Nordic Skies and Skis

[Captain Halliday]

Northern Lights in Finland... Skiing in Norway... This trip is part two of a OneWorld award which we started in SIN to get two holidays from the one award.



We were very fortunate to find premium cabin availability during the Christmas holiday period.

The itinerary:
BNExSYDxPEK-HEL
HEL-RVN-HEL
HEL-OSL
HELxLHR-CPH
CPHxHEL-SIN
SINxMEL-BNE

Readers of my last TR will recall that the knee troubles suffered by Mrs H became a bit of a theme for our September journey.

But I was confident this trip would be much easier.

Five days looking for the Northern lights shouldn’t put too much pressure on her knee?

Walking around HEL, OSL & CPH should be easy right?

No black ice in winter in those cities I’m sure.

As for our 12 days skiing... snow is soft isn’t it?

My other challenge on the last trip was that Google maps got it wrong on so many occasions with indirect routing, inaccurate locations, and was at times simply wrong.

But I resolved that problem before we even departed on this trip.

I put Mrs H in charge of ground transport and logistics.

I trust you’ll enjoy hearing of our adventures and as with my last TR, take everything with a grain of salt.

 

[VPS]

I enjoyed the last TR so sure I will enjoy this one and hope the long suffering Mrs H enjoys this trip more

 

[RB]

Well your first photo has certainly got me in! Looking forward to following your travels. Chasing the Northern Lights has certainly been popular on here

 

[Major]

Did you book through the One World site ?

 

[drron]

I had great sympathy for MrsH on your last trip.
but bad knee with snow,ice and skiing.not going to happen this time.

 

[Captain Halliday]

HLO, no go

In the Boxing Day darkness we tripped over misplaced Christmas gifts as we scrambled to get one last jumper or scarf into a bag.

With all the winter woolies, Hand Luggage Only was out of the question.

This trip had some short haul sectors in Y on each of QF, AY and BA so a maximum of two checked bags was our limit.

It seems WP means nothing on the cheapest Y fares in Europe.

So with one last pair of fluffy socks jammed into the bag we set off for BNE and the J lounge.

The place was empty and the lounge attendant advised they were expecting just 4,000 pax for the day.

As staff loaded Miss H up with chocolate Santas that were unclaimed the previous day, I sought coffee.

With four sectors and around 48 hours to Rovaniemi, caffeine would be my friend.

First stop SYD.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Did you book through the One World site ?

My apologies, it’s a Qantas OneWorld Classic Award... known on here as a 280k J award.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Not really “all day”

The F lounge was reasonably busy but we had no trouble booking spa appointments.

I had accidentally allowed four hours in the lounge so we began with breakfast.

Though it was only 8:45am, Miss H wanted to order fish and chips.

When she was denied she had the waiter stumped with her question: “Why does it say all day dining if you have to wait until 11am?”



The puzzled look on the waiter’s face was priceless.

I thought it was a very astute question.

Turns out she didn’t want fish and chips - just the opportunity to ask the question.

That’s my girl!

 

[Captain Halliday]

Go To Gate

After breakfast I headed here:



That was followed by salt and pepper squid and wine.

Then came a discussion that happened before every flight on this trip.

Mrs H: “Are we going to the plane?”

Me: “No, why?”

Mrs H: “It says go to gate.”

Me: “That’s just to get the stragglers moving. Wait until the boarding call.”

Mrs H: “But you said if we miss one of the flights the rest of the trip gets cancelled.”

Me: “Yes, but you’ll just stand in a queue. They won’t go without us.”

Mrs H: “I don’t want to fight for space in the overhead lockers.”

Me: “We’re in J. There’ll be plenty of space.”

Mrs H: “I’m going to the gate, can I have my passport and ticket please?”

Me: “Fine, we’ll go the the gate, but your ticket won’t help, you’ll need your boarding pass.”

You can see where Miss H gets it from.

The issue of leaving the lounge early to get to the gate is one that comes up every time I fly with Mrs H.

It’s a classic case of damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

On this trip, I decided to keep score.

The results of which I would rely on for future trips.

Here’s how it works:

We leave the lounge when the monitors say Go To Gate, or when Mrs H gets twitchy about missing the plane, whichever comes first.

If boarding is underway when we arrive at the gate, Mrs H gets one point.

If we stand in a queue because we reached the gate too early, I get one point.

Let the game begin...

