So nearly the best business class seat of all time. But…

We’ve been big fans of Finnair for years. Their extensive and appealingly priced European connections for long haul trips to Asia makes them a good bet, as long as you don’t mind the essential connection in Helsinki. Which is no real hardship. The flights from London use a proper business class product, not that nonsense of just giving you an economy seat and one empty one between you and the next person. To really bag a bargain though (if you’re starting out in the UK), you need to get yourself to a less tax-greedy European hub, like Zurich or Copenhagen, and start your journey from there.

We’ve also been using Finnair a lot because of the One World marriage, which generates Tier Points on BA. But since the news broke about the death of the BA Executive Club, and an end to any reasonable way to achieve Silver or Gold status without absurd expenditure (which would give you lounge access and priority anyway, making status moot), we’ve all bid a farewell to British Airways loyalty.  But we’re still into Finnair. All of its product is beautifully styled and branded, the lounge in Helsinki is beautiful, you get to use the peerless Cathay ones elsewhere while joining the dots, and there’s all that Marimekko merch on board. Also—the fizz is served in those gorgeous, thievable, Iittala Ultima Thule glasses. When Finnair finished its roll out of the new Collins Aerospace-designed Airlounge seat last year, it became the most appealing option for trips to Tokyo, Hong Kong et al. Unlike most airlines, they weren’t asking you to roll the dice in terms of possibly being on a flight with new seat, or maybe not. (Ever wanted to cry when you boarded a BA flight and clocked a Club World product from yesteryear? We have. And Cathay only having the new Avia design on the 777s is tedious).

So—is the new revolutionary, no recline seat as good as you’d hope? Yes. Ish.  The first thing you notice when you enter the cabin is the incredible amount of space the new configuration has created. It’s 1-2-1, with no overhead bins in the middle section, which does make for more of a crush with baggage than usual, but makes head clearance dramatically higher. It feels open and airy. Then you sit down, and realise it truly is a gamechanger. It’s like a giant upholstered cone and feels like a big armchair. No, it doesn’t recline, you merely slide down while pressing a button to extend the footrest area to connect the gap between thighs and calves. It’s lovely. And HUGE.

The TV screens are in a fixed position, with no stowing for take-off and landing, so you can start the AVOD as soon as the champagne arrives. We like to get those noise cancelling headphones on to drown out the utterly pointless monologues from the cockpit as soon as we can. But then the grit in the oyster manifests. The seats come with an over-the-shoulder seat belt for when you’re sitting upright, and the positioning of the top of the strap means it’s absolutely going to cut into your neck and shoulder, until you can unbuckle at cruising altitude. But after so many horror stories attributed to sudden turbulence in recent years, we don’t want to unbuckle. So, you’re only choice is to get horizontal, and use the single strap that goes over your blanket and waist. Which is great when it’s sleepy time, but no good when you want to watch a romcom, have dinner (always good on Finnair), and sink a few glasses of Burgundy.

Such a shame. This is so nearly the perfect business class seat. If you’re connecting to another carrier after your Finnair flight, the difference is shocking when you board. Any other business seat feels narrow and cramped, and the cabin impossibly claustrophobic in comparison.

Seats often get tweaked after they are launched. We hope this one does, and they sort that strap out. It’s bizarre it was launched without being flagged up as an issue at the development stage. If it gets fixed, we’ll be in and out of Helsinki a lot more in future. Anywhere that has a Moomin café in the airport has earned its place in our hearts already. We just need to fix that seat belt. C