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Finnair may not be the first airline that comes to mind when you think of premium travel, but its business class product has earned a loyal following — and plenty of industry recognition for this Oneworld member.
The airline’s loyalty program, called Finnair Plus, is our fifth-highest-ranked airline program in Europe, though that isn’t your only option for using points to fly in these incredible seats.
Known for its sleek Nordic design, emphasis on local flavors, and a uniquely shaped AirLounge seat developed with Collins Aerospace, Finnair has carved out a distinct niche in the competitive long-haul market. The AirLounge seat was named “Best New Business Class” at the 2022 DesignAir Awards, while the overall cabin concept has picked up accolades from APEX, the Onboard Hospitality Awards, and the International Yacht and Aviation Awards. Even the airline’s new inflight entertainment system earned a Red Dot Award for its design.
While the short-haul version of business class is little more than an economy seat with the middle blocked, the long-haul experience offers lie-flat comfort, thoughtful cabin touches, and friendly service. It’s a product that blends form and function in a way few carriers manage — and one that savvy travelers should target for award bookings instead of paying cash.
What to know about flying Finnair business class
Finnair has multiple plane types, and you'll find seats listed as business class on all of them except for the airline's ATR 72-500 propeller planes. However, the business-class experience on smaller planes like the Airbus A319 is incomparable to the experience on wide-body planes like the A350 and A330.
That’s because the A350 and A330 offer lie-flat seats with the airline’s unique AirLounge seats that are less like a traditional business class and more like a pod that’s designed to feel like lounging around on furniture — not just a seat that goes forward and backward, but allows you to lounge however you want.
They’re vastly different than the airline’s old business class that had a more traditional setup.
You’ll find these lie-flat seats on all flights between the U.S. and Finnair’s hub in Helsinki, Finland (HEL), so there’s no need to worry about what plane type you’re on when making a reservation.
Finnair’s AirLounge seats have a quirk, though: They don’t recline. You read that right. There’s no reclining position with these seats. You can move around 360 degrees in the pod and can lie completely flat when you want to sleep, but you won’t find a reclining option here — or even a button to control the seat.
That’s because a flip-up platform between the seat and the footwell is all that’s needed to turn your seat into a bed. And instead of reclining down into the bed position, you’ll shuffle your body down until you’re lying down in the spacious footwell.
Finnair’s business class on the A330 and A350 planes features a reverse herringbone layout with 1-2-1 seating, and all seats have direct aisle access. All window seats are essentially the same, with none more private than the others. However, aiming for seats in the middle of the cabin, away from the lavatories and galleys, makes for a quieter experience.
You should note, however, that Finnair labels some seats as premium, particularly the individual seats along the windows, and choosing these seats before departure can cost an extra $180 on flights to or from the U.S.
All middle seats are essentially the same as well. There’s a divider here that can be raised or lowered easily, depending on whether you want separation from the person in the seat next to you.
The best routes to fly in business class on Finnair
From its base in Helsinki, Finnair flies as far west as Los Angeles (LAX) and as far east as Tokyo. You won’t find Finnair flights to any African or Latin American countries, however, and the carrier also doesn’t serve Oceania.
While Finnair’s long-haul rights provide the best opportunity to really experience business class, you can sometimes find wide-body planes with lie-flat seats on shorter routes in Europe, including flights to London Heathrow (LHR) and Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands (LPA). You can find Finnair’s A350 on these routes, but be sure to check the particular flight you’re booking before confirming your payment.
These shorter routes can provide a cheaper way to sample Finnair business class with its best seats.
Other solid options for Finnair business class include:
Los Angeles (LAX) or Seattle (SEA) to Helsinki (HEL)
New York (JFK) to Helsinki (HEL)
Hong Kong (HKG) to Doha, Qatar (DOH)
Helsinki (HEL) to Singapore (SIN), the airline’s longest route
What to expect when flying Finnair business class
Finnair offers 3 types of tickets for business class: Light, Classic, and Flex. Flex tickets are the most expensive and offer the most benefits, while the Light tickets are the cheapest and offer the fewest perks.
For example, Light fares don't include checked luggage, while Classic and Flex tickets include two checked bags at no charge between the U.S. and Finland. Classic and Flex tickets also include lounge access and priority airport services. Finnair doesn’t sell Business Light tickets on routes to or from the U.S., but keep these differences in mind if you’re flying business class with this airline on other routes.
Check-in and security clearance
Finnair offers priority check-in lanes for passengers in business class and those with Oneworld elite status. You'll also get lounge access before your flight, plus you'll enjoy priority lanes in Helsinki.
