Trip Report: Finnair, Stockholm to Helsinki; Helsinki to Tallinn (June 2022)

 Trip Report: Finnair - Stockholm to Helsinki; Helsinki to Tallinn
comment below and let me know your thoughts 

 

I was traveling to Helsinki, Finland and so that meant I had to try Finnair.  Finnair is Finland's national carrier and is also part of the oneworld alliance.  I have been wanted to try their service for a while and now got the opportunity in two regional flights - one from Stockholm to Helsinki on an Airbus A319 and then from Helsinki to Tallinn on an ATR plane.  I was traveling with hand-carry only so my experience with both flights were similar.                                                                                                                                               It was very easy to book flights on Finnair's website but since Finnair is a member of oneworld I could also use my AAdvantage points to book award travel on Finnair so that is what I did - I used AAmiles to book a free ticket on Finnair.  It was easy to use the miles and book my ticket, get my record locator number, and then use that to manage my booking on Finnair's website.  Finnair is a full-service airline so checked baggage and complimentary seat assignment were included in the fare.  

My first flight was from Stockholm to Helsinki and was operated by an Airbus A319.  I was able to 

select my seat, free of charge, upon booking and I could modify the seat assignment anytime prior to and during check-in.  It was very easy to checkin on the app and obtain my boarding pass.  In regional flights, Finnair does not provide food but you can preselect/purchase food and have it served on the plane.  The incoming aircraft arrival was delayed so that meant our departure was delayed - this information was communicated by the gate agents, by the monitors, on the app, and we also received email notification of the delay.  Once ready for boarding, Finnair boards in groups and is VERY strict about the boarding groups; they do not allow anyone outside their boarding groups to board.                                                                                                                                                              Once onboard the Airbus A319 the seats were laid out in a 3-3 seat configuration.  Generally there is an economy and Euro-business class on the flight (economy seats with the middle blocked) but with the flight time was only 1hour , I think Finnair considers this a more 'domestic' flight so there was no business class and only economy.  I say this because I was in seat 3 which would normally be 'Euro-business' but this time was all economy.  

The seats were basic with seatback pocket up top, a normal size tray table underneath and then a small pocket underneath that.  The seatback pocket up top contained the safety card information; airline magazine and buy on-board menu was available online.  The seat width was a bit narrow, especially if you had a broader person sitting next to you in the middle but the seat pitch was great - I am 6'1 with long legs and my legs easily fit with room to move.  Once we took off, inflight service commenced.  Complimentary blueberry juice, tea, or coffee were served; everything else needed to be purchased.  You could connect to Finnair's wifi which provides content dependent on the flight; for some flights this includes entertainment such as TV shows and movies but for this short flight it only included access to journals and newspapers (including international newspapers).  After drinks were passed out and rubbish collected, it was time to land and deplane in Helsinki.

My next flight with Finnair with an ATR Aircraft which is in a 2-2 seat configuration and one that boards from the back.  The check-in and complimentary seat assignment were the same with this flight, the only difference was that the flight time for this flight is 30min so this meant that there was no inflight service.  We boarded, took off, landed and deplaned.                                                                                                                            Overall, it was a nice flight with Finnair.  Their planes were nice, the service onboard was good and overall it was a nice short flights with each airline.  This definitely makes me want to try their long-haul or longer flights with them.