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DALLAS — Welcome to cold Finland! Today, we are heading home—not my physical home in the Netherlands or my birthplace in Italy. Today, we embark on an 11-hour journey thousands of miles from Europe. Today, we are heading to the Airways Home in Dallas, Texas.
Airways is celebrating 30 years of non-stop publishing, and what better occasion to celebrate this enormous achievement than visiting our headquarters in Dallas Fort Worth (DFW)? And no better way to reach Texas than a comfortable, cozy Nordic-style flight on board one of my favorite airlines, Finnair (AY). AY is intensifying its frequencies to the Oneworld hub in DFWh, flying its flagship to DFW’s Terminal D, and offering connections with its partner, American Airlines (AA).
Finnair and a few more airlines hold a special place in my heart. The airline celebrated 100 years of history in 2023, and we covered their recent developments in our November issue. The copy includes the history, challenges, and recent travel experiences on board AY’s new cabin, the AirLounge, which was developed in collaboration with Collins Aerospace.
Finnair launched this new seat design a few years ago, which soon divided its customers’ opinions. The seat does not provide the traditional electronic reclining, which you can find in 99% of long-haul cabins (including economy class). I was lucky to compare the new design against the old reverse herringbone in June 2023 on short (and rare) intra-European flights operated by AY’s flagship, the A350-900XWB. I was impressed with the ingenuity of this new cabin design and the cozy feeling of almost being in a living room.
Today, we are about to board a significantly longer flight, AY19, with the destination DFW, home of AA and Airways Magazine. Little did I know that, due to strikes in Finland, I would visit yet another country on the way to the US!
Airport, Lounges
Helsinki Airport (HEL) is famous for its aviation museum, great views from the apron, and ease of access with public transport from the Finnish capital’s city center. The furniture, materials, and branding resemble a Nordic living room, with plenty of wood and light spots. The check-in area is small, but there are usually no queues here.
Around 24 hours before take-off, I received an email from AY informing me about ongoing strikes in Finland. The email specified that fuel in HEL was limited, and some long-haul flights, including mine, needed refueling after take-off. Initially, it was not clear where this was going to happen. The day before departure, some flights stopped in Riga (RIX) to refuel, and others in Bucharest (OTP) on their way to East Asia.
I arrived at the airport well before my flight and was informed that the layover would have been at Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN), Sweden. This would have increased the travel time of AY19 from 10:40 to almost 12 hours. Thanks to the priority pass, I received my boarding pass and cleared security quickly. From here, I walked to the extra-Schengen part of the terminal.
Finnair offers a Schengen area lounge by gate 22 and two non-Schengen lounges near gate 52. The extra-Schengen business lounge can accommodate up to 450 travelers in a cozy environment. This area also inspired the design of AY’s new cabin; its color scheme and materials can be found on board AY’s international fleet composed of A330s and A350s.
Oneworld passengers can access this lounge, and economy passengers can buy access to this area when booking. The lounge is open between 6:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m., with different buffet options. A more exclusive area is Finnair’s Platinum Wing. The lounge is only available to Finnair Plus platinum and Oneworld Emerald members and opens at 10:30 a.m.
Today, I was lucky enough to try both areas. The ‘ordinary’ lounge was offering breakfast at the time of my visit. I had no trouble finding a sitting space and having the first of a long series of blueberry juice glasses. The lounge staff noticed I was filming and kindly invited me to check out the Platinum Wing lounge quickly.
This features a la carte dining, a buffet, and great views of the extra-Schengen terminal. Similarly to the business class lounge, the bar remains the centerpiece of this space, with a premium selection of spirits and drinks.
While it was too early for drinks, it was just fine to order some food. I tried the reindeer burger for the first time, which surprised me with its delicacy and taste. This was paired with a glass of red Shiraz wine. Both lounges feature showers, luxury bathrooms, charging ports, bars, etc.
However, the Platinum Wing has a “relax” room next to the buffet and dining area, divided by a large curtain. It offers sofas facing the apron, plenty of natural light, and even a Finnish sauna. It was soon time to head to the gate and elect the Platinum Wing as the best lounge I have ever visited in Europe.
First Flight: Helsinki to Stockholm
My aircraft today is OH-LWR, a 3.8-year-old Airbus A350-900XWB. The aircraft was retrofitted in September 2023 and wears the “Bringing us together since 1923” sticker on the rear part of the fuselage.
This is the fourth A350 I fly on and the fifth I board. Have I boarded more than flown? My first time on an A350 was in Farnborough at the 2022 airshow, boarding the ITA Airways (AZ) aircraft on static display.
We boarded from gate 47, which features a pre-check area. Judging from the lines, the flight seemed quite full. The jet bridges at HEL are some of the best in the world; there are no sponsors, just an uninterrupted view of the aircraft.
I boarded and headed to my seat, 7A, which offers the best views of the Rolls Royce Trent XWB and the beautiful A350-900XWB wing. The cabin is almost full today, with only one seat left.