Luggage allowance
Finnair's business passengers get two checked bags at no charge on flights to and from the U.S. They also can bring a personal item and a carry-on at no charge. Interestingly, premium economy passengers enjoy this same allowance for luggage, but economy passengers only get one checked suitcase at no cost -- plus the allowances for carry-on and personal items.
Lounge access
In Helsinki, Finnair operates its own lounges, and you’ll find separate lounges in the Schengen and non-Schengen departures areas. Long-haul flights will depart from the non-Schengen area, and this is also where you’ll find Finnair’s most premium lounge.
Most business-class passengers will visit the Business Lounge near gate 52 in the non-Schengen area. It has ample seating, a buffet, a fully-stocked bar, showers, and departure boards.
Those with Finnair Plus Platinum or Platinum Lumo status, as well as Oneworld Emerald members flying on a partner airline, can access the Platinum Wing, which is Finnair's most luxurious lounge.
It’s accessed through the same check-in area as the Business Lounge, but it has sit-down dining, a more premium bar and buffet, runway views, and even a sauna.
At other airports, Finnair provides access to partner lounges for business-class travelers. Make sure to inquire at check-in about which lounge you have access to. Your options vary by airport.
Seats
On the Airbus A330, Finnair has 28 AirLounge business-class pods. Each has an 18-inch touchscreen entertainment system, wireless charging pad, and multiple charging options: universal outlet, USB-A, and USB-C.
Note that seats 1A and 1L are slightly different than the other seats on this plane, offering an extra storage space next to the screen and a deeper (yet narrower) footwell than other seats.
Finnair has two different layouts on the A350, offering either 33 or 43 AirLounge seats in business class. Either way, you'll find the same 18-inch screen, charging options, and 1-2-1 layout.
Key differences between the A330 and A350 include the A330 having overhead air nozzles at each seat, something the A350 doesn’t have. The A350’s seats feel a bit roomier – probably because the cabin is 15 inches (40 centimeters) wider.
Either way, you’ll find a full lamp and storage cubby near your shoulder and a wireless charging pad on the wooden table that doubles as an armrest.
And while the seats don’t have closing doors, they offer immense privacy. The view from your seat reflects just how much these seats feel like individual pods.
The height of the pod plays a big role in how private they feel, blocking views from other passengers. However, those standing up in the aisle can still see into your seat.
Food and drink
While you won’t find any award-winning names or celebrity chef partnerships on Finnair, what you will find in business class dining is still solid. Finnair’s menu focuses on Nordic fare, and while menus rotate, you should expect to find multiple choices that usually include both a seafood and a vegetarian option.
Finnair also offers the ability to preselect your meal online in advance, ensuring the meal you want is available. This also gives you an idea of what the meals will be on your flight.
Along with a lengthy list of wines, Finnair offers soda, tea, coffee, beer, cocktails, and mocktails in business class. You’ll also receive a welcome drink before take-off, with choices of wine, water, or a Finnish staple: blueberry juice. Finnair also does desserts very well, so don’t skip this part of the meal service!
Service, amenities, and in-flight entertainment
Finnair offers an 18-inch touchscreen entertainment system in long-haul business class, with a remote control available at each seat. Entertainment options include movies, TV shows, learning about Finland, and even a video tour of your seat’s features. You’ll also see information about your flight, including a plan for meal service times during your trip.
Finnair also offers in-flight Wi-Fi on its Airbus-operated flights. On long-haul flights like those to the U.S., passengers with a Business Classic or Flex ticket, plus Finnair Plus Gold members, get one hour of complimentary internet use. Finnair Plus Platinum members enjoy complimentary Wi-Fi for the entire flight.
Beyond this, passengers can purchase additional time, such as a one-hour, three-hour, or full-flight Wi-Fi pass. On a flight from Los Angeles to Helsinki, these cost $9, $16.90, and $28.10, respectively.
Finnair’s service is friendly and punctual. In my three business-class flights with the airline, flight attendants worked to anticipate customers’ needs, such as showing up at their seat if they saw a passenger looking around like they needed something.
Meal service is efficient, and staff members smile consistently. While all passengers are served meals at the same time, the process isn’t drawn out.
How much it costs to fly Finnair business class
As the only airline offering nonstop flights between Finland and the U.S. – and one of the very few offering nonstop flights from the U.S. to Scandinavia in a lie-flat seat – Finnair’s flights over the ocean aren’t cheap if you’re booking business class.
