sides included roast beef tataki with ponzu sauce and green pea purée with mustard potato salad and pickled red onion. I was also offered bread from a selection of sliced bread, breadsticks, and dark bread (my choice). To drink, I got a glass of sparkling water.

The roast beef was soft and went well with the ponzu. The green pea puree was enjoyable too – I ate it together with the bread since there was no spoon and it was difficult to eat with a fork. Other than the trout being perhaps a tad too salty, the main was enjoyable.

The tray was cleared very fast – just a minute or two after I finished the meal. At the same time, I was also asked whether I wanted any dessert or drink. In addition to cheese, the dessert choices included a lemon tart and a rhubarb mousse. I went with the mousse.

I also asked for some peppermint tea. After a while, the flight attendant came back mentioning they changed their tea brand a few weeks ago and peppermint tea was no longer available. As such, I opted for blackcurrant white tea instead which turned out to be nice too.

The mousse was refreshing – I liked that it was not too sweet and that the portion wasn’t too large. It was a perfect way to finish the meal before going to bed. Once again, it took just a minute or two for the empty dishes to be cleared once I finished the dessert and tea.

One thing that needs to be said about the meal service is that on my previous flight, the appetizer was served first and then the appetizer plate was replaced with the main. On this flight, the two appetizers and the main were served on the tray all at once. Additionally, in the revamped concept there was no plate for bread – instead, it was placed on the tray like it would in economy class.

With that, while there was no major change in terms of quality or quantity compared to Finnair’s previous long-haul business class meals, the airline certainly cut down on presentation a bit.

You can find the meal menu and full drink menu for your flight on Finnair’s website.

Finnair (Revamped) A350-900 In-Flight Entertainment System

As mentioned earlier, the new Finnair AirLounge business class seat was equipped with a nice 18-inch touchscreen. Additionally, noise-canceling headphones were available at the seat upon boarding.

While the in-flight entertainment system on the A350s with the new cabins features an in-flight entertainment system with a revamped user interface, the content selection itself seemed more or less the same as on the aircraft equipped with the older cabins.

The one thing I didn’t like about the user interface was that it only allowed for flipping between groups of four movies for each category at a time. That made it considerably more cumbersome to choose something to watch than a simple grid one could scroll through would.

An ad was played before content too, although at least it was possible to skip it.

Considering that the inability to access Russian airspace made some of Finnair’s flights including the one I was on considerably longer, having a good selection of content was important. While the selection wasn’t as extensive as on Emirates or Qatar Airways, there was still more than enough to choose from to stay entertained even on the longest flights.

There were dozens and dozens of movies (I watched Ticket to Paradise) and a good selection of TV shows, each with a few episodes (I watched some episodes of Friends). That said, none of the TV shows had a full season available.

Additionally, there was plenty of music to listen to and a selection of a dozen or so games.

The in-flight entertainment system was also equipped with downward- and forward-facing cameras and a customizable in-flight map.

Finnair A350-900 Onboard Wi-Fi

Like most other aircraft in Finnair’s fleet, the refurbished A350 that I was flying on was equipped with onboard wi-fi. Three paid plans were available:

• Entire flight: 24.95 EUR or 4,700 Finnair miles
• 3 hours: 14.95 EUR or 2,700 Finnair miles
• 1 hour: 7.95 EUR or 1,300 Finnair miles

While the prices were reasonable, for the two longer plans, the cash prices went up considerably compared to my last long-haul Finnair flight (24.95 EUR compared to 19.95 EUR). The prices in miles for all of the plans went down slightly. That said, I would only consider using miles to purchase onboard wi-fi if I had absolutely no other use for them.

Additionally, business class passengers and Finnair’s frequent flyer status holders could use wi-fi for free to one extent or another. Finnair Plus Platinum and Platinum Lumo status holders were eligible for free internet for the duration of the flight. Business class passengers on a Classic or Flex or award ticket and Finnair Plus Gold status holders could get one hour for free.

Unfortunately, the business class and status benefits didn’t stack.

Finnair A350-900 Business Class Lavatory and Amenity Kit

While the business class lavatory nearest to my seat was clean, there were only very basic amenities – soap and hand cream made by Swedish brand LA bruket, and toothbrushes.

The one thing that set it apart from lavatories on some other aircraft was that there was a window.

The amenity kit came in a nice Marimekko pouch but the content itself was nothing to write home about. They included LA bruket lip balm and facial cream, an eyemask with the same design as the pouch, and earplugs.

Sleeping in Finnair’s New AirLounge Business Class Seat

After finishing dinner, I turned my seat into a bed. That involved two steps – lifting the leg rest all the way up and then filling the gap between the leg rest and the ottoman by manually extending a part of the seat that was stored under the ottoman. I also put the mattress pad on top of the seat.

With the bed not facing in the same direction as the seat, it felt a bit weird at first, similar to ANA’s The Room. In no time, though, I got used to it and had no issue falling asleep. In fact, I ultimately found the bed comfortable – although a bit too hard – and managed to sleep for over five hours. As a side sleeper, I liked that the portions of the bed were quite wide.

Finnair Long-Haul Business Class Mid-Flight Drinks and Snacks

When I woke up, it was just after 9AM Japan time and we still had about four hours to go. We just passed through the US-side of Baring Strait, were flying near Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and were heading south toward Japan.

Not feeling like going back to sleep, I took out my laptop and got some work done instead.

Around 9:30AM, one of the flight attendants came to offer me some snacks. The choices included candies, cookies, and potato chips among other things. I decided to get a box of chips and a pack of Haribo gummies.

She also offered me a drink so I asked for a cup of tea. The seatbelt signs went on due to turbulence right after that, though, and so it wasn’t until about half an hour later that I was served the tea together with a small chocolate.

It’s also worth noting that throughout the flight, a cart with drinks was available in the galley.

Finnair (Revamped) Long-Haul Business Class Breakfast

The cabin lights were switched back on at 10:55AM Japan time – about two and a half hours before our arrival in Tokyo. At that point, we were flying at an altitude of 41,000 feet.

At 11AM, one of the flight attendants brought me a hot towel, and ten minutes later she came back to ask if I was ready to have breakfast. The answer was, of course, yes, and I asked for some orange juice and tea to go with the meal. The breakfast tray was brought to me a couple of minutes later.

There were no breakfast options to choose from. Instead, everyone was served a quiche, a small salad, some cut fruits, and two pieces of bread. While the salad could have been dressed more, the quiche was good. One thing that I wish was served with the meal and that was lacking compared to Finnair’s pre-revamp breakfast service was yogurt.

About fifteen minutes into the meal, the flight attendant came with a box of orange juice asking if I wanted a refill. I also asked for some more tea when the flight attendant came to clear the tray just five minutes or so after I finished eating. I should note here that throughout the flight, the crew was quite proactive in offering drink refills whenever they noticed I had an empty glass/cup.

Arrival at Tokyo Haneda Airport

Once done with breakfast, I spent the rest of the flight watching a couple of episodes of Friends while editing photos from the trip and enjoying some tea. Somewhere along the way, the cabin crew also passed through the cabin handing out “The Northern Route diplomas.”

When Finnair announced they would do so after having to reroute their flights to Japan, I found it a bit amusing since when this type of certificate was originally handed out, flying over the North Pole was a great achievement and a step forward; in this case, it was a step backward. Still, as an aviation enthusiast, there are few things I like getting more onboard than various certificates.

At 12:35PM, an arrival video that reminded passengers to store their luggage under the seat, put their seat in an upright position, etc., and thanked them for flying with Finnair was played. A few minutes later, we started our descent.

Then, the cabin crew passed through the cabin handing out chocolates.

At 1:17PM, the pilots notified the cabin crew that we would be landing within ten minutes. Then, at 1:25PM, they lowered the landing gear.

We touched down on Tokyo Haneda’s runway 22 at 1:29PM.

From there, it took just six minutes to reach our parking spot, gate 109 at Haneda Airport’s Terminal 3. We came to a full stop at 1:35PM – 15 minutes ahead of our scheduled arrival time.

Finnair A350-900 AirLounge Business Class Summary

I was really looking forward to taking this flight for two reasons – it was my first chance to try Finnair’s new long-haul business class seat and my first chance to see what the airline’s revamped meal service is like.

The seat was definitely interesting. After all, “non-reclining” is something usually associated with low-cost airlines and not with long-haul business class. While at first, the seat felt a bit weird to sit in, over time as I found comfortable positions to sit in and sleep in, I grew to like it.

