TRIP REPORT: Feeling Finnair – This is new: Departure from Helsinki-Vantaa Airport
This is new: Departure from Helsinki-Vantaa Airport
The feeling of Finnair
When the plane was docked and I got off the plane, there was a great rush of passengers rushing to the Los Angeles and Oslo flights.
Thanks A350!
Kiire connections are live!
I took my time, passed the Moomin cafe and took my time on my way to the Schengen area of the terminal.
While I appreciate the coffee, there’s a lot more room here for Moomin-related stuff. But it is very cute.
From there I followed the signs to the passport control, where you can either change to Schengen area flights or leave Finland yourself.
This is important because this is also the main passport control at the airport.
There were very few people who left for Schengen. Stamped and accepted in my passport, I continued my journey by doing something I had never done before – I left Helsinki-Vantaa.
I know, this sounds weird, but it might be your first time anyway.
Since I only traveled with carry-on luggage, I go to baggage claim, passing people waiting for luggage.
Overpricing emotional luggage is overpriced.
With no luggage to pick up, I headed for the exit and the general area.
Statues of barking dogs.
I followed the signs and headed for the exit.
Down here I think…
Exit!
For this was a matter of following the signs. Well – not exactly, I had to do one thing – and that was to buy a train ticket.
Now, I could have done this through the machines on the platform, but I felt the quickest way would be to download the app and buy a ticket.
Pretty easy (it’s a multilingual app – very useful design there.
Price zones can be difficult for visitors to understand. Fortunately, there is a guide https://www.hsl.fi/fi/liput-ja-liput/hsl-alue-ja-aluete.
Please note that if you are traveling from the airport to the city, you will need ABC flag, and not an AB ticket.
Day or multi-day tickets offer good value if you travel more than a few times.
Luckily I downloaded the app before I left home – so all I had to do was launch the app, enter my card details, activate the ticket and off I went.
This escalator is deep.
With the e-ticket in hand, I went down to the platform. However, here’s a good tip – if you’re in a hurry, take the elevators. Escalators are majestic, but long and last forever.
However, my timing seemed reasonable, as the train to Helsinki was coming to the platform when I arrived.
I want to stop and talk about this traffic planning. this is excellent. it gives you a clear picture of how long it will take to get to your destination and where it will take you. Simple but good design.
Train in 1 minute… well, it’s getting close.
Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is on the ring road, and one route takes you to the center of Helsinki in 28 minutes, and the other takes 32 minutes on the P or I train. Trains run every 10 minutes which makes it very convenient.
The trains themselves are Stadler Flirts, so the usual design is big doors in the middle of the train in the motor cars or two doors in the trailer. Seating on these trains is a mix of 2 x 2 across and 3 x 2 across, with raised sections between carriages.
The trains have both Dot Matrix screens and screens near the exits. There are also verbal announcements in Finnish, Swedish and English – making the system very accessible to visitors or non-native speakers.
A more regional train flies by.
However, I boarded at the front of the train – and for good reason.
This is not a high-speed service, but a local service, so the trains stop at every station along the route.
Something fascinates me about this mansion. I’m not sure why.
All lines connect to the Helsinki city terminal, where all trains end at the classic terminal station. However, the trains of the Ring-Rail line usually end at extreme station ends (platform 1/18, which are mostly uncovered and a fair walk from the main terminal building).
Leaving the station, the next priority was to leave the bag at the hotel – so it was time to fire up Google Maps and its wonderful directions to take you from strange places to the tram stop.
Trams 2 and 4 run to the hotel (bus handling is limited at the new location), you have to find a tram stop and wait. Again – the trams run on a proof of payment system (and yes, they have active inspectors, so don’t take any chances).
Luckily, the joy of Google Maps (where the phone is half dead) led me to the hotel – the Crowne Plaza Helsinki.
Next: Crowne Plaza Helsinki.
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