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Finland to Scotland My final flight of the outward journey and for one reason or another, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I might. The Finnair cabin layout of the E190 is 2-2 seating all the way through the cabin. What distinguishes my business seat from any other - apart from the fact that they...

Yeah, I saw that. I don't know the facts, but if I was a CSM and I found the cabin filling up with smoke I wouldn't wait for the captain, because if the thing did go up in flames I'd have to be one of the last off and might not make it. I've seen videos of people evacuating burning planes and...

Yeah. I wasn't there, I haven't seen an official report, just a couple of media reports and some pictures. My best guess is that they ordered an evacuation - with the certainty of people being injured by incorrect procedure and flying bags - because there was a possibility that the plane might...

I think we might need to ask the pilot on this, but if the problem was serious enough that they rejected the takeoff it's likely something that would have caused problems in flight. I understand it was a sensor probe and something similar caused the loss of an Air France flight over the Atlantic...

No bulkhead. Those look like the seats. Of course, I might have missed the nets. I could have just forgotten about them, it’s been years since I last travelled on a wide body.

HKG - LAX = Heavy fuel load. Aborted take-off can mean a lot of braking power required to stop safely. That in turn means the tyres will heat up. One tyre shows damage, the others may have deflated without any visible damage. What jumps into my mind as an explanation - and I’m likely wrong but...

VH-QPG QF23 SYD-BKK 12 Jun 23 VH-QPB QF24 BKK-SYD 21 Jun 23 Not those two!

Gapminder and Hans Rosling's book Factfulness are superb. Well-presented. Back on track, I flew Finnair A350 BKK-HEL-BKK recently in J (albeit their Business Light, with no included lounge or luggage) and the hard product is superb. The non-reclining seats are supremely comfortable sitting or...

I recently flew SYD-BKK-SYD on a QF 333. I wouldn't say it was a great experience but not super uncomfortable. The 2-4-2 config in Y is good. Only one away from the aisle so getting out for a leak or a stretch isn't such a big deal. Entertainment screens are a decent size and have powered...

Welcome to HEL Helsinki as an airport is a joy. It may not have as much visual appeal from the outside as others I have seen in my travels but like the rest of the country a lot of careful thought has gone into its planning and operation. It functions smoothly and delightfully. It is organised...

A general comment on photography. I usually have a small Leica sitting in a pouch on my hip when I fly. Nobody ever counts it against weight and it has a little bit of zoom and I can fiddle with the settings if I'm trying for some effect. More and more I just reach for my iPhone because phone...

Perhaps this is why there are so few xx13 flight numbers?

I’ve never heard of something like this. I’ve been using the platform almost since it began and everything goes through AirBnB. Including messages. Check out the reviews of the property and the owner. While sometimes there can be a web of fake accounts giving each other high ratings and...

I was on that flight. They delayed boarding two or three times, passed around bottles of water to tired and disgruntled pax. The reason was apparently some disturbing noise in the cabin, as two rows of seats - 29 and 30, I think - were vacated (meaning some pax must have been bumped, as it...

Dawnwing over Dubbo coming home from Bangkok. Flight delayed, my careful onward flight selection up the creek, re-rescheduled on arrival, bag lost and eventually delivered home where I had discovered the weather that one normally finds in Scotland. Tired but happy!

Coloured and enhanced to buggery because the subject demands it and my flight home - QF24 - has been delayed again.

BKK - HEL Bonus images. Sent from BKK - QF24 Home delayed.

BKK - HEL Part 2 Brunch done, I have a chance to get out my iPad and write up my trip report, edit a few photographs, sip a little more champagne. A fine balance. A glass or two and I lift my writing. Too much and I become maudlin or banal along with increasing my typo count. I can’t say too...

Oh, sorry. Helsinki. Approaching midnight. I was hoping to see the Northern Lights as well but obviously I hadn’t thought things through.

BKK-HEL This is the meat of my journey right here. The longest sector in the trip, the most - I hope - comfortable, and a time for me to relax and write. Our plane is an Airbus 359 and I’ve researched the business class seating. It’s a new design, a lie-flat seat that doesn’t recline. Sounds...