The meals were, to an extent, a downgrade compared to Finnair’s previous offering. That said, the portions were still sufficient and the quality was good.

All in all, I enjoyed the flight and would not hesitate to fly with Finnair in long-haul business class again.

The post Review: Finnair A350-900 AirLounge Business Class from Helsinki to Tokyo Haneda appeared first on KN Aviation.

While the A320 and A319 are essentially identical cabin-wise, the recent flight also gave me a chance to try Finnair’s revamped intra-European business class meal services. Continue reading this review to see what the flight was like.

Check-in, Lounge & Boarding at Vienna Airport

While there were three counters dedicated to the flight in Vienna Airport’s older terminal, they were still closed when I got there at 9:20AM – about two and half hours before the 11:45AM departure time. As such, since I was traveling just with carry-on luggage, I skipped the long lines at the yet-to-open check-in counters and went airside using my mobile boarding pass.

Since there was an empty fast track for business and first class passengers, going through security was a breeze. It was nice to see the airport’s older terminal have central security check now as in the past it used to be done before entering the gate waiting area.

Once airside, I passed through the duty free area and went straight to Vienna Lounge – a relatively recently opened lounge that serves both as the contract lounge for airlines using Terminal 1 including Finnair as well as a Priority Pass lounge.

The lounge was large and not too crowded, and the selection of food and drinks was decent too. I especially liked that it had a Viennese coffee house-style area with a good selection of desserts too. I wrote a detailed review of the lounge here.

I left the lounge just before 11AM and when I got to the gate around the scheduled boarding time of 11:05AM, passengers were still getting off the inbound flight from Helsinki.

It took another ten minutes or so for everyone to get off and the aircraft to be prepared for the flight to Helsinki and – at 11:16AM – boarding started. While there was some minor issue with scanning my boarding pass, it was quickly resolved, and a minute or two later, I was walking down the jetway toward the Finnair A320 registered OH-LXM.

Finnair A320 Business Class Cabin & Seat

Like other Finnair A320s, the one that I was traveling on was equipped with 174 economy class seats. As is common in Europe, these seats – more specifically the first few rows – were also used as business class. In the case of my flight, the divider between business and economy class was placed after the fifth row.

As is customary in intra-European business class, the middle seat was blocked. While there was no table placed on the middle seat, the headrest cover clearly indicated the seat would remain empty.

I was in seat 3A. The legroom was average. The seat was equipped with a documents compartment above the non-foldable tray table and a regular seat pocket under it. In addition to that, there was also a coathook on the seatback. There were no power outlets or USB charging ports.

The documents compartment contained a safety card, a waste bag, and a buy-on-board menu.

The overhead panels were equipped with individual air vents on top of the usual flight attendant call buttons and reading lights.

As for the business class lavatory which could be found in the front of the aircraft, there was nothing special about it. Other than the obligatory handsoap, there were no amenities.

Finnair Short-Haul Business Class Pre-Flight Service & Departure

Upon boarding, a blanket was ready on my seat and a bottle of water was in the seat pocket.

By the time boarding was completed and the aircraft doors closed at 11:34AM, there was a total of six passengers in business class. Economy class looked quite full. Shortly after that, one of the flight attendants made an announcement welcoming everyone onboard, introducing the crew, and mentioning that we were expecting a flight time of approximately two hours.

We were pushed back at 11:38AM. Considering that half an hour earlier passengers were still getting off the inbound flight, I thought it was impressive we left just three minutes behind schedule.

On the way to the runway, the cabin crew did a manual safety demonstration. We took off at 11:47AM from runway 29.

Finnair Short-Haul Business Class Lunch

Seatbelt signs were switched off at noon and just a few minutes after that the crew sprung into action.

First, hot towels were distributed. Then, I was offered a drink. Of course, I went with Finnair’s signature blueberry juice which was served in a nice cup and which I really enjoyed.

Another fifteen minutes or so later, I was asked whether I wanted to have lunch. Saying yes, I was then asked if I wanted anything to drink (I asked for another cup of blueberry juice) and offered a choice of either dark or white bread (I went with the former).

The flight attendant then brought the meal to me three or four minutes later.

While the bread was the same as before, it was nice to see Finnair upgrade from a cold meal to a hot meal from when I last flew on the same flight. The chicken was soft and spicy, the rice was cooked well, and the lemon muffin made for a nice dessert. Overall, I really enjoyed the meal.

Then at some point, the flight attendant serving business class came to offer hot drinks. I decided to get a cup of rooibos tea. I later had another cup of the same.

The tray was cleared promptly shortly after I was done with the meal too.

In economy class, free water and blueberry juice were offered. There was also a buy-on-board menu with additional drinks and some food.

Finnair A320 In-Flight Entertainment

While the Finnair A320 wasn’t equipped with personal screens, some in-flight entertainment was available through a wi-fi portal. The selection was nothing to write home about, though, and there was no video content.

Instead, there were six free magazines to read (additional paid ones were available too), some audiobooks (although all seemed to be in Finnish), and a very simple “air traffic control” game.

Additionally, there was an in-flight map.

Finnair A320 Onboard Wi-Fi

As hinted above, the Finnair A320 was also equipped with onboard wi-fi. While still reasonably priced (at least for the cheaper package), the internet connection was considerably more expensive (at least when paying in cash, their mileage cost went down) compared to the last time I flew on the exact same flight. Two packages with no data caps were available:

• Stream: 24.95 EUR or 4,700 miles
• Browse: 9.95 EUR or 1,700 miles

As a business class passenger, I could enjoy 30 minutes of “Browse” internet for free. It worked perfectly fine for messaging and even browsing. On a couple of speed tests I did, I got download speeds of over 40 Mbps.

Finnair’s status holders got free wi-fi too – Finnair Plus Gold and Platinum members get 30 minutes of “Browse” while Platinum Lumo members got “Stream” for the duration of the flight. Unfortunately, the business class and status benefits didn’t stack to provide 2 x 30 minutes.

I really appreciated that the seatback prominently featured the wi-fi log-in URL and also that there was a map in the wi-fi portal that showed areas in which the internet connection would not work.

Arrival at Helsinki Airport

At 2:15PM Helsinki time (one hour ahead of Vienna), the captain made an announcement mentioning that we would be starting our descent in a few minutes and that it was cloudy with a bit of rain in Helsinki.

He also mentioned that we were expecting to land a good 15 minutes ahead of schedule.

We started descent about five minutes later and another couple of minutes later the seatbelt signs were switched back on. After that, it got quite bumpy.

At 2:37PM, the landing gear was lowered and three minutes later, we landed on Helsinki Airport’s runway 04R. We reached our arrival gate, gate 25 at 2:43PM – 17 minutes ahead of schedule.

Finnair A320 Business Class Summary

Recently, Finnair implemented some measures that are not great for passengers – cutting champagne in short-haul business class, not blocking seat next to business class passengers on E190 anymore, increasing award ticket costs, etc. On the other hand, it improved its meals on both short- and long-haul business class flights.

This was my first flight with the revamped meals and I liked the new meal concept. As for the rest of the flight, it was in line with what other airlines offer within Europe. As such, while I wouldn’t actively seek to fly with Finnair, if it happened to be the cheapest or most convenient option, I wouldn’t hesitate to fly with the airline again.

The post Review: Finnair A320 Business Class from Vienna to Helsinki appeared first on KN Aviation.

Continue reading this review to see what the flight on a WestJet 737-700 in Premium Class was like.

Booking the Flight & Online Check-in

This flight was part of a one-way itinerary from Tokyo to Yellowknife via Calgary. I reviewed the Tokyo to Calgary flight on WestJet’s 787-9 here. I paid 514 USD for the one-way ticket and since I was connecting from a long-haul flight from Japan, free checked luggage was included even on the shorter domestic segment.

Right after booking, I also submitted a bid for an upgrade to “Premium Class” for this flight. I bid 45 CAD – just above the bare minimum. Five days before departure, I got an email confirming that the upgrade bid went through. At that point, I was auto-assigned seat 1A which I later changed to 2A.

I was able to check-in online and download my boarding pass into Apple Wallet using the WestJet app without any issues.

Check-in, Lounge & Boarding at Calgary Airport

The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Airport-Calgary shuttle dropped me off in front of the terminal around 7:10AM. While I had a mobile boarding pass, I stopped by one of the Priority Check-in desks that can be used by Business and Premium Class passengers and WestJet status holders to drop off my bag.

