Flying: Finnair A340-300 Economy Class Singapore to Helsinki 2015

While checking my self in online, I realised I could only select seats all the way at the rear of the aircraft. So I called the Finnair ticketing office in Singapore and was informed that the flight was fully booked.   

Arriving at the familiar Changi Airport at 9PM, there was a little queue at the check-in counter but no queue at the baggage drop for passengers who had already checked-in online. 

Boarding was from gate D41, which is a fairly short distance from the immigration.

I was busy messaging my family and friends and hence was among the last to board. In fact, I couldn't even manage to post a Facebook status prior to boarding without risking missing the flight. However, I did manage to snap a picture of the aircraft.

Finnair 82
Singapore (SIN) – Helsinki (HEL)
Tuesday, Feb 03 2015
Depart: 11:55PM
Arrive: 6:15AM (+1)
Flight time: 12hr20min
Aircraft: Airbus A340-300
Seat: 52C

The legroom was a little on the tight side, with my knees pressing on the back of the seat in front of me. The cushion on the back and the headrest were reasonably comfortable.

Since I was among the last to board (as usual, I just don't see the  point of boarding early when flying economy class), the door closed right after and we pushed off from the gate at 12:00AM, slightly behind schedule, though the captain assured us we will land ahead of schedule at 6:00AM. After a short taxi, we took off behind a Singapore B777 at 12:05AM. 


Dinner was served an hour into the flight. The salad was fresh but not to my liking. The chicken was rather dry. The dessert, which I presumed to be a blue berry cake, was delicious.

I was rather fascinated by the Finnish beer they served (so was my seatmate, whom the crew had taken the liberty to serve a Calsberg ;-) ).

After the meal service, I reclined the seat and prepared to turn in. In sharp contrast to the restricted leg room, the recline was actually very good. In fact, I thought it was the best I have seen in economy class.


I tried to watch a bed time movie before dozing off, but not only was the seat back screen minuscule, the selection of movies and TV shows was also extremely limited. Thus I resorted to watch the moving map instead.

I dozed off about two and a half hours into the flight, and slept for a solid six hours, which is pretty good on economy class. I woke up with three and a half hours out of Helsinki and decided to stretch out. 

The crew had set up a drink and snack display at the rear galley, which featured a reasonable selection of water, apple, orange and tomato juices.

A tray comprising chocolate wafers,pretzels and muffins was also laid on the counter in the galley.

The snacks were also replenished regularly, and I did not once see an empty tray.

The lights were turned on at 3:37AM, and the passengers began to wake up. Breakfast was served from 4:00AM.

We landed in Helsinki at 5:54AM, had a short taxi and arrived at 6:02AM, parking at gate 33 net to another Finnair A340-300.

Conclusion

Flightwise, this was the smoothest long-haul I have flown, since I did not feel any significant turbulence throughout the flight, and the seat-belt sign was off apart from take-off and landing.

The catering was average, as the norm in economy class. The inflight entertainment was downright disappointing, possibly among the worst on the Kangaroo route, although this was partly mitigated by the timing of Finnair's timing (the flight is a red-eye in both directions).

The crew was attentive and though not as great as Singapore or even Malaysia Airlines, but certainly efficient and reasonably friendly.

Overall, at this price, Finnair has a really value for money product. Considering the fast transit at Helsinki and the convenient timing, it is an efficient way to get to Europe and I would likely fly with them again.