This Monday, January 31, it floats like a birthday song at the Finnair counter where lively hostesses dressed in blue and with smiles banter in a language all at once evocative of comfortable winter evenings near a fireplace and hunts the bear by minus 20 degrees (intuitively, we choose the first option).
This year, the Finnish company is celebrating its centenary of existence.
A venerable lady in great shape, since she has one of the most modern fleets in Europe, with a brand new business class.
To discover
Travel to Japan: tailor-made tours, hotels and stays from our partners
As we cannot ask you to take our word for it,
Le Figaro
tested it for you in the Airbus A350 which connects Helsinki to Tokyo in 13 hours and dust, depending on the winds, the size of the captain and the mood of the gods .
The Finnair lounge at Helsinki Airport
The Helsinki Airport lounge is a gentle introduction to comfort.
the spacious seats of the Business
As with Mozart (who, however, was not Finnish) Business begins at Finnair before business.
The Helsinki Airport lounge is a gentle introduction to the comfort that the airline offers its guests.
With ovals and wood, the cozy lounges create a space where privacy is provided.
The celebrations are organized around a central bar, where a discerning palate can order a negroni or a glass.
Apart from an invigorating
vegetable and cheese
soup , the buffet does not live up to the expectations generated by the space around it.
But it doesn't matter, the lounge is just a waiting room, an appetizer.
Let us note in this regard that the gastronomic offer offered by Helsinki airport, a marvel of Scandinavian architecture, a lung of sweetness in the heart of the storm, is breathtaking: wood-fired pizze, Japanese ramen, Mexican burritos, far, a far cry from the 8 euro plastic sandwiches at our airports.
Her Majesty the A350
The spacious seats of the Business.
Mikko Ryhanen
A word about the A350, this beautiful baby with a Toulouse accent from the Airbus factories: 336 seats for an average cruising speed of 900 kilometers.
Finnair is crazy about them: the company has 17, soon 19 (including the eco-efficient A350 XWB).
Long-term strategy: the modernization of the fleet, combined with the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and the search for biofuels, places it among the first companies committed to sustainability.
So we settle into the spacious Business seats with a clear conscience.
And a glass of champagne in hand, because no one can call themselves “business” without sacrificing this ritual;
a bit like tomato juice on medium mail.
Attentive staff, luxury of details
Attentive staff, luxury of details Mikko Ryhänen
The service on board, absolutely exquisite, is made up of a half-Finnish, half-Japanese crew, an astonishing cocktail of aurora borealis and rising sun.
If luxury is the details, then the designers of this brand new Business class cabin apply this definition with Finnish attention.
Embedded in the seat, a small, almost invisible compartment hides headphones, USB sockets and remote control.
A small discreetly built-in table allows you to place the meal tray and work.
The seat belt does not attach to the lower abdomen but to the shoulder, which almost suggests that you are going on a car trip.
The only personal downside is that we would have preferred the seat to be reclining.
To see and eat
What to see and eat on board Finnair Business class.
Alexi Tikkala
Now is the time to eat.
For those who are hesitant, the menus are illustrated on the screen: that day, pleasant memory of “
salmon tataki with pickled vegetables, wasabi dressing and roasted sesame seeds
”.
On the cinema side, you have the choice between
Barbie
, for those who are unbearable by the “patriarchy”, and
Mission Impossible
if you prefer men who have ideas.
Our recommendation: the Finnish film
Sisu
(a former soldier in the Finnish army defeats the Nazis), catharsis guaranteed.
Have fun with the
flight
camera, which allows you to see what the plane sees (
Forward
to observe the plane from above,
downward
to be at the level of the landing gear).
Morpheus' hour
It's time to sleep, the lights are dimmed.
We take a last look at the neighbor's screen, then we install the thick underblanket which acts as a mattress, and we settle down, horizontally, under a blanket, stabilized by a belt. night safety, at knee level.
If you cannot sleep in such conditions, there is nothing we can do for you.
Back to reality, business as usual
Business class calms the return, a way of leaving the visited country gently, an airlock of readjustment to reality.
It has a unique taste, the last glass of champagne, before gray skies, grumpy taxis and spontaneous strikes.
Things to know before you board
Everything has a price.
From 3,300 euros for a Paris Tokyo in Business.
Finnair offers the shortest (and therefore fastest) route between Europe and Asia for flights with a stopover.
The company belongs to a Siberian Joint Business with Iberia, Japan Airlines and British Airways.