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

 Trip Report: Finnair - Stockholm to Helsinki; Helsinki to Tallinn
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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.

Stay Report: Holiday Inn Helsinki City Centre (Helsinki, Finland - June 2022)

    Stay Report: Holiday Inn Helsinki City Centre
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I was traveling to Helsinki, Finland but I was only going to be there for a short period so I wanted a hotel that would be central and within walking distance to the city center and most sites.  Based on this criteria, I found the Holiday Inn Helsinki City Center and it fit all the criteria I was looking for.  It was very easy to book and manage the hotel through both the website and app.  The hotel is connected to the train station but it is not attached, so you do have to exit the train station but it is in the same footprint so only a couple of steps from the last platform and a 30-second walk from the main entrance.  

As you exit the side entrance of the train station, the hotel is visible on the right-hand side.  From the outside it looks nice and modern, but perceptions can be deceiving sometimes.  As you enter the lobby, the check-in desks are straight ahead, to the right was the bar and restaurant as well as waiting area, and to the left are the elevators/lifts, the 'business center'/computer stations, additional waiting areas, some work stations, and some places to relax and lounge.  The lobby was definitely spacious, had lots of good amenities, and looked renovated and updated.  Check-in was quick, I received my key, went to the 5th floor and proceeded to enter my room; this is where the renovations had ceased.

The room was definitely not updated and looked very nice for the 1980s or 1990s.  As you entered into the room, along the right side were large doors and behind the doors were the closets, ironing board and iron, safe, and coffee maker; there was lots of space but the doors and look of the closets looked dated.  Along the left side of the room was the bathroom which contained a toilet, a sink with a long countertop, and a tub which contained only a half-door.  The half-door did absolutely nothing to hold the water in, the facilities in the bathroom did not look updated and the overall look was dated.  There were reusable toiletries in the shower and next to the sink; this hotel used Dove and while it smelled decent, it seemed a bit cheap (I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Warsaw and the product they used smelled and seemed more upscale).

As you moved further into the room, on the left were the two twin beds.  Each bed had a small nightstand on either side and each night stand had a small light as well as a plug and USB ports - at least that was updated and that was convenient.  The beds were updated and although somewhat small, provided a decent nights sleep.  Across from the beds was a TV screen mounted to the wall, a desk with an outdated phone and furniture, and along the wall was nice open windows which shown out onto the street and let it light; luckily they were also blackout curtains since the sun rose at 3am.

Amenities in the hotel included a restaurant, wifi, business centre, and fitness center.  Because of my limited time there, I was not able to visit the fitness center and had no need to visit the business center - which basically was the computer station in the lobby.  I did try the wifi which was fast and you could connect many devices.  As I said, the lobby was very open and spacious and there were lots of amenities as well as working spaces in there.  To me, the best feature about the hotel was the location as it was right next to the train station, it had a grocery store across the street, it was a 2-3 minute to many restaurants and shops and it was a 10-minute walk to the University and Main Square.  Overall, the location was very nice, the lobby and customer service was very nice but the rooms need to be updated.