Trip Report: Flying Finnair's A350-900 from Amsterdam to Helsinki

‍AMSTERDAM — Goedemorgen from the Dutch Capital! Today, we are flying to Helsinki (HEL) ahead of something very special taking place on Sunday night. 

There is no better way to spend two hours in the air in Europe than on board Finnair’s widebody aircraft, to or from Helsinki. Finnair (AY) operates two daily flights to Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS), served by a combination of both widebodies and narrowbodies. On this flight, AY1302, the airline’s flagship Airbus A350-900 is deployed from the Finnish capital. 

As explained by Finnair’s executives, the A350s and A330s are commonly deployed to large European hubs to capitalize on strong cargo demand, as well as to make the most of aircraft utilization between long-haul sectors. On October 23, both AY1302 and AY1306 were operated by widebodies featuring AY’s unique Business Class.

At the Airport 

As always, I arrived at the airport via public transport; the process took less than one hour from door to check-in, despite a rather long distance to cover. AMS remains as much an airport as a train station thanks to its extended NS network, allowing passengers to reach virtually any corner of the Netherlands with one or two efficient stops. 

Check-in opened around 2:30 hours before departure. Thanks to my Business Class ticket, I could use priority check-in and security, both of which took only minutes. I checked my suitcase and proceeded to security before spending some time in the bookshop at the start of the large duty-free area. I then headed to the lounge. AY uses the Aspire 26 lounge, also accessible to Priority Pass holders.

Lounge

Now, to the lounge: besides founding members, AY is the first airline to join the oneworld alliance. AMS hosts the alliance’s only lounge in Europe, with the second worldwide being in Seoul (ICN). The AMS lounge is a step above most others at the airport; however, as the area is on the extra-Schengen side of the terminal, only a few passengers flying oneworld airlines beyond the Schengen borders can access it. These include passengers of Cathay Pacific (CX), Qatar Airways (QR), American Airlines (AA), British Airways (BA), Royal Jordanian (RJ), and, since July 2025, Oman Air (WY), as well as status holders. 

Passengers traveling with AY and Iberia (IB) are directed to the Aspire 26 lounge, which has consistently disappointed during my past visits. The lounge is the only one accessible with a Priority Pass in the Schengen area, often leading to queues outside its entrance. 

Today I was in luck: there were no queues, and the lounge seemed much cleaner and calmer than usual. The food offering had also been expanded to include a few more sweet options for breakfast. While it was still rather busy, it was not hard to find a comfortable spot to kill an hour before departure. 

Ironically, around ten minutes after sitting down, a large queue formed outside, with over 30 people waiting to get in and being told to wait elsewhere. I then explored the buffet and grabbed some pastries and pancakes, as well as coffee and juices. The overall dining quality felt a lot better than on my previous visits.

On Board

Boarding started at exactly 11:00 am from gate C22, a rare bus gate at AMS. Our Airbus A350-900 was parked at a remote stand between extra-Schengen piers. Passengers in need of assistance and families were asked to board first and then joined by Business Class passengers on the same bus.

We boarded via door 2L, a rare occasion to admire a widebody aircraft from up close at AMS. Naturally, I was the last one to take the steps, maximizing the number of pictures and videos of

OH-LWK, the 2017-delivered Airbus A350-900 that would take us to HEL. Finnair counts 18 A350-900s in its fleet, with one more currently in production in Toulouse. 

I pre-selected seat 7L in the large Business Class cabin, featuring 30 AirLounge seats. Introduced in early 2022, the AirLounge seat has been flying on board AY’s widebody fleet for some time now. The airline refurbished its A330s and A350s with the seat designed in collaboration with Collins Aerospace. And because of the relatively short flights within Europe, passengers can easily experience a great long-haul seat for rather affordable fares. 

The seat does not feature a traditional reclining mechanism; instead, the footwell can be raised electronically to create an extra-long, wide bed. The large flap covering the entire side of the seat makes the experience extra private without the need for heavy, complex doors. All in all, the design is simple, but incredibly well thought out, similar to what you’d find in a nice library pod in terms of comfort, textures, and overall coziness. The colors and materials are also quintessentially Nordic and remind me of the lounge furniture in HEL.

Besides the increased physical space, the design translates into a lower seat weight and consumption for the aircraft, a much-needed touch given AY’s long-haul network. The lack of central overhead bins makes the whole cabin even roomier and one of my favorite cabins in the skies.

At my seat, I found a pair of earphones and a bottle of water in addition to two firm pillows. The seat comes equipped with a wireless charger, USB-A and USB-C chargers, a universal power outlet, simple seat controls, and a large touchscreen IFE.

We pushed back as the sky opened up from the rain clouds and headed to the Kaagbaan runway for our westbound departure. The Dutch capital and airport were clearly visible after our right turn, which finally took us above the clouds at FL410.

Dining, IFE, Technology 

Lunch service started shortly after take-off with a hot towel. The meal consisted of a roast beef potato salad as an appetizer and mushroom pasta as the main course. A chocolate mousse completed the service. The quality was great, in line with previous flights with AY, and everything was presented in AY’s beautiful Iittala glassware. 

Finnair is famous for several on-board touches: the blueberry juice, the Northern Blush signature cocktail, and the Iittala glasses are all touches that I always look forward to when traveling to or from Helsinki. The airline’s new music was also played on a few occasions throughout the flight: at the beginning of the year, we witnessed the first live performance of Lauri Porra’s soundtrack alongside media colleagues from all over the world. The tune is emotional and really evocative of Finland, yet another spot-on signature touch.

I then explored the IFE - the A350 features two cameras, a great map interface, an endless movies and TV series list as well as games and info. One particularly useful detail stood out immediately: Finnair’s flight info system provides up-to-date information on connections at HEL. The WiFi worked particularly well and was complimentary for Business Class passengers, allowing me to upload to social media, browse, and chat. We soon started our descent into Helsinki, breaking through the clouds as we approached, and touched down on time. 

Conclusions

This flight holds a special place in my avgeek memories: three years ago, it was my first-ever flight on the Airbus A350. At the time, I flew AY’s old Business Class to Helsinki on the aircraft equipped with the Marimekko livery and loved the experience even on the old seat - I remember struggling to understand as to why AY had decided to replace the old design so early. After flying the AirLounge to London Heathrow (LHR), it was immediately clear that the new product exceeded the old one in every single detail. 

Today the AirLounge remains one of my favorite - if not my favorite - seats in Business Class. The sheer amount of space, privacy, and comfort you get on board is really outstanding for the relative simplicity of its design. When first launched, the hard product polarized travelers like few others before: some loved it, some hated it. I have always believed that Finnair was brave and wise enough to launch the cabin, and admired the design choice from the very first day. 

Flying an A350 on an otherwise average intra-European leg alone is an incredible upgrade to the experience of an otherwise standard A321. One last mention must be made to the crew - AY’s crews are some of the best I have ever flown with, and today was no exception. Awesome crew, awesome aircraft, awesome flight altogether. See you tomorrow, from HEL to MEL for the first time!