FINNAIR - new Business Class AirLounge seat

First review of the new Finnair J seat that I have seen. While only on a short haul flight - Helsinki to London - his impressions don't really surprise me. He found the seat fine when in bed mode but not particularly comfortable when just using it as a seat.

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First Impressions: Finnair's New Business Class Seat That Doesn't Recline - Live and Let's Fly

A Finnair new business class seat review - this is an innovative new seat that does not recline but still has an immense amount of room.
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OATEK said:
Business class seats that do not lay flat, but rather the occupant has to wriggle down?
Finnair launches a business class seat that doesn't recline
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People who have tried it say it's good. I admire what AY have tried to do here..innovative and I'll certainly try it. AY in my opinion head and shoulders above anything QF offer and remain my choice along with QR before QF when flying to and from Europe ..(usually route via SIN).
 
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I don't like the look of the narrow footwell. They should have the seats at the airport so you can try them out
 
Paul Lucas (youtube channel 'winging it') rates the new seat really highly, despite his pre-boarding concerns (which many of us have shared). I think he went as far as to say this was either the best or second best business class seat now available for travel (and he's sampled them all).
 
Sam Chui’s take on it (although short haul):
 
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The one thing I really want to know is the cost and environmental savings of this seat.

I've seen mentioned that the seat is lighter (due to complete lack of electronic moving parts) and therefore I assume it's also cheaper to install but also cheaper to operate. Google suggests a business class seat can cost $30,000 to $80,000 but perhaps with less moving parts it's cheaper than those figures?
 
I didn’t take photos, sorry, but I flew these seats on SIN-HEL two weeks ago. I found them very comfortable and didn’t miss the recline feature at all. The 13-14 hours went past quickly and I slept a lot better than I have in other seats.

It was great to have so much width as more than compensation for the lack of recline.

I am 181cm and still had spare legroom lying down - it didn’t feel confined at all. In Row 11.

My only warning would be 100% to avoid row 1, the toilet doors literally open up right next to your seats. Unpleasantness of this aside it would also just be very disturbing. Although row 1 and 10 have extra footwell room I don’t think it’s worth it, as Row 10 also is a bit too close to the galley for my liking. I was in the mini-cabin and found this to be quiet and comfortable with only three or four rows.

A slight downside too is the sleeping mats which are the old ones still and so are a bit small for the seat and therefore slide around a bit as you sleep.

Happy to answer any specific questions anyone has.
 
robbegong said:
I didn’t take photos, sorry, but I flew these seats on SIN-HEL two weeks ago. I found them very comfortable and didn’t miss the recline feature at all. The 13-14 hours went past quickly and I slept a lot better than I have in other seats.

It was great to have so much width as more than compensation for the lack of recline.

I am 181cm and still had spare legroom lying down - it didn’t feel confined at all. In Row 11.

My only warning would be 100% to avoid row 1, the toilet doors literally open up right next to your seats. Unpleasantness of this aside it would also just be very disturbing. Although row 1 and 10 have extra footwell room I don’t think it’s worth it, as Row 10 also is a bit too close to the galley for my liking. I was in the mini-cabin and found this to be quiet and comfortable with only three or four rows.
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That is helpful feedback: thank you. I look forward to trying out the new ‘Airlounge’ seat for myself on the same route in mid-May. There’s a natural apprehension about loss of recline/adjustment functionality but I’m reassured by the consensus (so far) that it’s actually OK.

The issue of Row 1 proximity to the forward loos is readily apparent when you look at the J cabin layout for an A359 fitted with the new seats. Care is needed to be sure you’re looking at the right seatmap as there are currently four configurations of AY A359, of which two I understand have the new J seats: Row 1 has only the problematic 1D and 1H seats and there is no 1A or 1L, whereas aircraft with the older seats have four in Row 1.
 
Just got back from our Europe trip. Tried the Finnair AirLounge product on AY132 and SQ's A350 product on the way back.

The Finnair seat was definitely more comfortable in our opinion to both sit and sleep in. Will upload some pictures in a trip report.

In terms of service, the FAs told me that the Sin-hel sector is not served by Finnair employees as such. They work for a 3rd party based in Singapore and just wear the Finnair uniform for that sector. The service was very good, but definitely not as good as the Hel-cdg sector the next day served by direct Finnair employees.
 
aaa99 said:
Just got back from our Europe trip. Tried the Finnair AirLounge product on AY132 and SQ's A350 product on the way back.

The Finnair seat was definitely more comfortable in our opinion to both sit and sleep in. Will upload some pictures in a trip report.

In terms of service, the FAs told me that the Sin-hel sector is not served by Finnair employees as such. They work for a 3rd party based in Singapore and just wear the Finnair uniform for that sector. The service was very good, but definitely not as good as the Hel-cdg sector the next day served by direct Finnair employees.
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Flew this route last night and can confirm not AY crew. Very mixed interactions with cabin crew, some fantastic, some downright rude. My partner got no dessert and food was fairly average on the whole given the hype around an ‘all new business class experience’

That being said for a 13.5 hour overnight flight I couldn’t imagine a better seat. Comfortable enough with your legs stretched out sitting up and surely one of the best beds in the sky. I’m 6ft and 100+kgs and could side sleep very comfortably.

Already seems a huge hit with Aussies, half the Y cabin had Australian accents and a lot of familiar faces from the Qantas lounge to the boarding lounge.
 
Flew on the new FINNAR business class Helsinki-Singapore 18 May - seats don't work for us. Yes - good for sleeping, but it's either that or sitting up or slouching. I always take a blow-up pillow for flights (often needed when pillows in short supply or that flat bed is not quite flat...) and it came in handy for extra support. I found the new 'sofa seats' hard, and couldn't imagine what it would be like if I was another decade older-don't think I could reach the under seat storage area, or the foot rest lever. When lying down, very hard to bend your knees up as the tv screen sticks out into the area above the foot well. that said, there is plenty of space and storage. BUt all I wanted was to recline in an armchair and watch tv - had me thinking of United business class 30 years ago with big reclining chairs.... Also had a predominantly SIngapore crew, and service pretty much non-existent (and mistakes) except for meal delivery - quite disappointing. I mentioned this on my next flight QF36 and the staff said FINNAIR must have a fair few people off sick - makes sense as there are usually more local staff on this flight (though I also note aaa99's explanaition above). Overall, can see why some people would like this, but as I'm getting older, curling my feet up onto a firm couch is not my favourite way to pass the hours.
 
OATEK said:
I have also been happy with the current A350 seats, which are very similar to the CX seat, but slightly less space. I am not sure older persons with arthritic joints will enjoy wriggling out of their "nests".
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No fun at all - they are definitely targetting a younger more agile customer! I' ve reached the middle-aged arthritic knee stage and it was an effort
 

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