Photo / Michael Flyger
Michael Flyger flies from London Heathrow to Helsinki aboard British Airways.
The plane: An Airbus A320.
Class: Economy.
Price: Time it right and you can scoot over to Finland for less than $150.
Flight time: Just under three hours, gate to gate. The vagaries of time zones and daylight saving meant we left at 11am and arrived in the dark Finnish capital just after 4pm.
My seat: 17D, at the window and just behind the wing. A cloudy start meant there wasn't much of a view — apart from spotting Heathrow's famous-but-forlorn British Airways Concorde while we were taxiing. Poor old Concorde.
Fellow passengers: A mix of solos like me, couples and a few harried-looking families.
Wrestling kids out the door early, then through a crowded airport can't be much fun.
How full: About half.
Entertainment: Just a magazine and clouds to look at. Wi-Fi was available but I was happy to zone out for the duration.
The service: Chatty and smiley — I'd said sad goodbyes to family that morning, and after fighting through the airport, it's amazing how a smile and a kind word can lift your mood.
Food and drink: Marks and Spencer food and various drinks are available to buy. For eight quid ($15) I got a delicious turkey and cranberry sandwich, a caramel slice thing and a can of Adnams craft beer. Calories consumed while travelling don't count.
The toilets: No problems here.
Luggage: Economy passengers get one 23kg checked bag, plus a cavernous 23kg carry-on allowance. It's easy to see how this would cause problems on full flights ...
The airport experience: T3 at Heathrow was hot, crowded and stressful and I didn't enjoy it at all. Hot tip: book the Heathrow Express in advance and it's way cheaper, and zooms you to the airport from Paddington in just 15 minutes.
Would I fly this again? Even with Heathrow being a necessary evil, this was cheap, convenient and I was on a nice new Airbus — sign me up.
When there's nothing as far as the eye can see, you may appreciate the company.