Introduction
Hello amigos!
This is the return trip from Helsinki to Madrid on a Iberia A321, doing the job for Finnair. This time though, we wont be flying business.
In case you missed the inbound flight, you may find it here:
Flight routing
- 1
Well, now lets share the pleasure of flying IB's A321 on a 4 hour trip!
Reaching Helsinki Vantaa International Airport
Instead of using public transport to HEL, we rode a cab, it was about 60€ for the ride.
We were greeted by the "new" check in building, it reminds me of Oodi in downtown Helsinki.
The interior was airy and modern, what you would spect from Nordic architecture…
As an IB gold, we were able to check in on the premium check in desk. This took no time and we were good to go through security. There was some queue as not all lanes were open. But it wasn't unbearibly long.
Once through it, we were on the main concourse..with works still taking place (back then).
Huge windows allow for great views of the platform ( quite a contrast from the east side of the terminal, that is more cramped and less airy)
We went up to the Aspire lounge, which had some queue (I could have gone to the Finnair lounge, but there were 3 of us). The lounge isn't too big, but it did a fine job.
Food offerings were varied and healthy…a bit of an issue if you are not into "healthy eating"
My picks for the day. The tomato soup was delicious
Our plane arrived
An Icelandair 737 going back to KEF
A local A320
Another IB 321, from BCN
A local A350, probably off to somewhere in Asia
One of Ryanair's avatars…going places
…this reminded me of the saying that behind every prohibition there is a fun story. Along with some statement of some sort.
With that…it was time to board our A321 to Madrid. A view of the terminal from the lounge before going to the gate…
Boarding
Whilst I had Group 2 boarding, the rest of my party did not. On IB I am usually let in without hassle, but this once, the machine didn't allow my companions to board with me. Huge letdown… Anyhow…
Hola
The only single advantage I see from flying under Finnair's IT, is that it doesn't distinguish seats as IB does. This is <b style="text-decoration-line: underline;">crucial as rows 1 to 7 have decent seats with padding, headrests and can recline. Rows 8 onwards have the awful ironing boards you don't want to sit in for 4 hours across Europe.
Enroute to Madrid
On our way to the runway I spotted this interesting flag array…I wonder what it meant to signify.
We had a powerful takeoff and turned right, allowing a last glimpse of the field.
From there on…it was a fairly uneventful flight.
Iberia allows us to use our own IFE devices…great!
Because of their contract with Finnair, they have to offer juice (no blueberry as in real AY) or water. I went with water as I didn't feel like having the awfully chemical Tio Pepe pineapple juice.
Again some views of Belgium and France…
Sometime later…Bordeaux
And back to the yellow…
Madrid in sight
The skyline welcoming us back
A healthy LA presence that day
Thanks for the ride!
Then the walk to baggage claim (where bags took ages to come out in classic MAD T4 style)