With no one in the line and a friendly and efficient agent behind the desk, I was good to go in no time.

Security took just under ten minutes. As the friendly security check staff replied “I’m good too, thanks!” to my “Good morning,” we had a good laugh before I proceeded through.

Airside, I still had plenty of time before my flight would start boarding so I walked over to Concourse B to see what WestJet’s lounge is like. While my ticket didn’t come with lounge access, I was able to get in using Priority Pass. The lounge turned out to be one of the nicest Priority Pass lounges I had a chance to visit so far.

I left the lounge at 8:30AM and got to my departure gate – A22 – five minutes later. On the way, it was nice to see one of Air Canada’s A220s that is expected to start flying to Yellowknife from Toronto soon. Not having flown on the type yet, I certainly hope to board one – whether Air Canada’s or some other airline’s – soon.

By the time I got to the gate, some people were already waiting there. That said, it didn’t look like it would be a full flight. In fact, originally the flight was scheduled to be operated by a Dash 8 Q400 before being upgraded to the 737-700 for the summer.

Boarding started at 8:40AM. With group 1 including Premium Class passengers, I scanned my boarding pass, showed my ID to the gate agent, and headed down the jetway.

WestJet 737-700 Premium Class Cabin & Seat

Stepping onboard the 737-700 registered C-GWBN, I was surprised to see the aircraft equipped with proper domestic business class seats. I wasn’t the only one considering that one of the passengers that boarded after me said “I should’ve paid 50 bucks to upgrade” when he saw the cabin.

That’s because the online seat map was showing the aircraft being in an all-economy class configuration with Premium Class seats being economy class seats with empty middle seats. It appears, though, that all WestJet 737s have been refurbished with proper business class seats at this point.

The 737-700 had three rows of Premium Class seats in a 2-2 layout for a total of 12 seats. Large beige headrests with foldable sides added a nice contrast to the dark seats. The overhead panels were a bit worn out and dirty but they were equipped with individual air vents.

Separating the seats in each pair was a small table.

A regular tray table foldable in half was stowed in the other side’s armrest.

On the bottom part of the console separating the two seats were also a universal power outlet and a USB-A charging port.

On the console’s side facing the seat was a small storage compartment.

There was also a regular seat pocket on the seatback in front and there was plenty of storage under the seat in front. Inside the seat pocket were a safety card and a waste bag.

While my seat 2A didn’t offer as much legroom as the seats in the first row, it still offered more than enough of it for the short domestic flight.

WestJet Domestic Premium Class Pre-Flight Service & Departure

Upon boarding, a small bottle of Dasani water was waiting on the small table between my and my neighbor’s seat.

By the time the aircraft doors were closed at 9:12AM, there were two empty seats in Premium Class and economy was about 70% full. At that point, we were welcomed onboard by the chief purser who introduced the crew and mentioned that we were expecting to be flying for 1 hour 39 minutes.

After that, a manual safety demonstration was done.

We were pushed back at 9:18AM – two minutes ahead of schedule. Five minutes later, we started taxiing toward our departure runway.

Along the way, some nice views of aircraft on the apron as well as of Calgary’s impressive skyline could be had.

We took off from runway 34R at 9:31AM.

A few minutes later, the captain welcomed us and – in addition to the flight time – mentioned that we were going to climb to 40,000 feet and that it was 4 degrees Celsius in Yellowknife.

WestJet Domestic Premium Class Snack Box

Seatbelt signs were switched off about ten minutes after take-off.

Another ten minutes later, I was approached by the flight attendant working in Premium Class and asked if I wanted anything to drink. I decided to get a cup of orange juice.

It took about ten minutes for the drink to be served. At the same time, I was also handed a small snack box. Inside the snack box were four items – almonds, a chocolate quinoa crisp, a granola bar, and Mentos. Unfortunately, WestJet only serves proper hot meals in Premium Class on flights longer than two and a half hours.

While enjoying the pack of almonds (I took the rest of the snacks with me rather than eating them onboard), I was also able to enjoy some nice views of Canadian scenery with an increasing number of lakes as we continued flying toward Yellowknife.

Cups and trash were cleared about 20 minutes after the drinks and snack boxes were served. Drinks were not proactively offered for the rest of the flight.

WestJet 737-700 In-Flight Entertainment System

The 737-700 wasn’t equipped with in-seat entertainment. However, plenty of content was available to stream through the onboard wi-fi network. In fact, the content selection was the same as on the WestJet 787 used on long hauls.

There were over 150 movies ranging from classics all the way to new releases. It was interesting to see Doraemon – a Japanese animated movie – onboard a domestic flight within Canada.

The system offered a good selection of TV shows too. That said, each of the shows only had a couple of episodes rather than entire seasons.

Lastly, the online portal also had a relatively robust map and flight information section.

WestJet 737-700 Onboard Wi-Fi

The onboard wi-fi on the WestJet 737-700 not only provided access to in-flight entertainment as described above but also to the internet. The pricing was as follows:

• Inflight Chat (2.99 CAD) – This plan offered text-only chatting on mobile devices using the iMessage, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and WeChat apps for the duration of the flight
• Full Flight (21.99 CAD) – This plan offered full internet access for the duration of the flight

Unfortunately, the prices were exactly the same as those on the long-haul flight from Tokyo to Calgary. While the chat plan pricing was reasonable, the full flight plan was too expensive given that it was a sub-2-hour domestic flight.

Arrival at Yellowknife Airport

While I wanted to sleep a bit during the flight, the views were too good to sleep through. As such, for the rest of the flight, I did some work while being “distracted” by those views. They got especially impressive once we got closer to Yellowknife and were flying over the frozen Great Slave Lake.

At 11AM, the seatbelt signs were switched back on. Another ten minutes of descending later, the landing gear was lowered.

Throughout this time, amazing views of the Great Slave Lake and later of the scenery around Yellowknife could be had.

We landed on Yellowknife Airport’s runway 34 at 11:12AM and two minutes later came to a full stop at our parking spot.

Considering that Yellowknife Airport doesn’t have any jetways, we disembarked using a mobile ramp and then walked over to the small terminal. Interestingly, the baggage claim was in the public area of the terminal.

WestJet 737-700 Premium Class Summary

Overall, the flight was enjoyable and the 45 CAD upgrade was well worth it considering that the aircraft was equipped with proper domestic business class seats.

While it would have been nice to have an in-seat screen, the streaming system offered plenty of entertainment options. Similarly, a proper hot meal would have been nice but given the length of the flight, the snack box was sufficient. What made the flight memorable, though, were the amazing views.

The post Review: WestJet 737-700 Premium Class from Calgary to Yellowknife appeared first on KN Aviation.

This flight, which I booked using Avianca LifeMiles I bought during one of its frequent promotions, finally gave me a chance to tick it off the list. It was also my first time to fly on Austrian’s 767-300ER. Continue reading this review to see what the business class flight was like.

Check-in, Lounge & Boarding at New York JFK Airport

I arrived at the airport about four hours before my flight’s departure since I wanted to stop by the TWA Hotel. before checking in. I stayed there a while back and wanted to spend some more time there to see the Lockheed Constellation parked in front of the hotel as well as the impressive architecture of what used to be the TWA Flight Center and is now the hotel’s lobby area.

Then, just before 6:30PM, I took AirTrain from Terminal 5 where the TWA Hotel is to Terminal 1 which Austrian Airlines uses.

While there were some passengers in the economy class queue, there was no one in the business class line. As such, check-in was a breeze.

Going through security wasn’t nearly as quick, but the 12-minute wait was reasonable. Seeing a TSA agent react with “I think I know what I’m doing” after a passenger kindly asked him to handle her bag a bit more gently reminded me of why airport security in the US gets a bad rap.

Airside, I went into the Lufthansa Senator Lounge where I took a much-needed shower and spent a bit more than an hour relaxing. The lounge wasn’t anything to write home about but was a perfectly fine place to wait for a flight. Definitely better than the terminal.

To see what it was like in more detail, read my full review of the lounge.

Shortly before 8PM, the inbound flight from Vienna arrived at gate 4 which was the one just outside the lounge’s windows. Another 20 minutes or so later, I left the lounge and walked around the terminal a bit before making my way to the departure gate.

Preboarding started at 8:55PM. It was quite chaotic and took about 10 minutes until it finished. Then, business class passengers and Star Alliance Gold members were invited to board and so I made my way into the aircraft.

