I’ve taken 200+ flights in the last 3 years, but nothing comes close to how short this flight was: Tallinn (Estonia) to Helsinki (Finland) on Finnair.
The airtime? Just 15 minutes.
It’s not the most practical way to visit Finland, but I took this route as it was part of a connecting itinerary to London, and best of all, it was a free leg using airmiles. 🙂
Here is an interesting story about this flight experience,
Booking
I booked this Tallinn – Helsinki – London itinerary on Finnair Business Class using Avios. The ultra-short Tallinn – Helsinki leg was in Economy as they don’t have business class cabin on this, which is totally fine for 15 minutes in the air.
This booking came about because most award seats to the UK from the Schengen zone were sold out this summer. Finnair turned out to be a saviour, then I realised that their award availability and pricing are among the best in Europe.
I was pleasantly surprised to see wide open award seats across Europe, even during peak summer, a rare thing these days!
What made it even better is that Finnair treats this short Tallinn – Helsinki sector (and similar routes like Riga) as a free leg when connecting to a relatively long-haul destination. This is because of Finnair’s Zone based pricing.
And not to mention that HDFC Bank still has 1:1 for Finnair airmiles transfer. It costs 18K Avios which I was able to transfer from HDFC Infinia (instant transfer) and book in few minutes.
Check-In
Tallinn Airport is compact and easy to navigate. I arrived about 3 hours early, only to find that check-in opened just 2 hours before departure.
After clearing tax refund procedure, I headed to priority check-in counter.
And here’s a fun moment: all 5 passengers in the priority line were Indians, even two of them were from Tamil Nadu. I didn’t expect that on a short Baltic sector, far away from home!
15 Minutes in the Sky
Take-off, cruising, and landing all in neat 5-minute blocks:
- 5 mins climb
- 5 mins cruise
- 5 mins descent
It felt more like a scenic ride than a flight. You get a glimpse of Estonia’s coastline, the Baltic Sea, and then Finland’s shores, all in one go.
The aircraft touched down in Helsinki with one of the smoothest landings I’ve ever experienced.
It was buttery smooth, the kind that makes you wonder if the plane even touched down. Maybe the light load helped as the flight was only about 20% full.
Finnair Lounge
I had a few hours in Helsinki Airport before my onward flight to London.
Since this segment was in Business Class, I got access to the Finnair Non-Schengen Business Class Lounge, one of the beautiful and peaceful lounges in Europe.
It was spacious with great interiors, good food and drinks.
Highlights
- Tallinn to Helsinki airtime: 15 minutes (end-to-end: 30 mins)
- Aircraft: Airbus A321
- Airline: Finnair
- Distance: ~85 km
Final Thoughts
This wasn’t just my shortest flight ever, it was also one of the most memorable flight experience. Quick boarding with other Indians, empty cabin, and a silky smooth landing, all wrapped into a free segment on a miles booking.
To put it in perspective: Tallinn to Helsinki took less time than many airport security lines.
Before this, my shortest flight was Delhi to Jaipur, which took around 45 minutes, interesting in its own way because we flew at a low altitude.
Have you flown on any ultra-short flights like this? Feel free to share about your experience in the comments!