Finnair Dishes up New Inflight Dining Concept

Finnair has launched its new long-haul inflight dining concept as part of a major enhancement for customers.

The new modern premium dining experience has been unveiled to complement the Finnish carrier's major investment in a brand-new spacious Business Class, new Premium Economy and refreshed Economy cabin.

Now long-haul Business Class customers can choose from up to six main dishes, as well as smaller bistro-style dishes, while there will be an emphasis on casual dining in Premium Economy.

Designed by chefs from the airline's Finnair Kitchen, the new menus feature a focus on offering pure, fresh flavours, drawing upon its famed Nordic heritage.

Eerika Enne, Finnair's Head of Inflight Customer Experience said

“To complement our new long-haul Business Class and Premium Economy cabins, we have completely rethought our service concept to offer a modern, contemporary, and premium dining experience for our customers.

“Using the expertise of our Finnair Kitchen chefs, we have drawn upon our Nordic heritage to create menus which make the most of locally sourced produce, creating delicious dishes to enjoy in comfort at 39,000ft.”

To maximise sleep time during the flight, the new concept menu also offers a swifter service option to make the most of customer's experience in the air to rest and relax.

The new menus include the carrier's brand new ‘Northern Blush' signature cocktail and refreshed drinks selection, including Mikropolis' Negroni cocktail and featuring Finnish producers with whisky from Kyrö, gin from Helsinki Distillery and Valamo XO dessert wine

Business Class customers can now enjoy a modern premium dining experience with smaller bistro-style dishes. Two cold dishes are followed by a hot dish and a side, both of which have three options also offering the chance to share dishes between travel companions.

Each meal can be complemented with cheese, dessert, and the new beverage selection. A second lighter meal is served before landing which, depending on the time of the day, could be a breakfast or a light lunch.

In the new Premium Economy Class, the focus is on quality casual dining with a three-course main meal and two main dish options to choose from.

The menu design was inspired by the recently launched littala Kuulas dining collection, which was created exclusively for Finnair by Harri Koskinen, one of Finland's best-known contemporary designers.

Koskinen created the Kuulas collection to be used in Finnair's long-haul Business Class, the new Premium Economy cabin, and short-haul Business Class.

The new Iittala Kuulas tableware collection includes new plates, bowls, cups, tumblers, wine glasses and cutlery.

Sustainability is a major focus for Finnair, which has driven the design of the new dining concept using renewable materials.

Single-use items and plastics have been significantly reduced with more sustainable options included or others being removed completely, including starter and salad cups, and salt and pepper packages.

To reduce food waste Finnair also encourages Business Class customers to pre-order their main course, via the online Manage Booking service, to avoid the unnecessary loading of extra dishes on board.