During Finland’s low season for tourists, a one-way weekday flight from the U.S. costs between $3,750 and $4,263, depending on the route.
Luckily, there are ways to book these flights without spending that much.
Using your bank’s travel portal, you can redeem points at a value of 1 to 2 cents per point, depending on the portal you use:
Amex Travel: 1 cent per point in value
Bilt Rewards Travel: 1.25 cents per point
Capital One Travel: 1 cent per mile
Chase Travel: Up to 2 cents per point
Citi Travel: 1 cent per point
Wells Fargo Rewards travel portal: 1 cent per point
Using those numbers, here’s how many points you’d redeem in your bank’s travel portal to book a Finnair business class flight for $3,750:
Amex Travel: 375,000 points
Bilt Rewards: 300,000 points
Capital One Travel: 375,000 points
Chase Travel: As few as 187,500 points
Citi Travel: 375,000 points
Wells Fargo Rewards: 375,000 points
That’s a lot of points. Frankly, you should never do this. That’s because you can book for fewer points if you understand how to transfer them from your credit card to airline rewards programs.
At best, you’ll pay as few as 62,500 points for a one-way flight between Helsinki and the U.S. in Finnair’s own program or as few as 55,000 using partner programs.
How much it costs to upgrade to business class on Finnair
Finnair offers the ability to pay for an upgrade (with cash) within 30 days of departure. Finnair Plus members can also upgrade using Avios within 360 days of departure. The ability to upgrade closes between 24 and 3 hours before departure, depending on your flight route.
For paid upgrades, the amount you’ll pay varies by demand and flight distance. However, many travelers online have reported success from asking at airport check-in or even the departure gate, paying much lower costs to upgrade. However, this comes with the risk of waiting until the last minute and then seats being full.
Between the U.S. and Europe, you'll pay a fixed number of Avios for an upgrade:
17,000 Avios from economy to premium economy
23,000 Avios from premium economy to business
40,000 Avios from economy to business class
If you find a cheap economy fare, paying 40,000 Avios to move into business class can be a good deal.
How to save on Finnair business class tickets
While reports of mistake fares in business and first class with other airlines are cause for excitement, you shouldn’t hold your breath for those with Finnair. However, there are options to save money while getting yourself into the airline’s best seats.
Upgrade options
As discussed above, you can pay cash or Avios to upgrade to Finnair business class. The option to pay 40,000 Avios to move from economy into business class isn’t a bad plan if you find a good deal on a cash fare – though that can be tough since Finnair lacks competition on its direct flights to the U.S.
It’s also possible to pay cash for an upgrade, though success (and pricing) varies greatly.
Using points
It’s also possible to pay just a bit of money on mandatory taxes for a Finnair flight, rather than paying thousands of dollars for a ticket. That’s because of the ability to book these seats through Finnair’s own rewards program and those of its partners.
How to book Finnair business class with points
With the numerous partners Finnair has in the Oneworld alliance, you have multiple options for booking business class with points. That said, some options are easier to access than others if you live in the U.S., based on the credit card rewards available here.
How to book Finnair business class using your credit card portal
While this doesn’t provide the best value, using your credit card issuer’s travel portal is definitely the easiest way to redeem points for Finnair business class. You’ll typically use points for 1 cent each in value, with the exceptions of Bilt (always 1.25 cents per point) and Chase (sometimes up to 2 cents per point).
For example, this business class ticket on AmexTravel.com costs 374,800 points for a $3,748 flight – making points worth 1 cent apiece.
However, you can spend fewer points by transferring Amex points to airline partners.
Which credit card points transfer to Avios?
Finnair Plus is a 1:1 transfer partner of these programs:
Capital One miles
Mesa Points
Rove Miles
However, Finnair uses Avios, a rewards currency shared by other programs. That means you can freely and instantly move your Avios between your accounts at Finnair, British Airways Club, Iberia Club Plus, Aer Lingus AerClub, and Qatar Airways Privilege Club.
This opens additional avenues for getting points into your Finnair account, such as these:
Transfer from Amex Membership Rewards to Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, and Qatar Airways
Transfer from Bilt Rewards to Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, Qatar Airways
Transfer from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Aer Lingus, British Airways, and Iberia
Transfer from Citi ThankYou Rewards to Qatar Airways
Transfer from Wells Fargo Rewards to Aer Lingus, British Airways, and Iberia
Using these avenues, you can get points into various Avios programs and then move them around, depending on which program is offering the best deal for the Finnair flight you want to book.
