RTW in F/J - Hand Carry Only - Iceland, Finland, Washington and a few other places

[Larko1]

Fri 04 Oct

AY994
KEF-HEL
18:02-00:15, dur 3h 13m
A319, Seat 4C

The flight to Helsinki was delayed slightly due to the aircraft’s late arrival. However, boarding was smooth and I again had plenty of space in the overhead lockers for my baggage. There were 5 rows of Euro-business, but only 6 pax in the cabin, so there were a lot of empty seats. Whilst the setup is similar to BA, Finnair doesn’t have a table to block the middle seats.

Service on board was efficient if slightly cold in comparison to BA or QF. The AY uniform is somewhat intimidating and I got some real *ahem* ‘WWII vibes’ from the black uniforms with silver facings that the flight attendants wore. After an initial drinks service and pretzels, the CSM went through the cabin with the main meal option – of which there was only one, and it was chicken. The side dish of what I assume to be herring? Or mackerel? With carrot and mayonnaise was a bold choice – it was tasty but if you don’t like fish you were in for a bad time. The chicken was essentially a schnitzel and wasn’t bad, the potatoes that came with it had heaps of flavour with a lemony tang throughout that really elevated the dish. The lone caper was an interesting addition. I paired this with an unknown white wine which was ok.
View attachment 409859View attachment 409861

Afterwards, dessert was served which consisted of a large cinnamon pretzel, which I had with a coffee. I later ordered the signature AY blueberry coughtail “Nordic Blush” which came in a can and was decent, definitely drinkable. Besides the meal service it was a very quiet flight. The A319 has slightly more leg space than the A320neo I flew over on, so I was quite comfortable.

Platform aside, I personally think the BA service was better both in terms of service and food. BA’s provision of a menu is nice, and you also get more than one meal option. The service also felt warmer and the cabin crew regularly patrolled the cabin checking if passengers wanted anything. On this flight, I only saw the FA once or twice after the meal service and I was tempted to press the call button. I also like the table that BA provides at is a little extra storage space. However, there was nothing bad about the AY flight, and I definitely would have no issue with flying them again on a similar short haul route.

We landed slightly later as a result of the delay, just after midnight local time. Interestingly we were one of the last flights of the night with one or two departures shortly after and then nothing until 0530. There are a number of surprisingly comfortable looking benches at the gate, and I was surprised to see a few passengers racked out on them, with eyemasks and pillows presumably waiting for their morning flight. Rather than discouraging people from sleeping at the airport overnight, Helsinki seems to encourage them, with lots of longer sofas and benches without arm rests on them.

Having flown from Iceland there was no requirement to clear immigration, and with no baggage to pickup I was out of the airport in about 10 minutes and into a waiting bolt. I could’ve attempted to catch a train but my hotel was near the port and would’ve required another connection and taken about 1.5hrs all up. A rideshare got me there in 25 minutes and for 22 Euros, it wasn’t too bad.

I’m staying at the UNITY Helsinki, a series of small apartments designed for anything from short to long term stays. There isn’t much in the area but I picked it because tomorrow I’m going to Estonia via the ferry and it is close to the terminal, as well as public transport. The room isn’t massive and the top floor is quite close to the ceiling – I’m not tall and I almost brush my head against the roof when I stand up. If you’re closer to 180cms you’d probably have to duck climbing the stairs when going to bed.
View attachment 409860View attachment 409862

Today’s plan is to check out the military museum on a nearby island and wander around town a bit before a dinner at the 1 Michelin star Palace Restaurant. The skies are clear and it's a few degrees warmer than Iceland but still quite brisk so it should be a good day to explore - once my phone has charged!

Following as I fly into HEL next month. Will be staying at The Hilton at the airport for 3 nights and catching train into city.
Great trip report so far @PrezRegan.

 

[Lat34]

... Today’s plan is to check out the military museum on a nearby island and wander around town a bit before a dinner at the 1 Michelin star Palace Restaurant...

