Finland

Finland has definitely always been a country of big interest to me. Beautiful landscapes and interesting through the lens of an aviation enthusiast, traveling to Finland had been on my list for quite some time. With a good friend of mine living near Helsinki organising the trip was super easy and uncomplicated and I was looking forward to exploring my first country in northern Europe.

Flying on Ryanair

After having spent a few non aviation related days in London I made my way to the airport on a sunny monday afternoon. Most Ryanair flights depart from London Stansted Airport, which is located some 50 kilometers north of the city center. The journey to the airport by train takes roughly an hour and is quite expensive at 23£ one-way. My flight to Helsinki-Vantaa would depart at 3:10pm, so I made sure to arrive some 90 minutes before scheduled departure. I had already checked in online (which is kind of mandatory with Ryanair, as otherwise you pay 55£ extra), so I only had to drop my bag and go through security. Everything went super smoothly and I was airside less than fifteen minutes after arriving to the airport. I used the spare time to walk around the airport and try to see if I could get some nice photos, which did work out quite well.

Ryanair is known for their nutoriously tight schedule and my flight today would not be an exemption. My aircraft for today's flight to Helsinki would be a 17 year old Boeing 737-8AS(WL), which was scheduled to arrive from a destination in France on 3:05pm, fife minutes before our flight was supposed to take off. Luckily the inbound was some ten minutes early, meaning that our flight would not be as heavily delayed as originally prospected. Soon after, boarding started. Ryanair never uses jetbridges in order to be able to board from both the front and the back doors, making their turnarounds more effecient. A bummer for most passengers but a joy for us avgeeks. I snapped some photos during boarding and made my way down the aisle to seat 07A.

Not too long after, boarding was completed and we received our pushback and taxied to the runway. With a final delay of 45 minutes we took off. As on all Ryanair flights there is no free onboard service. The flight was very uneventful and went by very quickly. Soon we were on approach to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and turned in for final approach. Against all odds the landing was reasonably smooth and not very bumpy. We taxied to the most remote gate possible and disembarked. Helsinki Airport is very new and spacious, a great arrival experience. Even better, my bag beat me to the baggage claim, something that I have never experienced before.

Flying on an Embraer 120

When looking at the arrival and departure boards of Helsinki Airport two Embraer EMB-120's operating several daily flights to Pori and Savonlinna caught my eye. I had never spotted nor flown on an EMB-120 so my curious self looked up the prices for both routes. The Savonlinna flights were priced at only 59€ roundtrip (also including a checked bag!) so we could not help ourselves and booked a roundtrip, departing Helsinki in the morning and flying back the same day in the early afternoon. The Embraer EMB-120 is extremely rare, especially here in Europe with only three airframes operating passenger flights.

We arrived to the airport quite early but there was very heavy fog. Our aircraft took off from Savonlinna nevertheless but had to fly holding patterns for an hour before attempting to land at Helsinki Airport. Due to the very short turnarounds that meant that our flight would be delayed, which we did not really mind. There was a bit of confusion at the gate because both flights to Savonlinna and Pori depart from the same gate and now both flights had arrived at the same time. Our flight ended up boarding first and we were super delighted to find out there were only going to be two other passengers.

At some point our Embraer EMB-120 appeared in the thick fog. We exited the bus and walked over to HA-FAL, a 34.6 year old Embraer EMB-120. Of course I had to snap some photos during boarding. We were greeted by a very friendly flight attendant, who we'd later have very nice chats with.

The Embraer EMB-120 seats 30 passengers in a 2-1 configuration. Since we were going to fly eastbound, I picked the frontmost seat on the left side. This a very cool thing to do since it meant that I had a window and an aisle seat at the same time.

Soon after the door was closed and the pilots started the two PW100 turboprop engines. This would not only be the first EMB-120 flight of my life but also the first time flying on any turboprop aircraft. After engine start we started taxiing towards runway 15 as the fog started to clear up. There was no long queue for takeoff so not long after reaching the beginning of runway 15 we lined up and the pilots set takeoff thrust. The EMB-120 is quite a rocket. Even though we were probably nowhere near full thrust we got pushed back into our seats quite forcefully and very soon the gears lifted from the ground and we were airborne. The noise on takeoff was absolutely deafening, but very enjoyable for us avgeeks!

Soon we broke through the fog into beautiful clear weather. Not long after takeoff the service started. There is not much food, just some snacks but you can have pretty much any beverage you want and there is almost no limit to how much they serve, you can always ask for more. They even serve beer and wine for free, which is impressive on such a short flight.

As you might see in this photo the legroom on the EMB-120 is absolutely terrible if you are not a very short individual. Since comfort definitely was not important on this trip but rather the experience of flying a rare turboprop, the lack of legroom did not negatively influence the mood at all. Even much tinier than the legroom was the restroom that I unfortunately had to visit after drinking my coffee. It is close to impossible to get in there. The only upside was that if some turbulence had hit during my restroom visit, I could not have flown around, since I was touching every wall to every side.

