Nathan's Insights

Finnair
Date: 04 May 2024
Gate: 4
Seat: 15A & 16A (Economy Class Seats)
Plane: Airbus 320
Boarded: 11:20 (tarmac boarding)
Pushback: 12:08 (Scheduled 11:50)
Arrived: 16:14 (Scheduled 15:40)
Duration: 3 hours 06 minutes
Distance: 1,956 kms

This flight was from Split Saint Jerome Airport (Croatia) to Helsinki-Vantaa (Finland) Airport.  This flight was between two countries in the European Schengen travel area so fairly similar to domestic Australian flight i.e. no border control but still has security.

This is the first of two flights. After this flight I will have an 8 hour transit in Helsinki (mostly spent in Finnair lounge) before a 13 hour 10 minute flight to Singapore that leaves at 00:25.

The Cost

I purchased this economy flight as part of a reward ticket that covers Melbourne to Singapore (Jetstar – review), Singapore to Helsinki (Finnair – review), Helsinki to Berlin (Finnair – review), Split to Helsinki (Finnair – this flight), Helsinki to Singapore (Finnair), and Singapore to Helsinki (Jetstar). For each passenger (I am travelling with my niece) it cost 139,800 Qantas points and AUS $361.37.

To use Qantas reward points just for this flight it would have cost 20,000 Qantas points and $144 euros per person. To use cash it would have been AUS $445.00 for this specific flight.

Check In / Bag Drop / Security

At Split Saint Jerome Airport they don’t have specific airline check in counters. Instead there are self check in kiosks and counters which serve all airlines. The kiosk didn’t work for me so I went to counter which I actually prefer.

There were some issues with checking in. The staff seemed very new and asked to see information like baggage was included with my ticket plus when I asked for bag to be check though to final destination in Singapore they wanted to see I’d completed Singapore Arrival eCard.

I was concerned that staff put my bag tag on the top of my bag instead of the side. Hopefully this doesn’t cause an issue. A bigger issue will likely be the 8 hour transit but given this is Finnair to Finnair transfer it should be okay.

Lounges

There are no airline lounges at Split Saint Jerome Airport. There is a paid lounge but I didn’t attempt to access. In the general waiting area there was a major Duty Free Shop and two food places.

Boarding

This flight boarded from Gate 4. Finnair boards their business class passengers and top tier members first in Group 1 which was called early. Group 2 includes high level status members which included me and was called at he scheduled boarding time of 11:20. You have to scan your ticket to open the security gates to board the flight.

The Seat

This Finnair A320-200 aircraft operates with all economy class seats with 168 seats in total.  The first 4 rows are allocated as “business class” with the middle seat not used reducing total number of bookable seats to 160.  Rows are in a 3 – 3 layout.

There were only two passengers in the “business” class section. I allocated Darby row 15 seat A and myself directly behind her in 16A we both had window views. Darby had the seat next to her empty and I had both seats next to me empty.

The economy seats have 18 inches (46 centimetres) width and have a pitch of 31 inches (79 centimetres). There is no in seat power via a USB port.  

Amenity Kit

No amenity kit was provided for this flight (as expected).

Meals and Drinks

No meals are included in the economy ticket price you can purchase food items on board. Drink prices start 3 Euros (Cappuccino) and go to $12 Euros (Sparkling wine. Food prices start at 3 Euros (Karl Frazer chocolate bar) to $9 Euros (cheese platter with crackers).

Drinks (water, coffee, tea) were offered at no charge.

Service

The service was limited on this European Union area flight. All announcements were made in Croatian first and then English.

Entertainment System

There is no entertainment system for this flight. Internet was advertised as being available for purchase but wasn’t working.

The Flight

This was an enjoyable short three hour flight.  As it was in the middle of the day and only for three hours I selected window seats for my niece (Darby) and myself and this allowed for some nice views. The cabin temperature was comfortable.

Arrival

We arrived 30 minutes late. Several passengers run to their connecting flight. As we were in the Schengen travel zone and were leaving this zone on the next flight we had to clear Border Control to leave the EU here.

Summary

Split Saint Jerome Airport is a modern mid to small size airport. They provide free internet access for 60 minutes. You also have to board from the tarmac for all flights (no airbridges) which could be an issue if it rains.

This was a serviceable flight that did everything needed. Economy seats are comfortable, and there is just enough room for standard sized people.