The AirLounge seat is one of Europe's best—if not the best—business-class seats. Its design sacrifices the reclining mechanism while boosting privacy, legroom, and the sitting area.
At my seat, I found the drinks and food menu, the Marimekko amenity kit, noise-canceling headphones, a bottle of water, two pillows, a mattress pad, and a blanket. Thankfully, the seat offers excellent storage options, so all this material was secured before take-off.
Boarding took quite some time due to the high payload. The captain introduced himself and informed us about the delay and refueling procedure in Sweden. We taxied to RWY 22R, following a Turkish Airlines (TK) Airbus A321neo, and took off quickly thanks to the low fuel weight.
During this 40-minute flight, an aperitif was served, and I tried the Northern Blush, AY's signature cocktail. I loved it (and ordered it again later in the flight). The weather en route was rather cloudy, so I focused on exploring the IFE system.
Forty minutes later, we landed in ARN for our Swedish pit stop. We taxied to a remote area of the apron, close to the iconic Boeing 747 hostels, and waited almost one hour until the refueling was completed, during which we all remained on board.
Second flight: Stockholm to Dallas Fort Worth
After refueling, we took off from ARN for a ten-hour flight to DFW. Lunch was served immediately after take-off, and I went for the beef cheek, which was served with two appetizers and a paring wine selection. The beef was tender and moist, paired well with the red wine. A chocolate mousse, a great espresso, and a sweet wine followed the main course.
Behind the stylish AY partition, a walk-in bar was available at door 2, and some snacks were available at door 1. Business class passengers can use three lavatories, two of which come with a window (make sure to close it when on the ground). The lavatories feature the same amenities as the ones in economy class and are nicely sized.
Back to the seat: the only electronic feature of the AirLounge is its footrest, which can be raised to complete the bed. A smaller partition is lifted manually, making an almost 1-metre-wide bed in some areas. A side table allows you to store personal items, and a deep storage bin is strategically placed just after the table. This could fit most laptops, headphones, and even cameras.
A side panel of the AirLounge seat houses the USB A and USB C chargers, the IFE remote, and the audio jack. This last was, unfortunately, faulty at my seat, but I played around with the wire long enough to fix it. The tray table is placed under the main coffee table and is large enough to fit a laptop and a mouse.
Finnair’s IFE screen is one of the only minor complaints one may have. The two pillows can be used as armrests or lumbar support when sitting. From here, the viewing position on the IFE is excellent. However, when the seat is converted into a bed, the IFE screen won’t tilt down, slightly forcing you to sit up more than needed.
The second complaint is also minor. The seat design means sitting far away from the window, occasionally limiting the views. It's not a big deal, as you can roam around the massive surface area of the seat in bed mode.
The entertainment selection features some of the most famous movies, TV series, and games that can be played with a remote controller. The A350 features two live cameras, one under the front of the cabin and another on the aircraft's tail. The live cockpit head-up display (HUD) gives passengers a good feeling about the aircraft's navigation.
While the IFE system has been renewed recently and has great entertainment options (including the Oscar-winning Oppenheimer), my favorite IFE was Greenland’s beautiful landscape for a while. We flew across the icy region, which I hadn’t seen in over ten years, and it was such a relaxing, enjoyable moment. Some passengers in the middle seat went to the left and right lavatories to check the views of the iced mountains.
As we approached Canada, I had to watch Oppenheimer for the nth time, concluding that it might be Nolan’s best movie (despite some intense competition from other titles). Here, I remembered that the blueberry juice was available a few meters away from me and that I had direct aisle access. So, I consumed a significant amount, with no regrets whatsoever.
Before landing, a snack was served, and I tried the reindeer for the second time in my life (and in 16 hours). This time, it was served as a stew. The blueberry juice was the perfect pairing once again.
Approach, Landing
After almost ten hours of flying, we started approaching the stormy Dallas. The weather had worsened, and we dribbled the clouds as the A350 descended into DFW.
After a smooth landing, we taxied to terminal D, where our aircraft was parked between a British Airways (BA) Airbus A380 and a Qatar Airways Airbus A350-1000. One of the world’s longest flights, from DFW to Sydney (SYD), operated by Qantas’ (QF) Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, enhanced the Oneworld presence at terminal D.
Conclusion
This was no ordinary flight experience, and as you could tell from the length of this article, there was a lot to report on. Finnair’s AirLounge won my heart months ago, and it was a pleasure to test this product on a long-haul route. The seat itself is a massive upgrade compared to its replacement design.
The destination was not random either; after four years of work as a journalist for Airways, it was a pleasure to meet with our owner and visit our headquarters in Dallas. Also, the refueling stopover was a first for me and quite an exciting experience. Finnair provides one of the best long-haul products in Europe and possibly the world. We believe the decision to opt for a radically new seat design is paying off. Kiitos!
Feature Image: Finnair A350-900XWB, OH-LWR. Photo: Simone Chellini/Airways
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTKVnN-pwWc
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