Since this was only a 45-minute flight we had already almost reached our destination after talking to the flight attendant, which was very interested in what we were doing and seemed to be very happy to have some people onboard enjoying every little detail about the airplane. The views in the last ten minutes of the flight were absolutely beautiful. A scenery with thousands of islands and blue water, as far as you could see. Soon we passed the small city of Savonlinna and banked left to line up with runway 30 of Savonlinna Airport.

After landing we taxied to the tiny apron of Savonlinna Airport and quickly visited the flightdeck to chat to the pilots. We deboarded and I snapped a photo of our ride sitting on the apron. After that it was time to go into the terminal and plan what to do next. We did not really have a plan for what to do during our four hour layover before flying back on the same plane. The city of Savonlinna is quite far away from the airport and there is no bus connecting the two places. We found that paying 40€ for a taxi for one way was too expensive.

We saw that the Embraer was towed into a small hangar so we decided to ask wether there was a chance we could visit the hangar to take some more photos. Against our expectations that was no big deal and on of the workers in the terminal took us to the hangar. That's where we met Adam. He's a mechanic who works for Budapest Air Service, the operator of this aircraft. He was more than happy to show us around the aircraft and explain literally anything we were interested in.

We spent a good 15 minutes in the cockpit where Adam explained every single instrument and all the gauges and switches we were interested in. He even made the effort and turned on the GPU so the screens lit up. After that he opened the engine cowlings to explain everything about the engines. It was very interesting to hear all the informations, especially after just having flown on the same exact airframe.

As the EMB-120 is not a huge aircraft we were through with looking at everything after about two hours. For the rest of the time we all sat in Adam's little office and had some cans of coke and talked about aviation. So big big thanks to Adam for having us!
Before they towed the EMB-120 back to the terminal they towed it outside the hangar and removed the towbar so we could get some clean shots outside in the sunlight. What a great privilage.

Then it was time to head back to the terminal to go through security and wait for boarding. There were nine other passengers on the flight back to Helsinki, definitely more than on the flight to Savonlinna but still only a load factor of roughly 35%. Boarding started shortly after we passed through security. We walked over the apron to the same aircraft that had brought us here to the same crew that had brought us here. Adam was waiting there as well to say goodbye to us, which was super nice.

For the flight back I chose to sit on the other side, right next to the front door in row 1. Boarding was soon completed, door closed and engines running. We taxied past Adam who was recording our departure. Meanwhile the wind direction had changed so we took off from runway 12. Once again the takeoff was super noisy but very quick and powerful.

Views on the flight back were just as stunning as one the previous flight. After takeoff we banked right sharply and proceeded to fly over Savonlinna. We climbed to 18000ft again as on the other flight. Service was the exact same and the flight was not very eventful but I really enjoyed it nevertheless. After around 50 minutes we were on final approach to runway 22L at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and after a super long flare we touched down very smoothly.

I'm very happy to have jumped on that wonderful opportunity to fly on such a rare aircraft while being in Finland. Especially considering the cost of only 59€ for the return ticket. The fare even included a 23kg checked bag (which I obviously did not need) and basically unlimited beverages during the flights. On top of that the time at Savonlinna airport with Adam is surely something I will not forget so quickly. What a fantasic day!

Spotting at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport

Helsinki Airport is the largest airport in the country of Finland. It is located about 45 minutes outside the city center and is easy to reach by the fairly new train connection. The airport has three runways with usually very predictable runway usage. During my entire stay runway 22R was used for takeoffs and runway 15 & 22L were used for landings. This meant I was able to get the famous Helsinki 22R departure photos that I had wanted to take for a long time. Many spots are fairly easy to get to by public transport but a car is, as always, an advantage.


On my second day in Finland I was already treated to a nowadays very rare diversion. Helsinki used to get quite many diversions, since almost all flights from Europe to Asia would overfly the region. Since 2022 the russian airspace has been closed for most airlines and there are not many airlines overflying northern Europe anymore on the routes between Europe and Asia. One of the airlines that still uses russian airspace is Air India. That day there was a medical emergency on one of their flights from London Heathrow to Mumbai. The aircraft had already entered russian airspace and then turned around and headed towards Helsinki. We instantly raced to the airport, since it's never really clear for how long these diversions will be on ground before continuing to their destination. We reached the airport just after the 777 had landed and were very happy to see that it was parked on stand 222. It would in the end take 2.5 hours to unload the passenger, fuel up and sort out a small technical issue.

Over the next couple of days I went spotting on multiple occasions. I mostly focused on getting the 22R departure shots. The images following are a collection of the best photos from three days worth of spotting.

