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 probably the most sensible approach 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 fascinating 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 Financial system as they don’t have enterprise class cabin on this, which is completely advantageous for quarter-hour within the air.
This reserving took place as a result of most award seats to the UK from the Schengen zone had been bought out this summer season. 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 stunned to see extensive open award seats throughout Europe, even throughout peak summer season, a uncommon factor today!
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 based mostly 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 in a position to switch from HDFC Infinia (instantaneous switch) and ebook in couple of minutes.
Verify-In
Tallinn Airport is compact and simple to navigate. I arrived about 3 hours early, solely to seek 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 anticipate that on a brief Baltic sector, distant from residence!
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 trip than a flight. You get a glimpse of Estonia’s shoreline, the Baltic Sea, after which Finland’s shores, multi functional go.
The plane touched down in Helsinki with one of many smoothest landings I’ve ever skilled.
It was buttery easy, the type that makes you surprise if the aircraft even touched down. Perhaps 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 section was in Enterprise Class, I bought entry to the Finnair Non-Schengen Enterprise Class Lounge, one of many stunning 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 easy touchdown, all wrapped right into a free section 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, fascinating 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 happy to share about your expertise within the feedback!
