FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Non-reclining Business Class seat on Qantas wet-leased Finnair A330

You may have heard of the non-reclining Business Class seats on Qantas wet-leased Finnair A330s that are being wet-leased to Qantas. The Scandinavian carrier is reducing its European flights that would normally involve traversing its neighbour, Russia’s airspace. These seats seem to polarise travellers, who either love them or hate them.

I fall into both camps. I love them and hate them. Let me explain.

What is really important in a Business Class seat?

Travelling long-haul in Qantas Business class on a wet-leased Finnair A330, has been on my agenda for a while. Last week, I got to experience a flight between Sydney and Bangkok.

I had read a lot about the seat. It confuses many passengers who travel Business Class regularly and are are used to the mechanically moveable parts of a business seat, which allow it to move from an upright seat for takeoff and landing into a fully flat bed.

Privacy doors and direct access to the aisle get all the press. But it’s often more mundane things like the quality of the seat mechanism and the versatility of its positioning that really create comfort or otherwise for passengers—that and the comfort of the upholstery.

The ergonomics of the tray table, armrests, access to switches, and the positioning of controls are all important, too. But if you can’t get a seat positioned to your thigh length or find the perfect floating/zero-gravity ‘Z’ position, then the comfort war has been lost already.

Bolster to the rescue

Finnair has installed the Collins, AirLounge seats in its Business Class. They all face forward in a 1-2-1 configuration. On Qantas they come with two cushions, and there is a mattress liner and a blanket.

At first the Finnair Seats seem fine for sitting upright. but it does feel a little odd, but pleasantly cocooning with the fabric wrapping around your torso. There are no corners, just gentle curves.

When you get into the air, and want to assume a more relaxed position, that’s when it gets momentarily perplexing.

I thought to myself — if I can’t recline the back, and extend to seat, but only raise the leg rest, how am I going to get comfortable?

The answer is — because I had read other’s experience — use the rolled up matress liner as a bolster, making the only thing resembling a sharp corner, the curve from the seat back to, well, the sitting part, into a much gentler curve.

You then use the two pillows supplied by Qantas to position yourself at your desired angle. For me that meant the big one in the small of my back, and the smaller one at shoulder/neck height.

Suddenly, there you are. Not a floating ‘z’ position, but with the footrest raised, and arguably even more comfortable position than if you had been able to recline the back.

In bed we must

You can raise the foot rest until it goes horizontal, and then, on the wall at the back of the next seat, there is a padded piece that flips up and makes for a continuous bed. Job done.

The secret of this seat is really that the seat plus the footwell is long being more than adequate to lie flat, even if you were six-and-a-bit foot tall. I’m not that tall, so this is informed speculation.

Now, don’t get me wrong, this is no the same as a long bed, equal width down the entire length. It does involve a foot well, but it is long and wide at its opening, but tapers towards its end. It is also only along the wall side, so to find comfort, whether you lie flat, or on your side with your knees bent, you are at an angle away from the aisle.

This angle means that it will probably be more comfortable to sleep on one side versus the other. I was in an aisle seat — 2L to be precise. So for me it was more comfortable to sleep on my right side. If you were in an A seat, I suspect it would be more comfortable to sleep on your left side.

The non-reclining Business Class seat is big and wide

The best attribute of the non-reclining Business Class seats on Qantas wet-leased Finnair A330 as far as I was concerned, after I got used to, is the generous width and length of the seat.

The suite, although undoored, feels quite private and spacious. The angle of the seat side to the aisle, its height and curve, and the staggered layout of the seats contribute to this. But its also the fact that I, and I think most passengers had the seat in ‘bed’ mode, more sleeping platform position for most of the flight, whether they were sleeping or merely relaxing.

I think that’s the genius of the seat. Its like a divan that you can either lounge in or sleep on.

2PAXfly Takeout

I’ll do a full review of the flight and the non-reclining Business Class seats on Qantas wet-leased Finnair A330 as part of this Trip Report that should start rolling out in the next month or so.

This was the first of my flights on a total of four different airlines on this trip. The next two legs were on an old favourite, Oman Air with their Rockwell Collins’ Air Rest business class suites.

I would still possibly choose these Collins, AirLounge seats on the wet leased Finnair A330 aircraft for Qantas over their standard Business Class suite. Unless it was on an A380. Then definitely the standard Qantas Business suite.

The best thing about them is that they don’t recline. The worst thing about them? Also, they don’t recline!