Think you will really enjoy Suomenlinna Island. A valid HSL ticket can be used on the ferry (Suomenlinna is in ticket zone A). An AB day ticket might be best choice as it allows unlimited travel for 24 hours not only on the ferry but also on trams, buses, commuter trains and metro in A and B zones.

 

[VPS]

Fri 04 Oct

AY994
KEF-HEL
18:02-00:15, dur 3h 13m
A319, Seat 4C

s The side dish of what I assume to be herring? Or mackerel? With carrot and mayonnaise was a bold choice – it was tasty but if you don’t like fish you were in for a bad time.



View attachment 409860View attachment 409862

Or if you're severely allergic to fish it makes it even harder

PS loving the TR

 

[PrezRegan]

Sat 05 Oct
Writing this on my phone on the ferry to Tallinn so apologies for typos. I think I'll also have to insert the attached pictures in later.

After a lazy morning I did make my way to the market square to get a ferry across to Suomenlinna. Helsinki has an excellent public transport network of trams divided into zones A-D. A covers trh main city area, B the neighbouring islands and the outer suburbs, C the airport and surrounds and D is everything else.

I got an all day AB pass for 9 euros, it's valid for 24hrs from purchase and also works on the ferry. You can buy tickets online through the HSL app and it's quick and painless. Highly recommend doing this rather than trying to find a physical card.

The trip from my hotel to the market square stop is about 25 mins. I alighted early to get a quick look at the main square whilst the weather was good and got a picture of the plaza.


At the market square there was a market! It mainly looked to be stalls selling tourist trinkets and food. As I had about 20mins to kill I went and bought a salmon pie, which was squire tasty but more similar to a pasty rather than a pie.


The ferry across was quick and uneventful. I wish I'd gone earlier because I only had about 2.5hrs on the island (really it's a small group of islands and not just one) and there is so much to see. Interestingly, people live on the island permanently and there's a school, grocery store, day care and medical centre.

I was trying to find the military museum and accidentally went to the wrong one at first. It was an interesting museum but more on the history of the island and cartography. Still worth a visit but with the final entry for the museum at 1600 I had to rush to find the military one and zoom through the exhibits.

The military museum is divided into two separate buildings, one which focuses on Finland's military development during the 20th century, and the other section focusing on pre-20th century and also contemporary military with some interesting info on national service, which Finland still has.

The 20th century portion was quite comprehensive, providing some very interesting detail into Finland's awkward position fighting against the Soviets as an independent nation during the Winter War, then again on the side of Germany. They don't glorify it but they do definitely explain why they felt it necessary to ally with Germany. Interestingly, the museum seems to be run by the military police, and they are all armed - despite essentially just collecting tickets at the museum.

After that I got the ferry back and caught a tram to the hotel. After a quick gym session it was back out again to retrace my steps back to dinner at the Palace restaurant. The restaurant overlooks the harbour and is on the 10th floor of an older brutalist style building. The food was good, using local ingredients. Most interesting for me was the wine pairing, which was definitely on the sweeter side with 2/3 white wines being sweet and an umeshu for a dessert wine.


Tomorrow (today) it's off to Estonia for a day trip!

 

[Lat34]

... Tomorrow (today) it's off to Estonia for a day trip!

fantastic choice, Tallinn old town is well worth it... on the return ferry there will likely be well-behaved, happy Finns with roller & duffel bags FULL of better-priced grog & cigarettes Also checkout the ferry's on-board buffet option if you dont have any specific dinner plans (thanks to @Kerrodt for recommendations back in May this year!)

 

[PrezRegan]

fantastic choice, Tallinn old town is well worth it... on the return ferry there will likely be well-behaved, happy Finns with roller & duffel bags FULL of better-priced grog & cigarettes Also checkout the ferry's on-board buffet option if you dont have any specific dinner plans (thanks to @Kerrodt for recommendations back in May this year!)

