Finnair new Business Class on A350
Finnair is fitting a new Business Class cabin to all its long-haul aircraft, and installing the new Collins Aerospace AirLounge seat.
Unlike conventional Business Class seats, the AirLounge seat takes inspiration from lounge furniture: it is in effect a sofa in the sky. The seat is designed to maximise your freedom to move during a long-haul flight.
The seat's has a hard outer shell with no recline, so you can sit on it in a way you would on a normal sofa, and snooze by resting your feet on the ottoman.
When it comes to sleep, you can use the raising panels to create a flat surface, with a small tunnel so your legs can go flat. Finnair will provide a mattress and a duvet to turn the seat into a bed, and provide a couple of pillows. The Finnish fashion house, Marimekko has created unique pillows and a duvet for the Business Class, with Maija Isola's iconic designs in soothing dark colours.
While the seat doesn't have a door or walls like Qatar's QSuite, it does have a high cocoon like shell that provides some privacy, and there is a divider between central seats can be lowered when travelling with a companion.
As you'd expect of Finnair, it has clean lines and a dark blue colour scheme that follows Finnair's Nordic design style that is visible also in Finnair's lounges in the non-Schengen area at Helsinki Airport.
David Kondo from Finnair's Customer Experience team, who led the design work for the new Finnair long-haul experience, said: "We wanted to rethink business class and create more of a residential environment, emulating the comfort you would expect at home. By doing away with complicated seat mechanisms and using 3D curved shells, we're able to provide a larger flexible living space. This allows you to move more freely and take up different positions that traditional aircraft seats do not allow."
The seat concept was originally conceived by PriestmanGoode of London. The seat was further developed by Collins Aerospace, with customisation and final design execution by Finnair and its appointed design partner, Tangerine.
"The collaborative partnership with Finnair enabled the launch of this innovative seat and helped bring a truly unique cabin concept to life," said Mark Vaughan, vice president and general manager of Interiors Seating for Collins Aerospace. "I truly believe that together we have set a new bar for passenger comfort and the travel experience."
The lighting options in the seat have a customised lamp that doubles as a reading light, and a do not disturb light. The in-seat lighting complements new cabin mood lighting designed in partnership with Jetlite to combat the effects of jetlag. The design scheme is inspired by Nordic nature, complete with the northern lights as the cabin is dimmed for sleep.
There is quite a lot of storage around the seat, including spaces for personal items, laptop, and all pillows and blankets.
The side table can also be used to rest a laptop on. Each seat comes with the usual power sockets, and USB A and C sockets, plus a rarity on a plane: wireless mobile charging. All of Finnair's long-haul aircraft are equipped with wifi internet connectivity.
The Inflight Entertainment System has a large HD 18-inch screen.
Finnair is one of the few airlines that is installing a bar, rather than removing them, with a small shelf like bar in the galley.
In line with its long design heritage, Finnair has worked with Finnish design houses to complement the cabin ambiance and premium travel experience through beautiful new textiles and tableware.
All meals are served on new chinaware from Finnish design house Iittala. The Kuulas dining collection is designed by Harri Koskinen and inspired by the contemporary home environment.
Business Class customers will be served new meal and beverage offerings, including an up to six-course meal in modern bistro-style and another lighter meal.
The design comes just six years after the airline experimented with another new Finnair Business Class seat.
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