 

[drron]

Don't worry about your points score.deep down you must know these games always result in a loss for you.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Go To Gate

After breakfast I headed here:

View attachment 156970

That was followed by salt and pepper squid and wine.

Then came a discussion that happened before every flight on this trip.

Mrs H: “Are we going to the plane?”

Me: “No, why?”

Mrs H: “It says go to gate.”

Me: “That’s just to get the stragglers moving. Wait until the boarding call.”

Mrs H: “But you said if we miss one of the flights the rest of the trip gets cancelled.”

Me: “Yes, but you’ll just stand in a queue. They won’t go without us.”

Mrs H: “I don’t want to fight for space in the overhead lockers.”

Me: “We’re in J. There’ll be plenty of space.”

Mrs H: “I’m going to the gate, can I have my passport and ticket please?”

Me: “Fine, we’ll go the the gate, but your ticket won’t help, you’ll need your boarding pass.”

You can see where Miss H gets it from.

The issue of leaving the lounge early to get to the gate is one that comes up every time I fly with Mrs H.

It’s a classic case of damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

On this trip, I decided to keep score.

The results of which I would rely on for future trips.

Here’s how it works:

We leave the lounge when the monitors say Go To Gate, or when Mrs H gets twitchy about missing the plane, whichever comes first.

If boarding is underway when we arrive at the gate, Mrs H gets one point.

If we stand in a queue because we reached the gate too early, I get one point.

Let the game begin...

Been there; done that

 

[Captain Halliday]

Qantas Unicorn

Arriving at the gate the priority queue was more than 100 metres long.

But then I saw something amazing.

I always thought it was a myth.

It’s talked about extensively, but so rarely seen.

Priority boarding being enforced.

I assume the QF staffer must have been ex-customs because she profiled the whole line and without checking a single boarding pass and moved 95% of them with a stern command: “Economy, over there.”

Like a swarm of bees they all moved as a group, jostling for a slightly better position as they formed a new queue.

And just like magic we were at the front.

The woman’s gruff exterior vanished and she helpfully told me, “we have a tech crew issue. I’d strongly recommend going back to the lounge.”

Captain Halliday 1
Mrs Halliday 0

So we returned to the lounge and within seconds of ordering a glass of wine and an ice cream came the boarding call.

I checked at the desk and they assured me the aircraft was actually ready to go.

So we returned to the gate and boarded.

Then we learned that two of the three tech crew were still on the way to the airport.

And so we waited.

We pushed back about 20mins late and the SYD-PEK sector was unremarkable.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Midnight Nightmare

I haven’t been to every airport in the world, so it would be unfair to call Beijing the world’s worst.

However, I’m confident it would be a strong contender.

After a 4am start, arriving at almost midnight didn’t help, but PEK was a very unpleasant.

Long queues, no priority lanes for J passengers or those with status, and customs and immigration officials who conveyed the most unwelcoming vibe.

Still, award flights over Christmas are hard to come by, so our PEK transit was a small but inconvenient price to pay.

Checking in at the nearby airport hotel, felt like China Immigration all over again.

Once in our room, the electronically operated blinds wouldn’t close.

With an East facing room, and in need of a sleep in, this wasn’t going to work.

So we dragged our cases back to reception, interrupted a very important sudoku, and asked for a different room.

The next morning it was back to the airport where the Chinese border officials either hadn’t slept or got up on the wrong side of the bed.

Once airside we headed for the Air China F lounge.

It seemed a little odd going to a Star Alliance lounge on an Oneworld ticket, but it is indeed the contract lounge for Finnair.

It has great views over the airfield.



The catering is much like an Australian J lounge with three or four hot dishes, cereal, pastries and a soup/noodle station.

The highlight was the tea house where you could sit and have a tea ceremony with a lounge host.

Mrs H gave it a go, no doubt hoping for good fortune in the next round of the “go to gate” game.



There was no barista, just those underwhelming automatic machines.

The bar was self serve and offered the following wisdom:



After seeing the wine on offer , I made the healthy choice.



Then it was time for (game show host voice) “everybody’s favourite airport game... (studio audience chants “Go. To. Gate!”.

Walking to the gate the sense of anticipation was building.

I was really looking forward to trying AY’s A350.

I’d heard terrific things on AFF and elsewhere.

But as we rounded the last corner before our gate I spotted the wingtip and felt that sinking feeling of disappointment that comes with a late aircraft substitution.