Thanks for the tips!
I've actually already booked the buffet for dinner. Booked the lounge for the way over so I thought I'd try something different for the way back. Will report how it goes, but worst case free booze!

 

[PrezRegan]

So I'll break this next two posts into the experience on the ferry Finlandia there and back, and the next post will be just on what I did in Estonia.

There are 3 ferry companies which provide direct daily services to Tallinn from Helsinki, the one I picked was the Eckero line which departed from the terminal about 10 mins from my hotel. The earliest departure from memory is 0630, and the last return is at 2130. I picked at 0900 departure and 1830 return.

Boarding was smooth, they have an app which allows you to skip the check-in line and get an e-boarding pass (highly recommend doing this). The ferry left about 20 minutes ahead of schedule (!) and boarding closes 30 mins before scheduled departure. There isn't a departure lounge or anything like that in the terminal, but there are bars/shops so don't bother showing up super early unless...

You didn't buy lounge access for the trip.

GET LOUNGE ACCESS. Yes it costs 30 euros pp, but the ferry is packed.

There are lots of places to sit and there are about 4 bars onboard, and when I did a quick walkaround, every seat was taken. People were sitting/lying in the stairwells between the floors, along the walls - pretty much wherever there was space to lean and wasn't in the middle of a walkway, people were sitting or lying there. It was almost like a refugee ship packed with tired travellers sprawled anywhere there is space to strech out. There is live entertainment onboard (captive audience, average quality) and interestingly, pokies everywhere - see point above for why.

Essentially, the only reason why you might want to get to the terminal early is because boarding turns into a bumrush between those for whom this is not their first rodeo, and everyone else who is oblivious to the situation onboard. For the people who have done this before - and there a lot of locals taking advantage of the cheap alcohol in Estonia and duty free onboard - as soon as boarding opens they will essentially make a beeline to all the bars and dining areas and grab a chair and hold onto it for the entire journey. Everyone else who boards later gets to enjoy the floor. There is nowhere near enough seats for everyone.

Lounge access gives you access to a small private area immediately after the info desk which is behind another set of doors and a desk with a lounge dragon - just like the QF lounge back home! There's a limited buffet, coffee machine, soda and wine/beer on tap, some conference rooms, and an area with chairs and tables. The biggest benefit of this area is that it is very quiet (even when full which was the case on the way back). Also if you do get seasick, there was pretty much no noticeable movement when seated in the lounge - it was somewhat pronounced on the upper decks where everyone else was.

The alternative (or a complementary option as I did for my trip back) is to book into the buffet, which is 32 euros pp. and gives you a decent selection of food, unlimited tap wine/beer, and most importantly a seat for the ride. It is also a little quieter than the general areas, but does get quite loud as there are still a lot of people around. Because the food options in the lounge are very limited - the dinner and breakfast options are only cold ones - it may be worth paying for both the buffet and the lounge so you can have something to eat, and a quiet place to sit for the 3hr journey. The food options at dinner were good, and the menu is available online but you can expect 8 or so cold entree options such as smoked salmon, 'caviar', eggs, cold meats and cheeses; a salad bar; 4 or so hot options such as salmon, beef, chicken; 4 or so hot vegetables such as mash, carrots etc.; and a decent selection of cold desserts such as puddings, cakes etc. I didn't bother with dessert but the hot options I picked were tasty. It's an all you can eat/drink so fill your boots.

For both the lounge and the buffet, you can book in advance when you buy your ticket, or you can purchase on arrival - space permitting in the case of the lounge.

My pro-travel tip for those who can afford it is treat yourself and your loved ones to the lounge if you value your peace and quiet. Yes it is not cheap, but I cannot emphasise how busy the boat gets - and I note this isn't even during peak travel.

You can also book a cabin but that is probably overkill given how short the trip is.