Flying on a Fokker 50 to Åland

Originally we had planned to go to Åland by ferry but when I found out there was a way to get there flying the Fokker 50, another old turboprop that is getting very rare in Europe and pretty much anywhere around the world with the only other passenger Fokker 50's flying in Panama. Therefore it was once more an absolute nobrainer to book this flight, even though it was not very cheap.
First we had to get to Turku Airport, a good 2.5 hours away from Helsinki. Once we had arrived I couldn't oversee the Caravelle that was parked outside the airport perimeter. It is preserved in absolute pristine condition and looks beautiful, even in grey weather.

Then it was time to drop my bag and go through security. There was not much going on at the airport and there was not much to do other than to wait for boarding. On this flight it was very important to be the first ones to board since there are no allocated seats, meaning first come first serve.

Our aircraft for today was SE-MFR, a 32 year old Fokker 50. This is the youngest of seven Fokker 50 flying for the swedish airline Populair, which operates lots of domestic routes mostly in Sweden. The flight from Turku to Mariehamn continues to Stockholm after a very short stop in Mariehamn.

First the flight attendant told us to sit in row 4 or behind due to weight and balance. I sat down on seat 4A, which did not offer a very satisfactory view. After boarding was completed I asked her if it would be fine to move to row 2, which after checking with the pilots turned out to be no problem. After that there was a quick safety demonstration, during which the engines were started. Soon we taxied off to the end of runway 26. The takeoff was incredibly noisy, absolutely deafening. But for us avgeeks the louder it is, the better.

There was no real service on this flight, since it usually only takes a bit over 20 minutes. However the flight attendant did go around with chocolates, which is a nice touch. After the seatbelt sings had switched off I changed to seat 1D to get a different view and sit on the right side of light for the landing in Mariehamn. Very soon after the seatbelt signs were turned back on and we started descending from our extremely high cruising altitude of 11000ft.

To sum it up, I am more than happy to have taken this flight, even though it may not seem special to most people, it was for me. The flights are not cheap at all but if you care to get to Mariehamn time efficiently then you can definitely consider taking it instead of the ferry which takes several hours.

Flying home on KLM

Flying back I once more opted for the cheapest possible option, which happened to be KLM once more. I did not mind flying KLM again since I am a member of their frequent flyer program and usually enjoy flying with KLM quite a lot. The first flight of the day would be flight KL1252 from Helsinki to Amsterdam. Scheduled to depart at 13:55 and arriving in Amsterdam at 15:20. I was really hoping to fly on the Embraer E2 on one of the two flights. The first flight would be operated by a 13 year old Boeing 737-8K2, which first sered for dutch leisure airline Transavia. The flight arrived from Amsterdam with a small delay. Due to the very short turnaorund times of KLM the ground officers made sure to pressure all of us to board the aircraft as quickly as possible so we would not miss our departure slot in Helsinki, which would lead to a heavy delay.
Luckily this worked out just fine and we pushed back only a few short minutes behind schedule. Shortly after pushback we started our engines and taxied to runway 22R, a place I now knew inside out. Without stopping after lineup we startd our takeoff roll and were soon airborne.

As with any other european short haul flight there is not a whole lot happening onboard. Not long after takeoff the crew handed out sandwiches and beverages. I have to point out that I really appreciated the fact that the crew came back once more to ask if we needed more drinks about an hour later. KLM crew was once again very lovely and I generally enhoyed the flight a lot. The approach to Amsterdam was very bumpy, but I would lie if I said that I did not enjoy that.

When booking the flights I was a little bit too optimistic about my six hour layover at Amsterdam. But that's how it goes when booking the cheapest flights you can possibly find. Usually you sacrifice your time and nerves in some way. I tried getting myself a seat on KL1925 which would leave almost four hours earlier, making for a much shorter layover but unfortunately the flight was full.

After an absolute eternity it was finally time to head to gate C05 to board KL1927, operated by PH-HSD, another 13 year old former Transavia Boeing 737-8K2. We completed boarding on time but were then told that due to too much departing traffic we would have to wait to push back from our gate. We ended up pushing back 45 minutes behind scheduled departure time and finally took off with almost an hour of delay. There was absolutely no apparent reason for the chaos. No bad weather, no closed runway or any other good reason for our delay. The only reason I can think of is that Amsterdam Airport simply hands out more slots than they can handle. If you look at the departure boards between 7 and 9pm you can see a huge amount of flights departing, resulting in chaos.
Anyways, the winds favored us at least and it took us only an hour to get to Zürich, which meant we only landed with about half an hour of delay. The flight was very uneventful, apart from the fact that I could secure myself an exit row seat after boarding was completed. This definitely payed off because we sat on the ground for an hour before taking off. The landing in Zürich was extremely hard, one of the hardest landings I ever experienced. But I was simply happy to have finally landed, especially since it was already almost 11pm.