But there was some good news.

Boarding hadn’t started and I claimed another point:

Captain Halliday: 2
Mrs Halliday: 0

 

[I love to travel]

Captain Halliday you do realise that this point scoring will land you in a world of pain

 

[drron]

If you insist on keeping score I recommend more than 1 bottle of wine as being good for your health.
At least you won't remember what went wrong.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Finnair A330 Business

Thanks to our unnecessarily early arrival at the gate, we were first to board.

Despite my disappointment at the late aircraft swap, I was really impressed.

The hard and soft product on this sector was excellent.

And as I would discover later in the trip, it’s a far better long haul product than their much praised A350.

There are fewer pockets and storage areas than most business seats I’ve tried, but the was comfortable and had plenty of legroom - two features I rate highly for long haul.



Pro seating tip 1: We were seated in row 1 and the footwell here is huge.

I’d highly recommend it to people who are tall, or like plenty of room when they sleep.



Pro seating tip 2: The AY A330 is mostly a 1-2-1 configuration in J.

However, in odd numbered rows it’s actually 2-2-1 and requires the window passenger to climb over their neighbour to reach the aisle.

See here:



The service on the sector was prompt, friendly and attentive, possibly helped by the light load.

The food was fresh and tasty.

So tasty, I’d eaten most of it before I remembered needing pics for the TR.

Sorry.

Here’s the menu.

 

[VPS]

Does Mrs H not help out with photographs of food?

 

[OATEK]

You seem to have been allocated one of the older A330s, which I last caught around 2016. The two A330s I have been on in the last 2 years have the same basic fitout as the A350 (each row 1-2-1 in J).

 

[Captain Halliday]

Does Mrs H not help out with photographs of food?

Great idea. I’ll delegate that next trip.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Coffee instructions for the Finnair Lounge

Arriving in Helsinki it was cold and drizzling.



With the terminal expansion in full swing, even some of the wide bodies were operating at remote gates.

But a stroll across the apron makes a good photo opportunity.



We stayed overnight in the airport Hilton in a standard room.

It was comfortable and well appointed for an overnight layover.

Pro tip: Ask for the top floor if you want to see the airfield.

The insulation worked well and we didn’t hear any aircraft noise.

The dining options here are limited: the hotel restaurant, small fridge of pre-prepared sandwiches etc in reception, or the terminal eateries.

We shared a chicken Caesar wrap and headed to bed.

Next morning it was off to the Finnair lounge.

We knew before the visit that two of the three Finnair lounges were undergoing renovation - including the F lounge.

Conveniently, the operating lounge was directly above our gate and I judge it to be mid-way between a Qantas Club and a QF business lounge.

It was very busy - not surprising with the other lounges closed.

Pro tip: If using the Finnair lounge above gate 23 during busy periods, take a sharp left after entering and walk to the end of the corridor.

There’s plenty of extra seating here, including lounge chairs with charging points.

It’s further to the food, but easier to get a seat.

The lounge had a small hot and cold food selection along with biscuits and cake.



There was a standard selection of drinks including alcohol at 5am - but I guess that’s normal for a transit airport.



I spotted the wine fridge and briefly considered a liquid breakfast.



But as I moved closer the fine print came into view.



As it turned out, there was nothing in there worth keeping temperature controlled.

So I rolled the dice on the automated coffee machine and after two cups of what tasted like dishwater, I worked out that to get something that was even close to a latte you need to:

Press the single shot espresso button;
Press the single shot espresso button again;
Press the single shot espresso button a third time;
Wipe up the bit that spilled over the edge of the cup;
Pour your triple shot espresso into the large mug you should have used to begin with;
Press the warm milk button;
Press the warm milk button again;
Finally, apologise to the six people now queued behind you, all of whom seem willing to press a button at random and happily drink whatever mystery liquid comes out.

Suitably caffeinated we played “go to gate”.

This should have been an easy point to Mrs H because our gate was directly below the lounge.

But she couldn’t help herself and we left the lounge far too early.

After standing in the scrum for 10 minutes with all the passengers from Group 4 crowding the gate, I happily claimed another point.

Captain H: 3
Mrs H: 0

Pushback in our A321 gave us a great view of the terminal.



...and we were soon on our way to Rovaniemi with terrific enroute views of the moon and cool Finnish skies.