Trip Report: Flying Finnair's A321 to Helsinki

DALLAS — Welcome once again to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS). In the past few months, I've been at AMS quite often. The first time was for a trip report on AirBaltic (BT) in November.

Then, at the inauguration of the very first Airbus A320neo family for the Air France—KLM group, Transavia (HV), which is replacing its Boeing 737 fleet with its Airbus counterpart, presented its first A321neo in a ceremony hosted at its hangar at AMS in December 2023.

A few weeks later, I attended the aviation fair south of Amsterdam, with colleagues from Airways joining me on this spending spree. We bought aircraft models, skins, and a cockpit panel from an Air Canada Boeing 767. Then, the oneworld alliance unveiled its first business class lounge in Europe in Schiphol, and with another colleague from Airways, we attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

A few days later, I had the unique opportunity to climb up to LVNL’s ATC tower at AMS. This was a dream come true. You can read more about it in our next issue of Airways Magazine—subscribe if you haven’t already, digitally or in print; you don’t want to miss the views from up there!

I am back in Amsterdam, reviewing a premium product on a short European route: Helsinki on Finnair’s (AY) A321ceo.

This is my second time flying on the AMS-HEL route; in June 2023, the airline operated its A350-900XWB on daily flights to AMS, with IFE, lie-flat beds (for a 2-hour flight!), tail camera, and so on. Compared to most European flights, it was quite an overkill in terms of comfort. Today, I was not as lucky, as the demand in March is not at its maximum yet, meaning no twin-aisle aircraft are flying on this route yet.

Finnair operates two daily flights, AY1302 and AY1306, to Amsterdam Schiphol, using a variety of A319s, A320s, and A321s. Today, our flight is served by a 21-year-old A321.

Check-in & Lounge

I am flying business class today for two reasons. Firstly, I wanted to compare the A321 and the old A350 products on the same route (with some realistic expectations).

Secondly, as a passenger, I wanted to experience the newly opened oneworld lounge, which was inaugurated a few weeks ago. This replaces the old Aspire 26 lounge, which I tried a couple of times, finding it rather underwhelming.

Finnair uses the facilities in the Departures 1 area. There was no line at the check-in, and I soon asked if the new oneworld lounge was available for AY passengers due to its location in the extra-Schengen area. To my surprise, I was told that Finnair still uses the old Aspire 26 lounge at AMS, which contradicts what we were told at the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new lounge.

This was confirmed on my boarding pass. It was no big deal; I only needed a quick breakfast before departure. After security, which took less than five minutes, I was soon at the Aspire 26 lounge. I asked again to be sure and was told that this is the only facility AY passengers can use in Amsterdam. So be it; I had my espresso and sat down for work.

I then overheard the person I asked about the lounge access talking to another passenger, informing him that the new oneworld lounge was available as long as he had his passport.

At this point, I was confused; it was too late to do a double passport control, so I just stayed where I was. I left the lounge, and after a short walk, I was in front of my aircraft, OH-LZE, a 20.8-year-old A321 leased to Finnair operating flight AY1302.

Boarding

We boarded on time from gate C8 in Schiphol. After countless flights, I could finally sit at seat 1A for this short hop across Europe for the first time. As expected, status holders and business class passengers boarded first, giving me time to take pictures and film in the cabin.

The cabin is, as expected, a massive drawback from any twin-aisle aircraft; however, it shows less wear and tear than I anticipated, and the seats were surprisingly comfortable. Waiting for me at my seat were a bottle of water, a blanket, and the drinks menu.

We pushed back and departed from runway 18L. We were soon airborne, climbing through a thick cloud and heading East to Finland.

In-flight

Similarly to my A350 experience, a hot towel and a full lunch service were served after take-off. In economy class, water and blueberry juice are served free of charge, while the rest of the menu can be bought. The meal and drinks service is complimentary in business class.

The lunch included a potato salad as an appetizer and German-style ravioli for the main course. A blueberry pastry was also offered after lunch, which I regret to have declined. I had to have a glass of Finnair’s blueberry juice, my favorite drink in the skies.

The front seat had outstanding legroom, but all personal belongings had to be stored in the overhead bins for landing and take-off. This aircraft had no power outlets, which is OK on a short flight.

To my surprise, there was an excellent Wi-Fi service, with complimentary messaging for business class passengers. This worked brilliantly and allowed me to send and download images on messaging platforms.

Landing, Final Thoughts

The weather on the route was almost always cloudy, with sporadic views of Denmark. We approached a thick cloud layer before landing on time in a rather snowy Helsinki. We landed on time in Finland and disembarked through a jetbridge.

Overall, the experience may not be as different as AY's economy product on board. However, the complimentary meal and Wi-Fi service may be enough on some occasions to justify the extra cost of business class on this route.

The experience cannot be compared against an IFE-equipped Airbus A350 or A330. However, for two hours of flight time, Finnair’s A321 is still a good experience in the skies.