Interestingly, in the jetway, passengers received a bottle of water from the airport staff. It was the first time for me to experience this type of service – I wonder if it’s something that JFK does when the expected time in the take-off queue is long. In either case, it was a nice touch.

Austrian Airlines 767-300ER Business Class Cabin & Seat

The Austrian 767 I was flying on from New York to Vienna was equipped with 211 seats. Those included 26 full-flat staggered business class seats in a 1-2-1 layout, 18 premium economy seats in a 2-2-2 layout, and 167 economy class seats in a 2-3-2 layout.

It’s worth noting that while there are some differences in galley sizes/locations between Austrian’s 767s registered OE-LAW/LAX and the rest of them, they all feature the same number of seats.

The single seats along the windows alternate between “true” window seats in odd-numbered rows and aisle seats separated from the window by a console in even-numbered rows. My seat, 5K was a right-hand side window seat.

In the middle section, the pairs of seats alternate between being closer to the left aisle and the right aisle. The type of staggered seats Austrian uses similar to the one Swiss uses and offers no pairs of seats right next to each other like on Thai’s 777 for example.

As for the seat itself, with mine being a right-hand side window seat, there was a large console on the left side of the seat. On the edge of the counter were the seat controls and a compartment with the in-flight entertainment system controller. The tray table was inside the console as well.

The panel above the console was home to a universal power outlet (for some reason it didn’t work when I tried it, though), a USB charging port, the audio output, a reading light, and a small storage compartment.

Adding a bit of originality to the otherwise fairly normal seat was some nice embroidery on the storage compartment cover.

On the seatback in front of the seat was a decently-sized screen. Its frame was also home to a USB charging port and another audio output.

Next to the screen, there were also a coat hook, a seat pocket, and a bottle holder. Under those, there was a small storage compartment. Additionally, there was a storage compartment under the screen which seemed large enough to fit a 13-inch laptop.

Lastly, the seat had a foot cubby which was very small. It was not possible to store any luggage under it.

Austrian Airlines Business Class Pre-Flight Service & Departure

Upon boarding, a blanket and a pillow could be found on the seat. There were also a very modest amenity kit in the embroidered storage compartment and noise-canceling headphones in the seat pocket.

The amenity kit came in a small pouch and included the absolute minimum – an eye mask, socks, a dental kit, and earplugs. In fact, it was no different than amenity kits offered by some other airlines in economy class.

The headphones came with disposable covers.

About 15 minutes after boarding, one of the flight attendants brought me the menu.

Another one came shortly after to offer me a welcome drink – either orange or apple juice. I went with the former. The passenger seated across the aisle from me asked if there was champagne but he was told only the two types of juices were available.

Boarding was completed at 9:18PM and at that point, the business class cabin was nearly full.

Five minutes later, one of the flight attendants came to take my dinner order and to ask if she should wake me up for breakfast. Saying yes to the latter, I was asked which of the breakfast options I’d like to have. More about that later, though.

We were pushed back at 9:28PM – seven minutes ahead of schedule – and a minute later, we were welcomed onboard by the cabin crew.

From there, in a typical JFK fashion, it took forever until it was our turn to take-off. More precisely, at 10:20PM – almost an hour after push back – the captain welcomed us onboard and mentioned that we were number five for take-off. Then, at 10:28PM – a full hour after push back – we finally took off from runway 22R.

Austrian Airlines Long-Haul Business Class Dinner

The seatbelt signs were switched off about 15 minutes after take-off and another ten minutes later, the dinner service started.

First, a warm towel was provided, and shortly after, one of the flight attendants came to collect the towel and set up the table. As I struggled with pulling out the tray table (I didn’t realize there was a button to release it), the flight attendant took it out for me and put a nicely-patterned tablecloth on it.

As mentioned earlier, the meal order was taken before take-off. There were two appetizer options (Caprese and roast beef), three main options (chicken, fish, and pasta), and two desssert options (profiteroles and strudel).

I opted for the roast beef appetizer, stuffed chicken breast main, and apple strudel.

Below is the full meal menu.

As for a drink, I decided to have Almdudler, an Austrian soda made of herbal extracts. With it being one of the most popular drinks in Austrian, it is not surprising Austrian offers it onboard; still, as a non-drinker, I always appreciate when there is some unusual soft drink option like this or Qatar Airways’ So Jennie and try to go for it whenever possible.

Below is the full drink menu.

It took a bit less than 15 minutes from when the table was set to the appetizer being served. I was mistakenly served the Caprese but after pointing it out, it was replaced with the roast beef in no time.

At that time, one of the flight attendants also brought a bread basket. Of the several types of bread available, I chose a pretzel roll which was excellent (I could eat ten of those a day).

While the presentation was a bit off (the food seemed to have shifted off the center of the plate), the roast beef was tender and highly enjoyable.

The main was served at around 11:30PM New York time and was nothing to write home about. There was nothing wrong with the chicken and the edamame was nice, but the presentation left a bit to be desired.

Shortly after that, one of the flight attendants stopped by to ask if I wanted anything else. She forgot to bring it the first time around, but she brought it in no time once I asked for it the second time she came to ask if I wanted anything else. 

When the flight attendant came back to clear my table, she asked what I wanted for dessert (apple strudel) and if I wanted anything to drink. I decided to have a cup of peppermint tea.

A couple of minutes later, I was served chamomile tea – different from what I ordered, but no big deal. It was also nice that the tea was served on a small metal tray as it would be in a cafe.

The strudel – which I really enjoyed and was my favorite part of the meal alongside the roast beef – was served six or seven minutes later.

I finished the meal shortly before 11PM at which point the flight attendant came to clear the table while saying “thank you so much and good night.”

I should note here that in spite of the small misses (forgetting to bring the pretzel roll and bringing the wrong items a couple of times), the cabin crew was very friendly and professional throughout the meal service and flight. I also realized during the meal service that the flight attendants were not wearing masks. It was the first such flight for me in over two years and it was nice to see their faces again.

Austrian Airlines 767-300ER In-Flight Entertainment System

As mentioned earlier, noise-canceling headphones were ready at the seat upon boarding. I didn’t have the chance to try them, though, since the flight was fairly short and I wanted to maximize the time I had to sleep. That said, I did browse around the in-flight entertainment system a bit.

The system could either be controlled through the touchscreen or using the controller. The controller, however, had a little pad used to move a cursor around the screen (similar to Lufthansa’s A340) which was not very user friendly.

In terms of content, there was a selection of over 100 movies of all genres, a variety of TV shows (the few I checked had several episodes of each), dozens of albums to listen to, and 12 games.

While the selection was not as extensive as Emirates or Qatar Airways offer, I’d say it was above average and more than enough for any long-haul flight.

Of course, there was also an in-flight map.

Austrian Airlines 767-300ER In-Flight Wi-Fi

While on the topic of in-flight entertainment, it’s also worth noting that the aircraft was not equipped with in-flight wi-fi. In fact, at this point, none of Austrian Airlines long-haul aircraft (767s and 777s) are.

Interestingly, some of its short- and medium-haul A320 series aircraft are equipped with in-flight wi-fi.

Sleeping Onboard Austrian Airlines’ 767-300ER

As I was tired after flying from Tokyo to New York and then spending a day in the city, I decided to go to sleep right after finishing dinner.

Before doing so, I paid a quick visit to the lavatory.

It was extremely no-frills and, other than soap had no amenities whatsoever. There was an empty bottle stand, though. I am not sure whether it was empty because of the pandemic (although I would not expect that to be the case considering the crew wasn’t wearing masks) or simply because the airline doesn’t care enough to provide additional amenities.

By the time I turned my seat flat and went to sleep, it was around midnight New York time and we were flying near St. John’s, Canada.

When fully flat, there was quite a large crease in the middle of the seat. This was noticeable when laying down, especially because Austrian doesn’t provide mattress pads. What bothered me more, however, was the trash that was left in the crease.

As for the footwell, while it was small, personally I didn’t find it something that would prevent me from sleeping well.

In fact, all in all, I managed to get about five hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Austrian Airlines Long-Haul Business Class Breakfast

As soon as I woke up (around 11AM Vienna time, about one hour and twenty minutes before landing), one of the flight attendants brought me a wet towel. Soon after, she offered me water and orange juice – I took the latter.

Another 10 minutes later, the tablecloth was set.

It wasn’t until another 25 minutes later, though, that the breakfast was served.

There were two options – omelet and scrambled eggs. The order was taken before take-off and I chose the former. Below is the full menu.

