A little Finland at 10,000 meters: discovering Finnish spirit aboard Finnair

A journey from Incheon to Helsinki on Finnair

Finnish design, flavors and sensibility fill the cabin

The polar route takes 13 hours and 40 minutes

The land of Moomins, the northern lights and Santa Claus — Finland has long held a place on many a traveler's bucket list, yet the sheer distance often gives would-be visitors pause. One airline has worked to close that gap more than any other: Finnair, the only carrier operating a direct scheduled service between Incheon and the Finnish capital Helsinki.

Finnair first entered the Korean market in June 2008, launching the Incheon-Helsinki route with three flights a week. As of October 2026, the route runs daily — seven days a week — keeping the two countries connected year-round. The airline has also served as Santa Claus's official carrier since 1983 and remains the only airline offering flights to Rovaniemi, home of Santa's Village.

The first leg of a journey to Oulu — the 2026 European Capital of Culture — begins aboard a Finnair aircraft bound for Helsinki. This trip was operated by the Airbus A350 XWB, a widebody jet Finnair became the first European airline to introduce more than a decade ago. The XWB, which stands for extra wide body, features a fuselage 33 centimeters broader than those of the older A330 and A340.

Finnair in-flight meal served in Iittala tableware, the iconic Finnish brand [Finnair]

Northern Blush, Finnair's signature cocktail made with Finnish lingonberry juice [Finnair]

Step inside the cabin and the generous sense of space — paired with rows of blue seats — evokes a distinctly Finnish feeling, as though the destination has already been reached. All business class seats on Finnair's A350 fleet were fully redesigned in 2024 in collaboration with Collins Aerospace. The new seats feature a three-dimensional curved design that lets passengers settle into a comfortable position without manually adjusting the backrest.

In-flight meals arrive in ceramic tableware by Iittala, an icon of Finnish design, while amenity kits, cushions and blankets carry the bold patterns of Marimekko, another beloved Finnish brand — constant reminders that Finland is the destination. The Iittala tableware offered to business class and premium economy passengers belongs to the "Kuulas" collection, developed by Finnair together with designer Harri Koskinen.

The in-flight beverage menu is equally steeped in Finnish character. Two drinks stand out: the Long Drink and the Northern Blush. The Long Drink is Finland's national cocktail, born out of the 1952 Helsinki Olympics — a light, refreshing mix of gin and grapefruit soda. The Northern Blush, Finnair's signature cocktail, combines gin with Finnish lingonberry juice and is finished with orange peel and bitters, evoking the quiet atmosphere of a Nordic forest.

In-flight amenity kit offered to Finnair passengers, created in collaboration with Marimekko [Finnair]

If the Long Drink and Northern Blush are drinks for grown-ups, Finnair's true signature — beloved by passengers of all ages — is its blueberry juice. Introduced in 2014, the juice is made from wild blueberries that grow in Finnish forests and has been served at a rate of roughly 1 million liters a year ever since. For Finns, summer means heading into the woods with a basket to pick berries, and a single glass carries all the warmth of those long forest days.

After leaving Incheon, the aircraft passes near the North Pole — a rerouting made necessary after Russia closed its airspace following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Counterintuitively, the polar route actually shortened the flight time, and passengers get the added novelty of an indirect Arctic experience at cruising altitude. A "polar route crossing certificate" is handed out as a memento of the passage. On a clear night, those flying over the polar region may even be treated to the aurora borealis rippling like a green curtain beyond the window.

The flight from Incheon to Helsinki takes 13 hours and 40 minutes — no short haul. To ease the journey, the cabin lighting gradually shifts in brightness and color to gently coax passengers' internal clocks toward their destination. Finnair developed the system in partnership with lighting specialist Jetlite to reduce jet lag. On flights to Finland, the lighting takes on a cool "Nordic Blue" tone, and as the cabin dims, a soft residual glow is designed to suggest the aurora borealis. The quiet overlap between that simulated aurora and the real one that might appear outside the window makes for a quietly extraordinary experience.

balme@heraldcorp.com