I’ve taken 200+ flights within the final 3 years, however nothing comes near how brief this flight was: Tallinn (Estonia) to Helsinki (Finland) on Finnair.
The airtime? Simply quarter-hour.
It’s not essentially the most sensible solution to go to Finland, however I took this route because it was a part of a connecting itinerary to London, and better of all, it was a free leg utilizing airmiles. 🙂
Right here is an attention-grabbing story about this flight expertise,
Reserving
I booked this Tallinn – Helsinki – London itinerary on Finnair Enterprise Class utilizing Avios. The ultra-short Tallinn – Helsinki leg was in Economic system as they don’t have enterprise class cabin on this, which is completely advantageous for quarter-hour within the air.
This reserving happened as a result of most award seats to the UK from the Schengen zone had been offered out this summer time. Finnair turned out to be a saviour, then I realised that their award availability and pricing are among the many greatest in Europe.
I used to be pleasantly shocked to see vast open award seats throughout Europe, even throughout peak summer time, a uncommon factor as of late!
What made it even higher is that Finnair treats this brief Tallinn – Helsinki sector (and related routes like Riga) as a free leg when connecting to a comparatively long-haul vacation spot. That is due to Finnair’s Zone primarily based pricing.
And to not point out that HDFC Financial institution nonetheless has 1:1 for Finnair airmiles switch. It prices 18K Avios which I used to be capable of switch from HDFC Infinia (on the spot switch) and e book in jiffy.
Verify-In
Tallinn Airport is compact and simple to navigate. I arrived about 3 hours early, solely to search out that check-in opened simply 2 hours earlier than departure.
After clearing tax refund process, I headed to precedence check-in counter.
And right here’s a enjoyable second: all 5 passengers within the precedence line had been Indians, even two of them had been from Tamil Nadu. I didn’t count on that on a brief Baltic sector, distant from dwelling!
15 Minutes within the Sky
Take-off, cruising, and touchdown all in neat 5-minute blocks:
- 5 minutes climb
- 5 minutes cruise
- 5 minutes descent
It felt extra like a scenic experience than a flight. You get a glimpse of Estonia’s shoreline, the Baltic Sea, after which Finland’s shores, multi function go.
The plane touched down in Helsinki with one of many smoothest landings I’ve ever skilled.
It was buttery clean, the type that makes you marvel if the aircraft even touched down. Possibly the sunshine load helped because the flight was solely about 20% full.
Finnair Lounge
I had a couple of hours in Helsinki Airport earlier than my onward flight to London.
Since this phase was in Enterprise Class, I bought entry to the Finnair Non-Schengen Enterprise Class Lounge, one of many lovely and peaceable lounges in Europe.
It was spacious with nice interiors, good meals and drinks.
Highlights
- Tallinn to Helsinki airtime: quarter-hour (end-to-end: 30 minutes)
- Plane: Airbus A321
- Airline: Finnair
- Distance: ~85 km
Last Ideas
This wasn’t simply my shortest flight ever, it was additionally one of many most memorable flight expertise. Fast boarding with different Indians, empty cabin, and a silky clean touchdown, all wrapped right into a free phase on a far reserving.
To place it in perspective: Tallinn to Helsinki took much less time than many airport safety strains.
Earlier than this, my shortest flight was Delhi to Jaipur, which took round 45 minutes, attention-grabbing in its personal manner as a result of we flew at a low altitude.
Have you ever flown on any ultra-short flights like this? Be at liberty to share about your expertise within the feedback!