Schengen Flying from Helsinki Vantaa Airport
For this flight I took in August 2024 (and forgot to write up back then) I took a flight from Helsinki to London via Amsterdam on KLM when I cashed in some Flying Blue miles to enjoy this two flight itinerary. The first of these flights would see me fly on my personal longest European flight with KLM.
It was an early start for me as I started out at the Holiday Inn Express just off the Helsinki Airport and I took the first Airport Shuttle of the Day over to Helsinki Vantaa Airport. The hotel is often quite reasonably priced for an Airport hotel, and the Hotel Shuttle is a huge tick as its not easily accessed by the local public transport, however its far from being an ideal spotting hotel.
There was a beautiful sunrise over Helsinki Vantaa on this particular day, my flight was at 07:00am and I had to grab the 05:15am Bus over to the Airport, but we got there quite quickly and the morning was already nicely rising over the Nordic Capital City.
I arrived into the main check in foyer, whilst its all branded by Finnair- the main operator at Helsinki Vantaa, there is a desk area for Air France & KLM flights as both airline's offer frequent daily services down to Amsterdam Schiphol and Paris CDG. Helsinki Airport is a very lovely airport for a major Nordic hub!
I got through security quite easily, I noticed back in August 2024 that Helsinki Vantaa already had the new Airport Security Scanners in place, though around this time the 100ml rules were back in force due to slow rollout through the rest of Europe at the time. A change of scenery for me though was a unique opportunity to not have to worry about the passport check point as I wasn't flying back to London from Helsinki, I had a chance to fly inter-Schengen which is a novelty for me.
As the KLM plane I was on had arrived the night before and was night stopping to make this early flight for people flying onwards from Amsterdam Schiphol, it was easy to see what Gate I'd be leaving from and I went off to find it, part of the Schengen Zone at Helsinki Airport airside is the original check in area before the new check in area was put into service. As I was wondering through to find my Gate I spotted the Finavia head office just off the Airport, Finavia operate all the Commercial Airports in Finland.
KLM KL1248 (HEL-AMS)
My flight that day would be operated by a 2000-built Boeing 737-806(WL) of the KLM fleet, <i style="font-weight: bold;">PH-BXK named "Swift/Gierzwaluw". This aircraft spent its entire life with KLM and it was the first Boeing 737-800 of the airline's fleet retired just over a year after this flight in November 2025, meaning it flew for 25 years. It is being parted out at Enschede Twente Airport, meaning its flying life is over and it won't fly for another airline, unlike some of the other Boeing 737-NG in the KLM fleet… I am going to miss the KLM 737s when the last one leaves the fleet…
I boarded the aircraft and managed to snap this cool morning photo out the jet bridge just as I got to the entrance. It was a lovely day in Helsinki, that's for sure. My window seat was down towards the rear half of the Boeing 737 in Seat 20F, with a great view of the right wing. Given this aircraft was due to retire a year later, it was still wearing the old cabin that has been used for years on the KLM 737 fleet, only a few aircraft have been retro fitted with the Sky Interior cabin, but as there's aircraft not due for refurbishment as they're going to be retired- the seats from this aircraft will keep the others going a little longer.
Given it was early in the morning, we were expected to get away on time. The passengers were boarded quickly despite it being a busy flight, not many empty seats remained, however my area Row 20 Seats D-E-F had an empty middle seat and someone sat in the aisle seat.
We pushed back and made our way to the Runway for take off, it wasn't long before it was our turn to depart and we darted out into a beautiful morning over Helsinki Vantaa Airport before making course for Amsterdam and the Netherlands!
The contents of the Seat Back pocket included a KLM branded sick bag, safety card for the Boeing 737-800/-900 as well as an edition of the Holland Herald, the KLM inflight magazine which physical copies are still found on KLM flights… for how much longer though is anyone's guess. Of course the KLM Fleet page is my favourite one to read, though KLM had by this flight received their first A321neo- the aircraft type was not featured on this edition of the magazine. I've flown various aircraft in the KLM fleet during the 2010s/2020s with the brand new A321neo, Boeing 737-900 & Boeing 777 fleets the only aircraft types I've not flown within the airline.
As we flew over the North Sea, KLM offered their complimentary snack service on this flight. KLM still offers on their European routes a complimentary bar service. On this morning flight I opted for a hot tea and orange juice… the snack offered was a banana bread, of which I personally don't like- but I accepted it to take home for my parents who do enjoy this variant of cake. I have heard rumours that KLM want to introduce a "Buy on Board" service within Europe like all the other airlines, but so far I have not heard anything new on the matter.
I did need to use the facilities during the flight, so I used it to get a "Loo Review" photo done for my report. This airliner lavatory looks like it hasn't been updated since 2000, quite roomy compared to newer Boeing 737s flying for other airlines by comparison.
I left the toilet and spotted one of the cabin crew sorting some stuff out in the galley and politely enquired if they had another snack item, explaining that I wasn't a fan of banana bread, she very kindly gave me a few squares of Lemon Drizzle cake which I was really grateful for as I do enjoy a good Lemon Drizzle cake with some hot tea or coffee!
Just over half way through the flight another drinks and snack round was done, I got given a nice Sandwich which contained a Dutch soft cheese and chive alongside a can of Heineken (I love a Heineken when flying KLM) as well as a hot tea… the flight attendant who served me was also the same one I spoke to earlier and she gave me another square of Lemon Drizzle cake to go with my tea and sandwich, which was a lovely gesture!
The flight passed pretty quickly in the last half of the flight and it was soon time to commence our descent into Amsterdam Schiphol. As we descended we passed through some thick cloud cover- a total opposite to what we left behind a few hours ago in Finland!
We arrived into Amsterdam Schiphol and had a quick taxi over to the main Gate area, we parked up at one of the Schengen gate areas for flights KLM offer within the European Union as well as Norway & Switzerland, not the "usual for me" D-Gates that are almost exclusive for UK and Ireland flights, though from my seat I could see my favourite part of Amsterdam- the Panorama Terrace, the retired KLM Fokker F100 makes it an easy spot!
I held back to get one last cabin shot of the Boeing 737, just in case its one (or the last) time I fly on a KLM 737 before they finally go, the Boeing 737s are already no longer flying into London Heathrow as the Airbus A321neo & Embraer E2-195 have completely taken over in 2025. But I'm sure I'll get around to finding some final flights in 2026/27… I couldn't get a flight deck visit today as I had to be somewhere at 11am, so my priority was getting over to another iconic Boeing aircraft.
Overall it was another amazing flight on the KLM 737-800, great service from the crew and I look forward to flying KLM again in the not too distant future having given them a break in 2025 in order to fly with Transavia Holland on their Boeing 737-800 (I did a report on here). Having flown regularly on the Boeing 737-NG with KLM, its a shame to see them on the way out.
As I mentioned at the start, this two flight itinerary was booked with Flying Blue miles and I paid a decent fare of 8,500 Miles plus €40.50 (£35.60p) in Taxes & Fees, which if you ask me is pretty good value!