After one of the flight attendants brought me the tray with the omelet, fruits, juice, and tea, another one came around with the bread basket. I decided to go with pretzel rolls once again, this time asking for two right off the bat.

The breakfast was decent and – once again – the pretzel rolls were the highlight for me. I should also note that while there might be more practical layouts, I like Austrian’s triangular plates.

Arrival at Vienna Airport

Around 11:50AM, the cabin crew went through the cabin stowing pillows and asking people to fasten their seatbelts. At 11:55AM, the cabin crew was asked to prepare for landing by the pilots and the seatbelt signs were switched on.

Fifteen minutes later, the landing gear was lowered, and at 12:13PM, we landed at Vienna airport.

Immediately after landing, an announcement was made. Because it was made only in German, I did not understand what was said other than “40 years.” However, considering that a large portion of the passengers started clapping, I assume that it was the last flight of the captain after flying for 40 years.

Not long after the announcement was finished, we made it to our arrival gate. Coming to a full stop at 12:19PM, we arrived 19 minutes behind schedule.

Austrian Airlines 767-300ER Business Class Summary

Overall, the flight was about on par with what one would expect on a seven-hour-long night flight. The cabin crew was friendly, the meals were alright (the pretzel rolls were excellent), and the seat was comfortable enough in both the upright and bed modes.

That said, with in-flight wi-fi being more or less a standard offering these days on long-haul flights, it would be great if Austrian retrofitted its 767s and 777s with it. After all, it is more important on long flights which these aircraft operate than on the A320 aircraft which mostly fly short-haul routes. It would have also been nice if Austrian offered simple mattress pads too.

On a separate note, while the flight checked the box for wanting to try long-haul business class on Austrian, I still want to fly between my two “home” airports (Vienna – Tokyo) on an Austrian 777.

The post Review: Austrian Airlines 767-300ER Business Class from New York JFK to Vienna appeared first on KN Aviation.

I decided to review the shorter flight from Vienna to Helsinki, though, as it was operated by an A319 whereas the one I took in January was operated by an Embraer E190. Continue reading to see what business class on Finnair’s A319 is like.

Check-in, Lounge & Boarding a Finnair A319

We got to the airport around 9:15AM and headed straight to terminal 3’s check-in desks 321-323. Just like the last time, though, it wasn’t until about two hours before our 11:30AM departure that the check-in counters were opened. At that point, we were second in the business class line behind a Japanese gentleman traveling to Osaka.

All in all, it took us about fifteen minutes from the time the check-in counters opened until we were ready to go. The economy class line, on the other hand, was very long. There was only one counter in operation which was definitely not nearly enough for the number of passengers that were in the line.

With boarding passes in our hand, we bade farewell to my parents and headed through the security. Here, being able to use the priority line was once again very useful as there it was deserted. The regular line was fairly crowded.

Since we still had some time before our flight would start boarding, we went to Sky Lounge – the lounge that Finnair uses at Vienna airport. The lounge is also accessible with Priority Pass. I won’t be reviewing the lounge as I reviewed it quite a while ago and nothing major has changed since then.

While the lounge is nothing to write home about, it serves perfectly fine as a place to spend a brief time in prior to a short intra-European hop.

We left the lounge just before 10:50AM and, through the airport’s duty-free shopping area, headed to gate F09 where the flight was scheduled to depart from. By the time we got to our gate about six or seven minutes later, boarding was already in progress.

As such, we scanned our boarding passes at the gate and headed down the jetway into the A319. While doing so, I caught a glimpse of an Iran Air A300 that was almost ready to depart back to Tehran – I was excited to see it and I cannot wait to visit the country again.

Upon boarding, we were greeted at the door by two friendly flight attendants (with a Japanese passport in her hand, they greeted my wife with a “konnichiwa”) and handed disinfecting wipes.

Finnair A319 Business Class Cabin & Seat

Just like short-haul aircraft of other European airlines, Finnair’s A319s are not equipped with proper business class seats. Instead, they are simply equipped with 144 economy class seats in a 3-3 configuration.

The first few rows are then used as business class in a 2-2 configuration with the middle seat blocked so that passengers can “enjoy their extra space” as the headrest cover on the middle seats said. This allows for the business class cabin size to be flexible. On this flight, the curtain dividing business and economy class cabins was installed between rows six and seven.

As for the seats themselves, being economy class seats, they were nothing special. The legroom was OK and, if nothing else, at least the seats were decently padded compared to some other economy class seats that can be found on short-haul aircraft these days.

Finnair A319 Business Class Pre-Flight Service & Departure

Once we settled in our seats, 2A and 2C, I looked around the cabin and took a few photos. One of the flight attendants noticed me doing so and immediately approached me, offering to take a photo of us which I gladly accepted. It’s small nice touches like this that make otherwise uneventful flights at least a bit memorable.

Not long after that, bottles of water were handed out.

By the time boarding was completed about 15 minutes before departure, there were seven passengers in business class. Economy class was quite full – likely the reason why the flight was operated by an A319 instead of the usual E190.

A couple of minutes later, the first officer welcomed us onboard. In addition to introducing the captain, he mentioned that our flight time would be two hours. The aircraft doors were closed and the safety video was played on overhead screens. We were pushed back exactly on time (at 11:30AM) and taxied to our departure runway.

After holding short of runway 29 for a few minutes letting a couple of aircraft land, we took off at 11:42AM.

Immediately after take-off, we were offered some amazing mountain views. In fact, the visibility was so good that we could see the mountains while driving to the airport – something that happened for the first time in the dozens of times that I drove from my hometown in Slovakia to Vienna.

Finnair Short-Haul Business Class Meal

The seatbelt signs were switched off just four minutes after take-off. At that point, the cabin crew started preparing for the meal service which started another five minutes later.

First, (not warm but burning) hot towels were handed out. It’s nice to see Finnair providing proper towels even on short-haul flights when some airlines these days fail to do so even on long-haul flights.

Just before noon, the meal itself was served. There were no choices. Instead, everyone got a tray with a filling and tasty salmon salad, a bread roll, and a couple of chocolate candies. It’s worth noting that the meal was exactly the same as the one I received on the same flight a bit more than a month earlier.

For drink, I got a glass of Finnair’s signature blueberry juice.

During the meal, the captain welcomed us onboard mentioning that we just passed Ostrava, Czech Republic, and had 1 hour and 35 minutes of flight time remaining. He also mentioned that we would be arriving 15 minutes ahead of schedule and that it was 1 degree with some light snowing in Helsinki.

As soon as I finished my meal, one of the flight attendants came to clear my table and offer hot drinks. I decided to have a cup of mint tea together with another glass of blueberry juice.

Finnair A319 In-Flight Entertainment and Wi-Fi

The in-flight entertainment consisted of Moomin Valley and other programs being played on the overhead screens. There was no in-flight magazine.

The aircraft was also equipped with in-flight wi-fi. There were two reasonably priced (at least in cash, definitely not in miles) plans with no data caps:

• Stream: 14.95 EUR or 5,300 miles
• Browse: 6.95 EUR or 2,400 miles

Additionally, business class passengers as well as Finnair’s status holders got 30 minutes of wi-fi for free (on long-haul flights, 60 minutes are provided for free). Unfortunately, the business class and status benefits didn’t stack to provide 2 x 30 minutes.

One thing that I appreciated was that the log-in URL was prominently featured on the seatback in front. Every now and then, the wi-fi log-in page fails to load automatically and it can be frustrating when the URL is nowhere to be found.

Arrival at Helsinki Airport

Moving the watch one hour ahead, at 2:10PM Finland time, an announcement that we would be starting our descent soon was made. Ten minutes later, the seatbelt signs were switched back on.

During our final approach, views from a landing gear camera were shown on the overhead screens. We landed at 2:39PM. 

We reached our parking spot W34 at 2:44PM – well ahead of the 3PM scheduled arrival time.

After disembarking, we headed through immigration and spent some time in the Finnair business class lounge before catching our flight to Tokyo.

Finnair A319 Business Class Summary

The flight was about on par with what one could expect in business class on a short-haul flight around Europe. The seats were just economy class seats with a blocked middle seat and there were no meals to choose from. That said, the meal that was served was the perfect volume and tasted great. Free 30 minutes of wi-fi was a nice bonus.

What made the flight memorable, though, was the friendly crew. In fact, that is something that has been consistent on all of my recent Finnair flights.

The post Review: Finnair A319 Business Class from Vienna to Helsinki appeared first on KN Aviation.