 

[PrezRegan]

On arrival in Estonia I didn't really have anything planned except a tour of the KGB museum in Hotel Viru at 1600 (thanks @Mattg for the suggestion!) Whilst chilling in the lounge, I was also talking to a group of American travel agents (who appear to work for Oneworld?) and one of them suggested checking out the Olde Hansa restaurant which is Medieval themed and features dishes such as game, venison... and bear. Of course, I had to try the bear!

Whilst in the lounge I made a new friend (shoutout to Julie if you ever see this!) and as we didn't have anything firm planned we decided to go with the flow and explore the Old Town together. Highlights of the meandering included the KGB Prison Cells in a beautiful residential building, Restoran Olde Hansa, some churches, and the Hotel Viru and KGB Museum.

First stop was one of many churches in Old Tallinn - this one allowed you to climb the tower (which had 350 steps, trust me I counted) for 3 euros. At the top there were some stunning views of the surrounding area. Old Tallinn has about 5 cathedrals, some of which you have to pay to enter and others of which are free. All of them look different and are worth checking out, they're onl about 5-10 mins walk from each other.


The next stop was the former KGB Prison Cells which have been turned into a museum. They were briefly residential buildings and standing outside and looking at the facade its hard to imagine the horrors that were committed inside during the Soviet occupation. Entry is 9 euros, and it's worth taking a look at the displays inside and hearing more about the stories and realities of living under the KGB during the Cold War.


Lunch was at Restoran Olde Hansa, a medieval themed restaurant with limited lighting inside. The servers dress in medieval garb, beer is served in tankards, the menu is written in calligraphic script, and the waiters talk to you in ye olde english. An interesting - and as I discovered not cheap - experience. I did order the bear, which came with a fruit compote, stewed apples, a cheese bread, and spatz. It was reasonably tasty, not tough, and to me seemed to taste like duck - but I don't know if that was because of the berry sauce, which is a common accompaniment for duck. I also ordered it with the recommended glass of French red, which from memory was 20 euros and was the smallest glass of red I've ever had in my life. Seemed more like a taster, which for 20 euros is a bit of a joke. All up, the meal cost 90 euros, so not cheap at all, but hey, I've tried bear now. And I guess you pay for the medieval experience part too, which in my opinion was not really gimmicky and seemed quite well executed all up.


We then wandered some more throughout the afternoon, checked out more cathedrals and also stopped for coffee and cake at Cafe Maiasmokk, the oldest cafe in Tallinn. It's a nice enough cafe, but ordering took forever as you had to queue at the counter and there seemed to be only one lady who was taking orders and also making all the coffees, so all it took was one person to order for the table and you were standing there for a while. I had a chocolate cake and cappuccino and both were nice, this time for a more reasonable 9.5 euros.


I then made my way to Viru Keskus (Hotel Viru) for the KGB museum. The museum is on the 23rd floor of the hotel and consists of memorabilia and a picture. It is only accessible through a guided tour which can be booked online or at the hotel. They run about 6 sessions a day and 4 of them (including mine) were fully booked by the time of the tour so get in quick! It was a very interesting experience, going for a bit over an hour. Our guide was a local lady who had grown up during the hotel's operation and she had a very dry sense of humour, coupled with some very entertaining stories. She gave excellent insight into what it was like for the Estonians working at the hotel, which was essentially a giant tourist trap to get hard currency from Western tourists, and advance Soviet propaganda. She provided a real window on what it was like living under Soviet rule, the lengths they went to to convince the locals that they were living in a perfect state, and how clearly the locals saw through all of this but played the game.


Some interesting things are that it had over 1,000 staff and at its max only 800 guests. Staff and guests were spied on by KGB agents on the 23rd floor - the KGB denied the existence of such a facility. When they left in 1991, they left a lot behind and this was preserved by the hotel's Finnish owners. And the rest, they say, is history. Highly recommend checking this tour out when you're there.

After that, it was back to the terminal for the ferry home. Tomorrow, I'm off to the airport for my flight to LHR on the A350 where I will be able to experience firsthand the divisive Finnair couch. Then a, 8.5hr layover featuring the Concorde Room and then BA First to Washington.

