QF does seem to get a bit of stick but I have to say my BNE - SIN flight was fantastic. Seating of 1-2-1 and sitting in 6A. Window seat with direct aisle access. Pick of the food was the crab pancake entree (pictured below). Service from the all male crew could not be faulted.
Having flown BNE-SIN-HEL quite a few times now I have the whole process down pat. The first QF leg is for watching movies and TV and staying awake. The second longer AY leg is for sleeping to get into sync with Euro time.
Flying AY business gained me entry to the QF Singapore Lounge. Once the SIN-BNE flight cleared, there were only a handful of people in the lounge. It is a small world when you run into a friend in the lounge flying the reverse route to me and get to have a catchup and some vino
One small tip is to not watch the latest movies on QF. AY does not have an extensive range of movies so it is better to save the latest movies for watching on AY if needed. As it turned out I didn't even watch a movie on AY. I was tired and managed to sleep most of the way.
AY is replacing its old Airbus 340 fleet with new Airbus 350s. The SIN route is still running the 340s until October. They are a tired fitout and are very dated. Sitting up front the seat went completely flat and was a reasonably comfortable sleep.
Helsinki is a one of my favourite cities in Europe. I have spent quite a lot of time there over the years and have had the good fortune to have locals show me around. This year I am not currently planning to head back to Helsinki so thought I would at least spend a morning here between flights from Helsinki to Tallinn.
Arriving into HEL at 0615 there is a 0730 flight or a later 1345 flight. This year I booked the later flight freeing up my morning to see friends.
With luggage checked through to TLL, as soon as I cleared immigration I was off to try the new airport train connection to get to town. As I was planning to use trams and buses in town, the best ticket option was a 1-day pass for 12 Euros. The train station is shiny new and efficient and takes just short of half an hour to arrive at Helsinki central.
Having just completed two long inter-continental flights my first priority was a shower to freshen up. This gave me the opportunity to head to a funky new sauna complex called
Loyly
It was truly a magnificent way to spent the morning. Sauna, swimming in the sea, warming in the sun - and repeat. Only the public 'shared gender' sauna was open so swimwear was required. In Finland, it pays to ask...
The Finns have the highest coffee consumption in the World, but it is not the coffee us Aussie coffee snobs know and love. Over the years it has been really hard to find good coffee in Helsinki. Not far from the sauna complex on the way back into central Helsinki I think I have found a hidden gem.
Kaffa Roastery - good coffee, free wifi and trams out the front.
I actually caught up with a good mate here for a coffee before we then heading back to central Helsinki to catch up with another friend for a quick beer.
Getting back to the airport with the new airport train is a breeze with trains every 20mins or so during the day. The flight on a little ATR72 turbo-prop from HEL - TLL is only 25mins
You literally take off, hit cruising altitude then start the descent. They used to hand out a chocolate for the 'meal service' but times must be tough as they no longer appear to do this.
