Over the many beautiful (and fortunate!) years of international travel, I’ve come to realize that the flight experience often sets the mood for the entire trip. A good flight leaves you fresh and excitable to explore the destination, while a bad one makes you fatigued and irritable.
Recently, we traveled to Finland and took a Finnair A330 flight from New Delhi to Rovaniemi in Premium Economy. Since I’d never flown Finnair before, the experience was novel and enjoyable in equal measure. I was surprised to note that Finnair offers convenient connectivity between many European capital cities and Asian urban locales. It provides the northern-most routes between Europe and Asia, making it possible to reach the beautiful landscapes of Northern Europe in comfort and style. Incidentally, Finnair is the flag carrier of Finland, so it naturally acts as the main airline of the country, ferrying people to and from it. Even for internal travel, Finnair serves 16 smaller Finnish cities, with the main hub being in Helsinki.
To put it simply, Finnair is an established airline with frequent flights across the Northern Europe routes. Their tagline – Fly the Northern Route Between Europe and Asia – capitalizes on their unique geographic selling point, enticing travelers to give them a chance.
New Delhi to Rovaniemi (Lapland) onboard Finnair – an experience like no other
This Nordic carrier not just looks great, it’s comfortable as well
When it comes to my experience aboard the Finnair A330 aircraft, it was the epitome of relaxed, pleasing travel. To begin with, I was expecting the interior of the plane to be the classic muted hues that typically go unregistered. However, the interior was bright and colorful, which immediately imbued us with excitement and anticipation.
Aside from that, the in-flight meal service was also wonderful – much superior to most of the fare available up in the clouds. A big shout-out to the crew too! The flight attendants were warm, friendly, and extremely responsive. They genuinely seemed to enjoy their job and worked tirelessly to keep the passengers happy.
Finnair allowed us the opportunity to treat ourselves to the best Nordic food experiences. We were served vegetarian lunch, light knick-knacks and a filling pre-arrival meal. They even provided complimentary beer or glass of wine, as per choice in the economy. I quite enjoyed my wine, and the light snacks they provided on both flights.
The flight wasn’t too long, with one layover at Helsinki.
Premium Economy seats let me sleep tight; couldn’t have asked for more
This Finnair airline review would be incomplete without the mention of Finnair’s Schengen Lounge. I personally enjoyed the stopover because the break in journey helped freshen us up. Also, we were able to have a hearty lunch meal at Finnair’s Schengen lounge. We were happily welcomed in Finnair’s Schengen Lounge by the friendly staff. Mr. Joshy showed us all the vegetarian options and helped us know more about the lounge.
For anyone planning to visit Finnish Lapland from New Delhi, a break at Finnair’s vibrant Schengen lounge is a must. It would be really nice to get the feel and know-how of Nordic taste and culture; a perfect initiation for your Lappish adventures to follow. Simply sit back and indulge in a hearty meal all whilst watching the aircrafts arrive and go. The lounge can accommodate about 320 guests and expansion is on the cards. Despite all ongoing tourist rush, you’ll get a nice couch or table here without much ado. There are neurosonic chairs for revitalizing, wide windows offering a stunning view of the airport apron, and some really well-curated food and beverages options.
Enjoying a hearty meal in Finnair’s Schengen lounge
Finnair’s Schengen lounge in Helsinki is really beautiful and idea for a short stop.
Best Finnish sweets for a perfect goodbye to the Schengen Lounge
Delicious DESSERTS stocked in the Schengen Lounge Helsinki
We really had a great time at the lounge and it really set the base for our interconnecting flight to Rovaniemi. We mostly slept all through the interconnecting Finnair flight (barring some instances when we were awake for the sunset) but the flight was as comfortable as the airbus was. Honestly, we couldn’t have asked for more.
Talking about Finnair airline review, if I were to identify the most memorable part of the flight – it was the interplay of light and dark that left me mesmerized. The sun set quickly, taking us from bright sunlight to a picturesque sunset, and then calm pitch blackness. Watching the myriad of colors dancing across the sky was extremely fascinating.
One with the happiest and coolest crew members ever!
After our amazing sojourn across Lapland and Helsinki, it was time to leave. But, surprisingly, we were not too sad to be going back. We had a great time ahead of us – the Business Class Finnair flight ferrying us back home from Helsinki. Now, I had been impressed with Finnair’s Premium Economy experience. But the Business Class experience on the way back was sheer, luxuriant bliss; something I’ll remember enjoying with much abashed zeal.
