Helsinki to Tallinn reward seats

[ronlon]

Does anyone know if reward seats are available from Helsinki to Tallinn via the Qantas call centre ? Tallinn is not listed as a destination via on line booking despite Finnair flying there.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

The ferry is just as quick

 

[Mattg]

Does anyone know if reward seats are available from Helsinki to Tallinn via the Qantas call centre ? Tallinn is not listed as a destination via on line booking despite Finnair flying there.

If there is availability then yes, you should be able to book over the phone.

That's really bizarre that Tallinn isn't listed as a destination on qantas.com! It's a big enough city that it should be there. I notice that Tartu isn't there either (Finnair's other Estonian destination).

(While they're at it, it would also be nice if QF added ALA and TAS as destinations you can book online...)

 

[Kerrodt]

This may not be the answer that you are looking for, but I'll add my 2cents worth.

Tallinn is about 90km by sea from Helsinki. I travelled between the two places by ferry and it was a fantastic journey and very cost effective. The ferries are large, first class vessels (unlike the ferries in Australia) with full service available - economy/business class seats, food, beverages etc. I would have never contemplated a flight between the two cities and would never consider burning points for such a short reward redemption flight.

The ferry journey is about 3 hours. Facilities at both ends are excellent.

My recommendation - catch a ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn. You won't regret it.

 

[ronlon]

The ferry is just as quick

My family and I really enjoy ferries and know of the ferry but I am weighing up whether to spend a night or two in Helsinki then take the ferry or fly straight to Tallinn given I will already be at Helsinki airport. The focus of this trip is Estonia and Latvia not Finland.

 

[jase05]

Have you got any Avios?
Plenty of availability to book with Avios

 

[Mattg]

My family and I really enjoy ferries and know of the ferry but I am weighing up whether to spend a night or two in Helsinki then take the ferry or fly straight to Tallinn given I will already be at Helsinki airport. The focus of this trip is Estonia and Latvia not Finland.

The HEL-TLL flight makes good sense if you’re connecting to/from another flight at HEL. Otherwise it doesn’t.

Anyway, if you decide to book the flight, please let us know if you were able to book by calling Qantas. It should be possible.

 

[Kerrodt]

My family and I really enjoy ferries and know of the ferry but I am weighing up whether to spend a night or two in Helsinki then take the ferry or fly straight to Tallinn given I will already be at Helsinki airport. The focus of this trip is Estonia and Latvia not Finland.

Oh, if you have a chance, spend a couple of nights in Helsinki. It is a wonderful city. I bypassed it numerous times just using Helsiki as a stopover on the way to somewhere else and once I made the decision to actually stop and have a look at what Helsinki had to offer I was pleasantly surprised.

I'd recommend a couple of days in Helsinki then the ferry to Tallinn. the ferry terminal is centrally located and a <10 min drive from from downtown area. I stayed on Bulevardi St and it was an easy 20 minute walk from my hotel to the ferry terminal area.

 

[jase05]

The HEL-TLL flight makes good sense if you’re connecting to/from another flight at HEL. Otherwise it doesn’t.

Anyway, if you decide to book the flight, please let us know if you were able to book by calling Qantas. It should be possible.

Funnily enough I can book it on QR with Avios but on BA website it says “BA or its partners don’t fly this route”

 

[Mattg]

Funnily enough I can book it on QR with Avios but on BA website it says “BA or its partners don’t fly this route”

There’s a known issue where Finnair flights operated by Norra (as HEL-TLL is) don’t appear on the BA website. Just like QantasLink flights don’t show on the BA website. In both cases, you can still redeem BA Avios by calling.

 

[tdimdad]

+1 for the ferry if you happen to stop in Helsinki. Catch the early morning run, buy yourself into the buffet breakfast and enjoy.

AY does HEL-TLL on a continuous loop. It's actually surprising how many daily flights they seem to have to Tallinn. Should make it easy to connect if you are coming from elsewhere. AY also has pretty good award availability via QFF so adding your hop to TLL should be quite easy to arrange via the call centre (if you get a competent agent).

 

[RooFlyer]

My recommendation - catch a ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn. You won't regret it.

Just have to look out for Finns and their trolleys taking massive amounts of cheaper booze back home! Some having obviously spent the day sampling.

 

[Kerrodt]

Just have to look out for Finns and their trolleys taking massive amounts of cheaper booze back home! Some having obviously spent the day sampling.

You're not wrong there!! People pushing around trolleys of cheap booze AND cigarettes everywhere.

 

[OZDUCK]

In 2017 one of the ferries was an INCAT (Tasmanian) high speed catamaran running at over twice the speed of the big ferries. So it was probably quicker all up than a plane. Unfortunately it doesn't appear to be doing that run anymore.

 

[tdimdad]

Just have to look out for Finns and their trolleys taking massive amounts of cheaper booze back home! Some having obviously spent the day sampling.

They have no need to sample the booze, they already know what to get. Place the order online before the trip and it's all waiting for a pickup by the terminal. It's a well-oiled operation they run there. The "sampling" can happen downtown or elsewhere in pubs while you wait for the return ferry to board.

Without the "beverage inspired tourism" the ferries between Sweden, Finland and Estonia would be nearly non-existent or much less frequent. The actual passenger traffic is a small minority of their operation. Carrying freight (mostly trucks) is a much bigger income source than transiting pax.

 

[CorporateFlyerMEL]

ferry is the way to go Tallink seems to have the most luxury vessels, although depart from Harbour West which is a little bit out of CBD (10mins by Uber) - normally around EUR30 one way and if you do day trip is around EUR45 return - so may be cheaper than the taxes on the AY flight. Viking is another provider but boats are not as comfortable.

Note that Finnair has suspended flights to Tartu due to suspected Russian jamming of GPS system making landing difficult...

 

[ronlon]

+1 for the ferry if you happen to stop in Helsinki. Catch the early morning run, buy yourself into the buffet breakfast and enjoy.

AY does HEL-TLL on a continuous loop. It's actually surprising how many daily flights they seem to have to Tallinn. Should make it easy to connect if you are coming from elsewhere. AY also has pretty good award availability via QFF so adding your hop to TLL should be quite easy to arrange via the call centre (if you get a competent agent).

What I love about this forum is little tips like this from fellow learned travellers ! I am weighing up flight vs ferry in the first instance and would never have factored in a Scandinavian buffet breakfast while watching the waves role by vs airline food (if any on this short leg ) ! Bring on the pickled herring and raindeer stew !

 

[ozflier]

Agree- go via the Ferry!

 

[tdimdad]

ferry is the way to go Tallink seems to have the most luxury vessels, although depart from Harbour West which is a little bit out of CBD (10mins by Uber) - normally around EUR30 one way and if you do day trip is around EUR45 return - so may be cheaper than the taxes on the AY flight. Viking is another provider but boats are not as comfortable.

Note that Finnair has suspended flights to Tartu due to suspected Russian jamming of GPS system making landing difficult...

You can also take the tram to the ferry terminal. If you stay in a city centre hotel, you have a couple of options for tram lines and it takes about 15-20 mins. You can use Google Maps or their local transport authority website hsl.fi or their app to check out the stops and timings. If you use HSL, the image shows what you can put in as the start & end points. The tram ticket you can buy using the HSL app or from a nearby vending machine (I use the app, it's handy on the go).

 

[kamchatsky]

Another person to vote for the ferry to Tallinn. Caught it on day trip from HEL, and it is a very pleasant experience. Loved the buffet food on board as well.