The most recent addition to that collection of seat types is are the suites featured on Qatar Airways’ Boeing 787-9s. Being a combination of reverse herringbone and standard herringbone, the product is different from what most other airlines offer. As such, I was excited to have a chance to try the product when I received an upgrade offer (about 460 USD per person) for a flight my wife and I took from Doha to Vienna back in January.

Continue reading this review to see what the new product is like and what the flight was like overall.

Check-in, Lounge & Boarding at Doha Airport

After arriving in Doha from Tokyo on a Qatar Airways 777-300ER in economy class, we headed through transfer security’s dedicated business class lane which was a breeze. Back in the departures area, we made our way to Al Mourjan Lounge. Even though Qatar Airways’ upgrades do not come with lounge access, I thought we could enter it using my Finnair Plus Gold status.

It turned out, however, that access to the lounge is once again limited only to business class passengers eligible for lounge access (like it was before the pandemic) and we were sent into the recently opened Qatar Airways Silver Lounge – South in concourse B instead.

We left the lounge around 7:15AM and headed to gate A1 where our flight was scheduled to depart from at 8:30AM. When we got to the gate, boarding was not in progress yet. However, passengers were having their boarding passes scanned and being let into the gate’s holding area. The boarding itself started around 7:50AM.

Around the same time that a Qatar Airways A350 in Oneworld livery pushed back from one of the gates visible through our gate’s holding area’s windows. That gave me a chance to get a few photos of the A350 before heading down the jetway onto the 787-9 that would take us to Vienna.

Qatar Airways 787-9 Business Class Cabin & Seat

At this point, all of Qatar Airways’ Boeing 787-9s are in the same two-class configuration. In addition to one large cabin between the first two pairs of doors which features 30 business class seats, the 787-9s feature 281 economy class seats spread across two cabins and arranged in a 3-3-3 layout.

Being a fan of Qatar Airways’ attention to detail when it comes to the design of their cabins and seats as well as of its burgundy color scheme, I found the business class cabin on the 787-9 to be beautiful. At the cabin’s back, there was an entryway with a textured wall featuring Qatar Airways’ logo on one side and a narrow counter on the other.

Shortly after take-off, a bouquet of roses in a silver vase was placed on the counter.

The business class seats, or rather suites considering that they were equipped with doors, were arranged in a 1-2- layout. Interestingly, while the single seats next to the windows were facing toward the windows (i.e. they were reverse herringbone), the pairs of seats in the middle were facing toward the aisles (i.e. they were standard herringbone).

I found this configuration to be much friendlier toward people traveling together than the standard reverse herringbone layout (like on the Finnair A350 for example) as having the seatbacks closer to each other makes talking easier.

As such, when choosing our seats, we decided to go with one of the pairs of seats in the middle of the cabin. While I sat on the left-hand side, in 6E, my wife sat on the right-hand side, in 6F. It’s also worth noting here that between each pair of seats in the middle of the cabin, there was a sturdy and high partition to provide privacy in case of two strangers sitting next to each other.

The partition was electronically-operated and to be lowered, the “down” buttons on both sides of the partition had to be pressed simultaneously. That served as a mechanism to avoid the partition’s lowering by only one of the two strangers sitting next to each other. Raising the partition, on the other hand, was possible by pressing the “up” button on either side of the partition.

Inside my suite, to the left of the comfortable seat, was a console table. While not as large as on some other seats, it was perfect for a couple of glasses of drinks or even for a laptop.

Above the console was a panel that housed an in-flight entertainment controller with a small screen, a power outlet, a USB-A port, and the audio output. There were also two lights – a larger one with a few different brightness settings and a smaller pop-up reading one, a small enclosed storage compartment, and a wireless phone charger.

It was my first time to see a wireless charger on a plane and I liked it. Not only did it provide for a nice place to store my phone but also got it charged in the meantime.

The door of the enclosed storage compartment was equipped with a mirror on the inside.

Seat controls could be found under the console. In addition to the standard upright, lounging, and sleeping presets, there were buttons for raising and lowering the leg rest too. No other individual seat control options were provided. That said, there was a “do not disturb” button that turned the seat number light on the outside of the suite red.

On the seatback in front was a large high-resolution touchscreen and under it, there was a footwell. There was also a seat pocket with safety cards (a regular one and one about the detailed instructions for the suite), a waste bag, and menus.

The tray table slid out from below the screen and was sturdy and fairly large. It swiveled 90 degrees making it potentially possible to get out even with the table in use.

On the right side of the seat, there was an armrest that could either be kept flush with the seat or raised.

The suite’s door was fairly low (at least compared with the QSuite) and it was quite hard to open/close. There was also a small gap between the door and the wall panel when the door was closed.

Overall, it provided a nice extra bit of privacy, though.

Lastly, it is worth noting here that each seat came with an individual air vent on the overhead panel.

Qatar Airways 787-9 Business Class Bed

With it being a daytime flight under six hours, I didn’t get the chance to sleep in the new suite. However, I tried turning both a single-window seat as well as a pair of seats in the middle into their full-flat positions.

Overall, both looked comfortable to sleep on. That said, while not as small as on some other seats (Swiss’ 777-300ER, for example), the footwell wasn’t as large as on the QSuite. As such, some might find it difficult to find the perfect position to sleep in. That said, considering that the aircraft’s use is most likely to be limited to relatively short routes, this won’t be a problem in most cases.

The pair of seats looked comfortable when turned into a bed too.

While not forming a proper double bed like is possible on QSuites equipped aircraft, the two seats still turned into sort-of-a-double-bed with heads of the passengers in the seats being next to each other. The bodies would be angled away from each other, though.

Qatar Airways Medium-Haul Business Class Pre-Flight Service

Upon boarding, a bottle of water and noise-canceling headphones were waiting in the suite’s enclosed storage compartment. On the console, there was a scaled-down version of an amenity kit (the airline offers much nicer amenity kits on its long-haul flights) and a “protective kit” with all the things one might need when traveling during COVID-19.

Inside the seat pocket, there were the meal menu and wine list.

On the seat itself, there were two pillows – a larger main pillow and a small throw pillow with a travel quote. While I saw some comments regarding the latter saying its too tacky, personally, I liked having the second pillow and thought it was a nice touch.

There was a thick and nicely heavy blanket too.

As soon as I settled in my seat, one of the flight attendants came to offer me a welcome drink. While as a non-drinker, I usually go for a glass of juice, being on Qatar Airways, I decided to get a glass of So Jennie – alcohol-free bubbles. My wife had a glass of champagne. The drink was served together with a packaged hand towel.

Soon after, the chief purser came to introduce herself and mentioned that all passengers were onboard meaning we could switch our seats if we wanted.

Then, another flight attendant came to introduce some of the seat’s features. Then, another one came to do the same. While that made the crew seem a bit uncoordinated, it wasn’t a big deal. All of the flight attendants were friendly both before departure as well as throughout the flight.

Before departure, one of the flight attendants also came to take my meal order. More on that later, though.

Departing Doha Onboard Qatar Airways Flight 183

Around 8:20AM, one of the pilots made an announcement mentioning that we were expecting a flight time of 5 hours 25 minutes and that we would be cruising at an altitude of 39,000 feet. A few minutes later, a safety video featuring Seth Rogen among others was played.

We were pushed back 12 minutes behind schedule, at 8:42AM, and after a long hold short of runway 34L, we took off at 9:06AM.

I enjoyed the after-take-off views through both a window (although that was quite distant since I wasn’t in a window seat) and the exterior camera. The latter, however, stopped working when I tried switching it from the forward-facing camera to the downward-facing camera.

Qatar Airways Medium-Haul Business Class On-Demand Dining

The seatbelt signs were switched off just five minutes after take-off and another ten minutes later, one of the flight attendants brought me a small bowl of warm nuts together with pineapple juice – the drink I ordered prior to taking off.

After placing those on the console, he closed the door.

As for the meal service itself, even on medium-haul flights, Qatar Airways offers an on-demand dining service that, at least in theory, allows you to eat what you want when you want. The menu itself consisted of a selection of “light” items and a full course lunch.

While some passengers only appeared to eat once during the flight, some including my wife and I chose to have two meals – a light one after take-off as breakfast and a full course lunch before landing and vice-versa.

After take-off, I decided to have a brunch platter.

Below is the full meal menu for reference.

One of the flight attendants came to set up my table about 20 minutes after the nuts were served. At the same time, she took my drink order. I decided to have another glass of So Jennie. She also asked whether I wanted to have still or sparkling water. While I ordered the latter, I ended up being served the former.

