Finnair dedicates full-flat seats to nine long-haul routes
Effective April 1, Finnair will dedicate aircraft with full-flat seats in Business Class to flights to Tokyo and New York, and from May 1 to Beijing and Seoul. As of June 1 the full-flat allocation also extends to Hanoi, Hong Kong, Nagoya, Osaka and Shanghai. The new seats are a result of Finnair’s 29 million-euro program to retrofit most of its wide-body fleet of Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft.
The Zodiac Seats UK Vantage model seats – already in use on Finnair’s four newest Airbus A330s – are designed to provide a fully-flat bed of up to 200 cm (79”), while shoulder room measures 58 cm (23”). The fully adjustable seats also come with an individual reading light, adjustable head rest, mood lights and a range of inflight entertainment options.
“We believe that full-flat seats are the new quality standard for long-haul business travel,” says Allister Paterson, Finnair’s Chief Commercial Officer. “A promise of comfort and quality to key business destinations will help make Finnair a very compelling option in business travel, particularly between Europe and Asia.”
After the full-flat retrofit program is complete, all of Finnair’s long-haul Airbus fleet will have full-flat seats in Business Class with the exception of three older aircraft. Due to maintenance or other technical reasons, designated full-flat routes may still be served by these other aircraft, which feature angled lie-flat seating in Business Class. These three aircraft will be the first to be removed from the fleet as next-generation Airbus A350 XWBs begin arriving in 2015.
Finnair currently operates 15 Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft in its wide-body fleet, serving a network of 15 long-haul destinations in Asia and North America. A further 11 Airbus A350 XWBs (with an option for 8 more) are due to arrive beginning in H2 2015, which will help the airline double its revenue from Asian destinations by 2020. Finnair will be the first European airline to fly with the state of the art A350.
Images are downloadable at https://gallery.finnair.com/section/images/cabin_service/
Further information:
Finnair Media Desk, 358 9 818 4020, comms(a)finnair.com
Finnair Gallery: http://gallery.finnair.com
Finnair on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Twitter
Finnair blogs: http://blogs.finnair.com
Finnair on Facebook: www.facebook.com/finnair
Finnair Group website: www.finnairgroup.com
About Finnair
Finnair is specialised in fast connections between Europe and Asia via Helsinki. The airline carries more than eight million passengers annually and connects 13 cities in Asia with more than 60 destinations in Europe. The airline, a pioneer in sustainable flying, operates a young, modern fleet and is the first airline listed in the Leadership Index of the worldwide Carbon Disclosure Project. The only Nordic carrier with a 4-star Skytrax ranking, Finnair has also won the World Airline Award for Best Airline Northern Europe for the past four years running. Finnair is a member of oneworld, the alliance of the world's leading airlines committed to providing the highest level of service and convenience to frequent international travellers.