The check-in was quick and hassle-free as with the business class ticket we got to skip the long immigration queue. We entered through the premium check-in queue, and there was no limit to our happiness. It was such a great feeling to be able to skip a humongous queue and get inside really quickly like VIPS.
Platinum Wing Lounge that followed was quite pleasant too. Both Finnair’s business lounge and the platinum lounge have been upgraded recently to provide uber comfort and elevated lounge experience. The décor was modern, with a distinctively Nordic flair; quaint and comfy. We indulged in a decadent meal from the buffet and a couple of drinks at the upscale open bar. One of the highlights for us for the designated Finnish sauna area ; Finns and sauna go hand in hand. I believe, it is a nice touch especially for travelers who have a delayed or long-haul flights. Other than that, the platinum lounge has been broken up in a number of smaller areas; so the deeper you travel inside, the more secluded it gets. We also checked out the business class lounge later on, and found it equally warm and spacious! A visit here is most recommended!
Finnair’s Non-Schengen lounge is inviting and beautiful at the same time
The self serve bar at this lounge is extremely cool
You can borrow a tablet from Finnair’s Business Class Lounge Helsinki
Non Schengen Business Class lounge in Helsinki
One with Mr Joshy who took care of all our needs at the lounge
Well-fed and already quite content, we boarded the Finnair airline, looking forward to our journey to New Delhi.
It was amazing to sink into the plush Business Class seats, which were easily at par wit most lie-flat premium seating I’ve been privy to during international travel. But what I liked best was the cabin’s configuration for easy aisle access and the fact that all seats were lie flat ones. These seats also came with a great built in massager, noise cancellation headphones, a toiletry kit and a pair of comfy slippers.
We took our seats and were served the welcome drink. We could choose amongst champagne or juice of our choice after we had taken our respective seats and asked the crew to hang our coats in a dedicated compartment. The glassware was really fine and we were also served some almonds and knick-knacks after take-off that really got us happy.
You get a printed meal and beverage card detailing what’s available on board and what caught our attention was the impressive wines menu. After eating the dinner of our choice, we fell asleep on our flat bed and woke up the next morning only right before the landing time. On the overnight flight to Rovaniemi, they offered us breakfast since it was an overnight flight. And on the way back, we got a small sandwich just before the journey came to an end.
Starters onboard Finnair’s business class really set the mood right
Binged on my delectable vegetarian meal onboard Finnair
The sumptuous food onboard Finnair’s Business Class
To give a more holistic picture of the Finnair experience, mentioning the in-flight entertainment options is a must. In the Business Class cabin, we had large entertainment screens with great picture quality. They had touch functionality as well as remote-controlled access, the latter of which was tucked away into the seats’ control panel. Also, the screen flipped out of its enclosure and could be adjusted to a viewing position optimal for any seated position. The selection of movies and TV-shows available wasn’t as huge as some other international flights I’ve been on. Nonetheless, there were enough latest-releases at my disposal to keep me occupied for several hours while I wasn’t snoozing.
Marimekko’s luxuious travel kit onboard business class Finnair
The one most distinguishing feature of the Finnair flight experience is its onboard high-speed Wi-Fi. The on-board Wi-Fi service was free for us in the Business Class for an hour! When I asked an attendant to help me connect my device to the Wi-Fi, she promptly assisted me with login in. I was able to stream watch YouTube videos, and upload posts to my social media without much hassle. That, at 39,000 feet in the air, is no small feat. I also checked about the price of the service for passengers in Economy and it wasn’t too exorbitant; 15 Euros or 17 USD for the entire flight. If one has some urgent work to do in-flight or simply stay connected to the rest of the over during a flight, such Wi-Fi service is a blessing.
To sum up my Finnair airline review – I had a lovely time aboard the Finnair aircraft, both ways. Everything on-board was well-planned and managed. Flying via Finnair is highly recommended for anyone headed to Lapland or any other part of Northern Europe. It definitely adds to the whole travel experience, kick-starting it on a good note, and ending it delightfully as well.
The good news is that come summer time (the end of June 2020) and Finnair is increasing three weekly frequencies to New Delhi. Currently, the airline operates four times a week to Delhi but from the beginning of July, it will operate daily for the remainder peak season.
So, it’s time to start planning your trip to Lappish Finland right away! What are you waiting for? Go ahead and book your Finnair flight now!
You are really amazing di……I love travelling as well as writing and it’s the best and the most satisfying combination ever😅….I didn’t know about your travelling stories before and when I was through it I was completely amazed and started to admire u more than before….jzt love ur ideology and language