 

[PrezRegan]

After a 0500 alarm I got a bolt to Helsinki airport - there was a 40% off promo so it came to 21 euros and seemed to be fixed in price. The trip in total took about 25 mins. I could've gotten there via tram/train and paid about 8 euros, but it would've taken close to an hour.

Check-in was smooth and with boarding passed in hand I accidentally took a wrong turn and therefore got to experience the AY Schengen lounge. It was very busy despite the early hour but is a nice enough space, featuring lots of high chairs which provide privacy and are similar in design to the skycouch. There's only 4 shower suites available but you can reserve them using a panel in front. Food seemed limited with 3 hot options (usual eggs, sausage, bacon) and the usual Scandinavian mix of cold cheeses, meats and bread. After a quick coffee I went to the international transfer, cleared immigration and went to the non-Schengen wing.

Unfortunately the first wing wasn't open due to the early hour, so I was unable to try the sauna or a la carte dining
The business section didn't have a dedicated OWE section that I could see, but the overall space was quite nice. It was much larger and quieter than the Schengen one but had a similar selection of food and drinks. Not a bad place to spend an hour but the food options are quite limited.

Then it was a short walk to board my flight to London!

 

[PrezRegan]

AY1331
HEL-LHR
08:00-09:10 dur 3h 10m
A350-900, seat 2A

The fact that I got to fly an AY A350 almost made up for the stupidly early wakeup. I was keen to try out the divisive skycouch they used and to see for myself if it was as bad as people said it was. Although our original travel time was estimated to be 2.5hrs, we ended up losing some at the other end and pretty much arrived on schedule.

My thoughts on the skycouch - honestly I didn't have any issues with the fact it doesn't recline. It's not particularly comfortable when you have your legs out without the leg support part raised, but once that's up I quite liked it. I was able to also have a short nap after breakfast despite the lack of blanket or mattress topper - the two provided pillows are quite nice. What I did find interesting was the fact that the provided headphones were really crummy cheap looking things from the early noughties, not the over-ear noise cancelling ones you'd normally get when flying in J.


Seat 2A is essentially the bulkhead seat as the space where 1A would be is occupied by a toilet. I don't know if you got extra legroom in 2A but it was more than enough for me, even with my backpack shoved in there.


Service onboard was similar to that experienced on my hop across to HEL. None of the FAs introduced thmselves, and no menus were provided. Instead, when the meal service came around you were just asked if you wanted breakfast and then it was plonked in front of you with no explanation. The food was quite nice but nothing special (still better than QF).


After the meal I had a nap and checked out the toilets which have a window - I still can't get over how cool that is.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience and would definitely have no issue flying on an AY A350 again. AY also gives its business passengers 1 hr of free wifi which is better than nothing! The plane is also very modern with USB C charging ports and wireless charging built into the console - it has rubber grips on it so your phone shouldn't slide around even during takeoff/landing, although the wireless charging is disabled during those times.

We were slightly delayed landing in LHR, having to circle a few times. Our gate was also occupied for a while so by the time we deplaned we were pretty much on time.

 

[PrezRegan]

Deplaning in LHR (once our gate was clear) was quick and I made my way down to transfer to Terminal 5. I had arrived in Terminal 3 and for a moment I was tempted to try and do a mini lounge crawl, but I remembered @JessicaTam's very strict instructions on the AFF LHR 2026 Lounge Crawl page directing attendees to ensure they had booked flights departing from the correct terminal so I decided not to risk it. Also, I was going to be flying from T3 to get Haneda in a few days with another 8.5hr layover so I figured I would have plenty of time to do a lounge crawl then.