How to book Finnair business class using Avios
Between the U.S. and Europe, you’ll pay 62,500 Avios for a business-class flight. Taxes and fees will cost around $150 on these awards, which isn’t great, but it’s not nearly as high as what some other award programs charge.
From Finnair’s website, click on the “Award flight” button. If you aren’t logged into your Finnair Plus account yet, you’ll be prompted to do that before you can search for flights using Avios.
Once you’ve logged in, choose whether you’re booking one-way or round-trip and then input your departure city and destination. You’ll also want to change the number of passengers and what cabin you want to fly in, using the box on the lower right side. When you click on the dates field, a large calendar will pop up, showing two months of travel dates at a time.
You can’t choose a range of dates on this page. However, you will see a week’s worth of information on the next page. There’s no way to filter this information, but it at least shows you which dates have some flights available for Avios redemptions – and the starting price on each date.
The next page will show you available flights to select, including how many Avios you need and how much cash you’ll pay for taxes and fees.
If you don’t have enough Avios in your account, this is the furthest you can go. However, you should avoid transferring Avios to your Finnair account until you’ve found flights, since you can’t reverse point transfers if you change your mind or can’t find a flight that works for your schedule.
If you need to transfer Capital One miles, for example, you would log in to your account and click on "View Rewards" next to your mileage balance. Then, choose the option for "Transfer Rewards." That will take you to the list of transfer partners, and you’ll click on “Transfer Miles” on the right side next to Finnair.
If this is your first time transferring to Finnair, you’ll need to input your Finnair Plus loyalty number on the next page.
You’ll then be able to choose how many miles you want to transfer and then submit your transfer after confirming the details.
Many transfers from Capital One to Finnair process within a few seconds, so head back to your Finnair account, log out, and log back in again. The miles should be there. If not, they should show up soon — at least within 24 hours.
At this point, you’re ready to book your award ticket.
What other loyalty programs can you use to book Finnair business class?
You can book Finnair business class using points and miles from these partner programs:
Alaska Airlines
American Airlines
British Airways
Cathay Pacific
Iberia
Japan Airlines
Qantas
Qatar Airways
Plus, you can use other Oneworld members with award programs that are harder to amass points in if you’re living in the U.S.
How to book Finnair business class using points from a partner airline
American Airlines is particularly interesting for those living on the West Coast, as you’ll pay 57,500 miles between the U.S. and Finland regardless of which part of the U.S. you’re flying from.
Alaska Airlines charges 55,000 miles from the U.S. East Coast to Finland, but those on the West Coast will pay 70,000 miles each way.
Earning American Airlines miles is easier than earning Alaska miles. That’s because American offers multiple credit cards, a dining rewards program, online shopping portal, and various other methods for earning miles – along with points transfers from Citi ThankYou Rewards.
To earn Alaska Airlines miles, you can use its credit cards, dining rewards program, or transfer points from Bilt Rewards.
The best way to book Finnair business class with points
From the U.S., the best pricing for Finnair business class comes from using Alaska Airlines miles to fly between the East Coast and Finland. The second-best option is American Airlines miles, which also provides the best price from the West Coast.
Those with Bilt Rewards points will also be interested in the option to book Finnair business class awards with Japan Airlines (JAL) Mileage Bank. Whether you’re flying from the East or West Coast, you’ll pay 60,000 miles plus less than $200 in taxes and fees. This is very valuable for those on the West Coast who have Bilt points.
Tips for finding business class award availability on Finnair
From experience, Finnair tends to release a handful of award seats around 330 days before departure. Booking as far in advance as possible is your best bet.
If seats remain unsold, booking short-notice award flights is another option. Finnair may release a handful of seats for award bookings around three weeks before departure.
Availability is more prevalent in Finnair’s own rewards program, Finnair Plus, than with partners in either situation. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t find these seats with partners like American Airlines AAdvantage or British Airways Club.
point.me can help you find available seats across programs and recommend the cheapest option to book. And remember that you can set alerts to track routes, just in case you aren’t finding what you need right now.
Should you book Finnair business class?
Yes, you should book Finnair business class — assuming you can snag the right fare or award deal. The AirLounge seat is unlike anything else in the sky, with a sleek Nordic design, smart storage, a unique way to get comfortable the way you want, and true lie-flat comfort on all long-haul flights.
Service is personable, food leans local, and Helsinki’s lounges — especially the Platinum Wing — are standouts when you’re flying out of Finland on long-haul flights. Cash fares can be steep, but award sweet spots with Avios, Alaska miles, or American Airlines miles bring the cost way down, making it a solid choice when priced competitively against other carriers.