Below is the full drink menu for reference.

A few minutes after setting up the table, the brunch platter was served.

It offered a nice mix of sweet and sour items including some cut fruits, pulled beef sandwich, seared tuna tataki, lamb rogan josh pie, omelette with sausage, and raisin almond danish.

While all of those tasted great, I especially enjoyed the sandwich, lamb pie, and danish.

My wife decided to start with a proper meal and finish the flight off with something light instead. After take-off, she got the soup of the day (seafood chili soup) and the braised lamb shank with jus. She enjoyed both items.

Not long after I was done with the meal, one of the flight attendants came to clear the tray and ask whether I wanted anything else. I decided to get a cup of mint tea which was brought in within a few minutes.

Cruising Onboard a Qatar Airways 787-9

After finishing the meal and tea, I spent some time taking photos of the cabin and seats.

While doing so, I was approached by one of the friendly flight attendants who explained some of the seat’s features to me once again (including how the privacy partition works) and also unlocked some of the doors that have been locked (in their open position) prior to take-off so that I could close them for my photos.

I also paid a visit to the lavatory which, while not as nice as the one in Emirates 777-300ER new economy class, was still nicer than the average lavatory and stocked with some amenities including dental kits.

For the rest of the flight, at least until the pre-landing lunch, I worked on writing a review of Finnair’s relatively new business class lounge. While doing so, I got a cup of Earl Grey tea.

I also watched some in-flight entertainment content.

Qatar Airways 787-9 In-Flight Entertainment System

Speaking of the in-flight entertainment system, as briefly mentioned earlier, the seat was equipped with a high-resolution touchscreen and good quality noise-canceling headphones were provided.

In terms of content, while not as extensive as Emirates’ ICE, Qatar Airways’ system offers more than enough to keep one entertained on a long-haul flight.

There was a large selection of movies (both Hollywood and international), TV shows, and music. As usual, while there were quite a few different TV shows, only a couple of episodes of each were available.

Additionally, there were some games too.

Lastly, there were the in-flight map and external cameras. They could not only be viewed on the main screen but also on the IFE controller’s small screen or in a small frame within the main screen when watching a movie.

Personally, I rarely use in-flight wi-fi and enjoy the fact that planes are still generally an environment where you can completely disconnect. However, some might find the lack of onboard wi-fi on the 787-9 compared to Qatar Airways’ other aircraft types to be an annoyance.

Qatar Airways Medium-Haul Business Class Lunch

Around 10:45AM (about 1 hour 20 minutes before landing), we ordered pre-landing snack/lunch. While my wife decided to have a glass of So Jennie and a cheese plate, I had (against my better judgment and for the sake of this review) the full-course lunch. For drink, I decided to have one of the mocktails – pineapple margarita.

While making the order, the flight attendant mentioned that it would take around 20 minutes to heat the meal up. Nonetheless, the service started within a few minutes with warm nuts and drinks.

Not too long after that, the actual meal was served.

The cheese plate was served with some fruits, grainex, etc. On my side, the seafood chili soup and bread were served first. Instead of a bread basket, it consisted of three connected pieces of different types of bread. The soup was rich in flavor.

Next, I was served an appetizer.

I decided to have Qatar Airways’ signature dish – Arabic mezze. All three of the small dishes – hummus, tabouleh, and muhammara – tasted good.

For the main course, I decided to try herb salmon fillet. It was served with mashed potatoes and some vegetables.

While the fish, sauce, and vegetables were great, the mashed potatoes didn’t look appetizing and were very dry. In fact, the mashed potatoes were the only thing on the flight that I did not finish. It might have worked better if the salmon was served with grilled potatoes or something else instead.

Lastly, I had the classic New York baked cheesecake with strawberry compote for dessert. I asked for a cup of peppermint tea to go with it.

The cake was excellent and was the perfect item to finish off the meal with.

Arrival at Vienna Airport

At 11:35AM, while many of the passengers were still eating their meals, the captain made an announcement that we would be starting our descent in 10 minutes and landing in about 50 minutes. He also mentioned that it was 2 degrees Celsius in Vienna.

Less than 20 minutes later, the cabin crew passed through the cabin to lock the suite doors in their open position. At 11:58AM, the seatbelt signs were switched back on and Godiva pralines were handed out.

About 30 minutes before landing, as we were flying over Hungary, I finally finished my meal. At 12:10PM, the cabin crew was asked to prepare for landing, and at 12:24PM, we landed on Vienna airport’s runway 34.

With the in-flight map going a bit crazy and showing Vienna as being off the western coast of Africa, we reached our arrival gate at 12:31PM – 11 minutes behind schedule.

Qatar Airways 787-9 Business Class Summary

On the short sub-six-hour flight from Doha to Vienna, Qatar Airways provided service worthy of a long-haul business class – if not first class – flight. The seat was excellent (although in terms of comfort, the QSuite is considerably nicer), the cabin felt specious and looked really nice, and the on-demand meal (and drink) service was second to none – both in terms of available options and quality (other than the mashed potatoes).

Last but not least, the crew was friendly and attentive throughout the flight. That’s in spite of having to execute the dine-on-demand service – and serve many passengers two meals – on such a short flight.

All in all, while I think ANA’s The Room is a better seat even than the QSuite, when it comes to the overall experience, Qatar Airways remains at the top of the list for me.

The post Review: Qatar Airways 787-9 Business Class from Doha to Vienna appeared first on KN Aviation.

To see what the fairly short flight was like, continue reading this review.

Transfer, Lounge & Boarding at Helsinki Airport

With there being no lines, I went through one of the automated immigration kiosks just a few minutes after arriving from Vienna. As I still had a couple of hours left before my departure to Tokyo, I made my way through the deserted terminal into Finnair’s new non-Schengen business class lounge.

Just like the rest of the terminal, the lounge was almost empty and so provided for a very nice place to spend some time in before boarding.

I left the lounge around 4:45PM, five minutes before the boarding time indicated on the boarding pass. By the time I got to the flight’s departure gate, 45A, boarding was already in progress. Outside, Finnair’s A350 in the Oneworld livery was waiting, making this flight another (and the last) one on a special livery aircraft in what was a year of flying on special liveries.

As is the norm nowadays, the gate agent checked my PCR test validity and, after ensuring that 72 hours have not passed between the sample being taken and my first flight’s departure, he scanned my boarding pass and invited me to board.

Upon boarding, I was handed a bottle of water. With that in my hands, I went down the second aisle and settled in my seat.

Finnair A350-900 Business Class Cabin & Seat

While Finnair uses staggered business class seats on its A330-300s, all of its A350-900s are equipped with reverse herringbone seats. That said, they come in two different configurations: 

• Configuration 1: 46 business class, 43 economy comfort, and 208 economy class seats
• Configuration 2: 32 business class, 42 economy comfort, and 262 economy class seats

The aircraft operating my flight was in the business-heavier configuration with 46 business class seats spread across two cabins. The seats were arranged in a 1-2-1 layout with window seats being angled toward windows and the pairs of middle seats being angled toward the middle of the cabin.

As for the economy comfort class, that was simply economy class with a bit of extra legroom. Currently, Finnair doesn’t offer proper premium economy.

My seat, 4L, was a right-hand side window seat in the larger business class cabin located between the aircraft’s first two pairs of doors.

Unlike the reverse herringbone seats on some other airlines like JAL, Finnair’s in-flight entertainment screens fold into the seat in front. That creates quite a bit of extra space when the screen is not in use, thus making the seat feel considerably more spacious and comfortable.

As for the seat’s other features, there was a console on the right side of the seat connected to the seat’s armrest. Under the console, there was a drink holder and a seat pocket with a safety card.

On the panel above the console and armrest, there were a headphones storage compartment, audio output, seat controls with both presets and individual seat part controls, the IFE controller, a USB port, a power outlet, and a reading light.

On the left side of the seat, there was a small enclosed storage compartment. There was also an armrest with adjustable height which, when extended, provided some extra privacy when sleeping too.

In the front of the cabin, there was a shared monitor which showed the in-flight map throughout the flight.

Finnair Long-Haul Business Class Pre-Flight Service & Departure

Upon boarding, a Marimekko amenity kit, a pair of slippers, headphones, and a pillow were waiting on the seat. Under the footwell, there was a blanket. On the console, there were a bottle of water, the menus, and a “clean kit” with sanitizing wipes.

