Airbus A320-214
OH-LXL
Flight date: 17 June 2017
Operating as AY656 from OSL to HEL
Footage with highlights from the flight can be seen in the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egO7NZaGzXE
Finnair is the 3rd largest airline in the Nordic countries, after SAS and Norwegian. Finnair's hub is Helsinki Vantaa Airport, from where it operates an extensive network throughout Europe, Asia and some routes to North America. Finnair operates up to 4 daily flights between OSL and HEL.
I travelled to OSL from Oslo by car, although trains and buses are easily accessible from downtown Oslo. I arrived at the airport 2 hours before departure time, and the start of the journey couldn't be worse. As check-in was about to start, a long line of passengers had gathered at Finnair's designated check-in desks in the new Terminal 2 at OSL. This is the slowest check-in process I have experienced in over a decade, with 3 desks in operation. It took 1 hour standing in line before it was my turn to check-in. Lucky for me I arrived early.
Having finally checked-in, I went to the new security check point. It was very efficient, even though it was quite crowded. The line moved quickly, and I was inside in less than 5 minutes. As my gate had appeared on the screen, I proceeded to the end of the new pier. Just as I approached the gate, OH-LXL parked. About 20 minutes before departure time, the boarding began. It went smoothly, and I was greeted by two cheerful flight attendants.
Boarding was very efficient, and soon everyone was seated. The purser welcomed us onboard in Finnish, Swedish, and English. She announced a flight time of 1 hour and 10 minutes. Shortly after, we pushed back and the safety demonstration video was played on the overhead monitors. The video is short and to the point, which I personally think is a good idea when you want to make people pay attention.
We taxied to runway 19L, the shortest runway at OSL. Take-off was somewhat bumpy, and it turned out the short flight across Sweden and the Bothnian Sea would be a bit bumpy too. Rough air on this otherwise sunny day above Scandinavia. The overhead monitors displayed a flight map, which I think is awesome for short flights like this. It's always nice to see where you are, even if the flight doesn't last for long and you are quite familiar with the sights enroute. The leg-room was okay, and Finnair's inflight magazine was a nice read.
The inflight service consists of free water, juices, tea and coffee. Alcoholic drinks and food can be purchased onboard. There is a very nice menu card in the seat pocket, which lists all the items and their prices. As far as I could tell, they only take credit/debit cards, even though it was never announced. I opted for a cup of free tea, which had a very nice taste to it. Sweet, just like I prefer.
As with any other short flight, it doesn't take long before it's over. The approach to HEL was somewhat bumpy, just like the rest of the flight. There was a lot of turning on approach, and it seems like this is a busy time of day at HEL, as most of Finnair's flights bound for Asia departs shortly after this one lands.
To my great surprise, and some other passengers confusion, we were joined by an A321 for a parallel final approach. It was quite funny hearing some of the comments when it appeared closer and closer. Everything from "what is going on?" to "he is landing in front of us, that's why he descends faster". Very amusing to listen to non-aviation fans sometimes.
Landing was very smooth, and I must say that runway 22R at HEL is probably the smoothest runway I have ever experienced both a takeoff and landing on. There was a not too long taxi to the gate. My next flight was parked at the other end of the terminal, so I had a roughly 20 minutes walk to my next flight. You can read that report here on airliners.net: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1366839
Overall, my impression of Finnair is good. The flight itself and onboard service and comfort is of a good standard in European skies. The cabin was very clean, and the flight attendants were polite and cheerful in a Nordic manner. I could appreciate faster check-in, but I assume it was just one of those days with technical problems, or something similar. I can recommend Finnair if you are traveling to Asia. HEL is a very nice airport to transit through, even when it gets somewhat crowded.