I'm glad I didn't try and go to T3 because after I arrived at T5 I realised why it wouldn't have worked. The dropoff point at T5 was pretty much after where all the gates connect and before baggage claim. Immediately after that is the transfer area and to get through, you have to scan your boarding pass. I assume that if your flight doesn't correspond with the right terminal then it'll be a case of:

Now this might seem obvious to those who have travelled here before (and I'm not saying I don't believe/trust what you say @Mattg ) but whilst I was googling this while waiting for my bus to T5 I couldn't see anything explicitly saying you couldn't, just that you'd have to pass through security again to enter the terminal - which I was fine with. What these online sources omitted was that you had to scan your boarding pass on arrival to the terminal in order to proceed onwards to security. Or maybe they did say it and I'm blind? :shrugs: So, whilst it wouldn't have been the end of the world, my decision definitely saved me some potential egg on the face.

Speaking of security, I was just about to go through the aforementioned check gates when an eagle eyed BA agent stopped me and informed me that there was actually a fast-track line for security, as I had priority on my BP. She must have had very sharp eyes! The fast-track line is hidden off to the side and is not super obvious but does take you up to a dedicated security area. Security here was sllloooowww. I'm not sure if they just assume everyone here is flying to America and are therefore super strict with their checks, but they were doing a very thorough job and pretty much every passenger's bag got pulled aside for a manual check. All toiletries had to be checked separately in a machine, even if they were in the requisite plastic bag. My amenity kit which I'd completely forgotten about from my CX F flight got opened and they checked the small bottles of lotion in them. It was not quick.

With security finally over, I decided to go to the lounge. BA operates two lounges in T5, a northern and southern one. The Northern lounge is smaller (but closer to where you pop out of security) and also has a terrace, which sounded cool. On arrival at the lounge, there was an agent standing outside saying that it was pretty much at capacity, and asking passengers to instead use the Southern lounge. I just wanted to stick my head in to take a look at the terrace and man, it was packed. It's not a small space by any means but every table seemed to be taken. The terrace is quite nice though! It's just an indoor area overlooking the rest of the terminal with apron views, not dissimilar to Cathay Bridge lounge in HKG. After a quick tour, I departed for the larger South lounge where the Concorde Room also was.

I didn't both to check out the Galleries F lounge (I'd been there last week for my flight to KEF), or the Galleries J lounge (although if I get very bored I might go there) ad instead made a beeline for the Concorde room. It is nice, definitely different in design and layout to any of the other F lounges I've been in before. When I got here at 1030ish it wasn't very busy but I had a quick wander around and then discovered that there is another better terrace here with views over the apron! In addition to the main dining area (which looked a bit dark and smouldery) there is also a small dining area out on the terrace, as well as some chairs with a view. The interior definitely has more of an exclusive club feel, which I quite like compared to the somewhat sterile QF lounges.



I grabbed a chair on the terrace and then decided to try out the dining. The breakfast menu is below.


(I'll double back for lunch in a couple of hours) and I ordered the kippers with "potato rosti" (read hashbrowns), poached eggs, champagne, sparkling water and a cappuccino. The food was good but the service was... less good at least to start with. I was told to take any table, but then not provided a menu for about 5 minutes. It's not a massive amount of time, but a far cry from the service I've experienced at any of the F lounges run by QF where you're shown to your table and given a menu, and offered sparkling/still water straight away. That wasn't the case here and I pretty much had to flag someone down to ask them for a menu. There did seem to only be two waiters there and they did look busy (one was talking to a customer at length about some mutual person they knew - I have no issue with that, it wasn't an unreasonably long conversation and I would do the same if I was at a QF lounge and knew someone; the other was cleaning tables) but it was a noticeable step down from the QF service. I wasn't offered still or sparkling water when I was given the menu either. These points may seem really nitpicky (and they are) but I offer this as a data point between what in my opinion is the closest parallel experience to QF's F lounges. IMO so far in terms of service and quality of food, QF wins.


I'm interested to see what their lunch menu offers.

However, the view from here is particularly nice with lots of natural light. There are also heaps of staff around and they seem very eager to help. No massages as far as I'm aware...