As soon as I settled down in my seat, one of the flight attendants approached me to offer to store my jacket. Not long after that, she came back to offer me a welcome drink – I got a glass of orange juice.

At 5PM, she came to take my dinner order. More about the meals later on, though. We briefly chatted and she mentioned that I was the only passenger in business class and that there were about fifteen passengers on board in total. Unfortunately, with Japan still being closed for non-nationals and non-residents, loads like this are not completely uncommon.

Boarding was completed about ten minutes later at which point one of the other flight attendants distributed customs form and another one quarantine-related documents. Shortly after that, I was offered a refill of the welcome drink. Instead, I decided to get some blueberry juice.

Around 5:20PM, the chief purser made a welcome announcement and mentioned that our flight time would be 8 hours and 50 minutes.

Fifteen minutes after that, another flight attendant, a Japanese one this time, came to explain that while it was past our departure time already, the maintenance team was resolving some issues. He also offered me a refill of the blueberry juice which I gladly accepted.

Around 5:40PM, the captain made an announcement saying that we were waiting for push back and then would be on our way to Tokyo after de-icing. We were finally pushed back at 5:51PM, 21 minutes behind schedule. While making our way to the de-icing pad, the safety video was played.

After getting de-iced next to an A330 headed to Shanghai, we made our way to runway 22R and took off at 6:16PM.

Finnair Long-Haul Business Class Dinner

Seatbelt signs were switched off just after take off. With no other passenger in business class, I was served cold smoked almonds just a couple of minutes after that. At the same time, a hot towel was provided and I was asked what I wanted to drink.

The Coke Zero that I asked for was brought within seconds.

About 6:30PM, the same flight attendant came to set up my table with a table cloth. A minute or two later, she also brought the starter.  I was a bit disappointed that there was only one type of appetizer unlike on some other airlines (even Lufthansa) and on my flight with Finnair back in 2017. I am not sure whether it was simplified COVID-19-era service or just simple cost cutting (or the latter under the disguise of the former).

Still, the “three savory treats” including cold-smoked salmon, Finnish bread cheese, and marinated scampi were excellent and would likely have been the appetizer of choice for me even if there were other options.

For the main, three options were offered:

• Glow-fried Benella rainbow trout with roasted potatoes, shiitake mushrooms, and nori oil
• Slow-cooked fresh cheese in yellow tomato sauce, spinach, and rice
• Grilled chicken with deep-fried aubergine, shimeji mushrooms, and rice

I decided to have the rainbow trout which was excellent – both in terms of the quality of the ingredients used as well as the taste.

Once I was done with the main, one of the flight attendants came to clear the tray and ask whether I wanted any dessert. At the same time, the Japanese flight attendant came with all three dessert choices on a tray:

• Blackcurrant mousse
• Normandy apple tart
• Cheese

Mentioning that I couldn’t decide between either of the sweet options, I was offered to take both. That, I gladly accepted.

To go with the desserts, both of which were great, I had a cup of peppermint tea. Here, I should mention that I really like Finnair’s glassware, especially its cups and glasses.

Sleeping Onboard Finnair A350-900 Business Class

After finishing the desserts and tea, one of the flight attendants came to clear my table. It was around 7:10PM Finland or 2:10AM Japan time at that time.

About ten minutes later, I was asked whether I wanted to do any duty-free shopping and whether the cabin crew could turn off the cabin lights. That’s the kind of question you only get if you are alone in the cabin! I was also asked when I wanted to have breakfast – I decided to go with the latest possible time, about one hour before landing.

Shortly after 2:30AM, I turned down my seat to get ready to sleep.

As Finnair doesn’t provide a mattress pad, there is a quite pronounced gap between some of the seat’s sections when turned into a bed. I resolved that by spreading a spare blanket over the seat. Personally, I am also not a fan of airbags in seatbelts as they make the seatbelt a bit heavy.

On the positive side, as mentioned earlier, Finnair’s A350 have folding monitors. That creates a bit of extra space for knees that some other reverse herringbone seats do not provide.

Before falling asleep, I watched an episode of The Big Bang Theory (more about the IFE further down) and tried to see whether aurora would be visible. While I am not 100% sure, I believe I spotted slight signs of aurora at around 3AM.

I managed to sleep for about five and a half hours with a couple of interruptions – once due to it being too hot in the cabin and once when the seatbelt signs were switched on due to some turbulence.

Finnair A350-900 In-Flight Entertainment System

As briefly mentioned earlier, Phitek noise-cancelling headphones were waiting on the seat upon boarding.

In terms of content, there was a decent selection of movies and TV shows. That said, there were only a couple of episodes of each of the shows. As with many other IFE systems these days, ads were played before each piece of content.

Additionally, there was some music and there were some games too.

For those preferring to follow the flight rather than watch movies, there was an in-flight map. There were forward-facing and downward-facing cameras too.

Finnair A350-900 In-Flight Wi-Fi

While talking about in-flight entertainment, it’s also worth noting that the aircraft was equipped with in-flight wi-fi. There were three different plans:

• Entire flight: 19.95 EUR or 6,500 Finnair miles
• 3 hours: 11.95 EUR or 4,000 Finnair miles
• 1 hour: 7.95 EUR or 2,500 Finnair miles

The full flight rate was decent; that is when paid in cash. As is typical, the wi-fi prices in miles were a terrible deal.

Additionally, complimentary access was provided to the following:

• Entire flight: Finnair Plus Platinum and Platinum Lumo members
• 1 hour: Business class and economy comfort class passengers, and Finnair Plus Gold members

I was curious whether I would get two hours as a Finnair Plus Gold member traveling in business class. I only got one hour, though.

Finnair Long-Haul Business Class Breakfast

Back to the flight itself, about five minutes after waking up, I was handed a hot towel and served orange juice. At the same time, the flight attendant mentioned that the breakfast would be ready in about ten minutes.

While waiting for breakfast, I paid a quick visit to one of the lavatories. While it was nothing spectacular, it was clean (no wonder considering the flight was empty) and equipped with a window.

When I got back to my seat, I found the breakfast tray already sitting on my table. Shortly after, the flight attendant came to ask me whether I wanted anything to drink – I asked for a glass of blueberry juice and a cup of peppermint tea.

Just as with the appetizer, there were no options to choose from for breakfast. Still the meal – scrambled eggs with chorizo, roesti potatoes, and spinach; cold cuts; yogurt; and fresh fruits – was tasty.

After the meal, I got one more cup of tea.

Arrival at Tokyo Narita Airport

Around 9:35AM, the captain made an announcement mentioning that we had about 30 minutes of flight time left and that it was 3 degrees Celsius and sunny in Tokyo. Shortly after, one of the cabin crew members explained Japan’s quarantine procedures.

The seatbelt signs were switched back on at 9:43AM at which point one of the flight attendants brought my jacket back and left it on an empty seat across the aisle from mine.

One of the other crew members stopped by to chat briefly too. She mentioned that they had one-night layover in Tokyo and that while normally they try to go and see the city, with the current situation, they spend the entire time in a hotel and so get to rest well.

As we were descending toward Narita airport, we were offered some amazing views of Tokyo Bay and Mt. Fuji. The cabin crew took the advantage of the cabin being empty and watched the scenery through the windows for a bit too.

Ten minutes or so later, at 10:06AM, we landed on Narita airport’s runway 34L.

We reached our arrival gate at 10:18AM, eighteen minutes behind schedule. It took another ten minutes or so until disembarking. From there on, it was through a series of document checks and immigration. Finally, a bit less than three hours after landing, we were taken to a bus which brought us to our quarantine hotel at about 3PM.

Finnair A350-900 Business Class Summary

With there only being about fifteen passengers in total and me being the only business class passenger, this was a flight that I’ll remember for quite some time to come. After all, how often is it that you get asked “can I turn off the cabin lights?” Related to that, all of the cabin crew members I had a chance to interact with were very nice.

As for the seat, other than the lack of a mattress pad, I found it comfortable both to sit and sleep on. I especially appreciated the screen being foldable as that provided a noticeable amount of extra space.

Lastly, both the dinner and breakfast were tasty. While it would have been nice to have some appetizer and breakfast options to choose from, considering the light loads these days, limiting the number of options is understandable.

All in all, considering the decent service and short travel time on my most frequented long-haul route (Tokyo – Vienna), I would not hesitate to fly Finnair again. In fact, I already have another flight on the same route booked for February.

The post Review: Finnair A350-900 Business Class from Helsinki to Tokyo Narita appeared first on KN Aviation.