Crossing the Pond Yet Again [American Airlines] AA 47 LHR-ORD (London/Heathrow->Chicago/O'Hare) trip report [아메리칸항공] AA 47 런던/히스로->시카고/오헤어 탑승기

AA 47 LHR-ORD (London/Heathrow->Chicago/O'Hare)

DEP LHR 14:25 29 DEC 2011

ARR ORD 18:30 29 DEC 2011

Flight Duration: 09:05

Aircraft: B777-200

At last, this trip report marks my last flight of the 4-segment return trip from Seoul, Korea to Chicago/O'Hare.  I have traveled from Korea to Hong Kong to Helsinki, Finland and finally to London/Heathrow so far.  Today's flight would be AA 47, a B777-200 which would take me back home to Chicago, IL from London, UK. 

Here is my total trip itinerary from start to finish.

(Click each flight segments for trip reports)

Outbound

ORD-LHR: AA 86 DEP 18:05 13DEC2011 ARR 07;55 14DEC2011

LHR-HEL: BA 794 DEP 11:20 14DEC2011 ARR 16:15 14DEC2011

HEL-HKG: AY 69 DEP 00:10 15DEC2011 ARR 15:20 15DEC2011

HKG-ICN: KE 608 DEP 00:55 16DEC2011 ARR 05:20 16DEC2011

Inbound

ICN-HKG: KE 601 DEP 13:45 28DEC2011 ARR 16:50 28DEC2011

HKG-HEL: AY 70 DEP 01:30 29DEC2011 ARR 06:30 29DEC2011

HEL-LHR: AY 831 DEP 08:00 29DEC2011 ARR 9:10 29DEC2011

LHR-ORD: AA 47 DEP 14:25 29DEC2011 ARR 18:30 29DEC2011

I was originally scheduled to board AA 87 flight that would be leaving 10:20AM from London/Heathrow. However, the Finnair flight from Helsinki (AY 831) was delayed about 3 hours, causing me to miss the flight.  I was rebooked automatically into the new flight as soon as I got to London/Heathrow American Airlines transfer counter.  There, I was able to confirm a window seat.

Layover in Terminal 3 was overall a hectic experience, especially since it was during the Holiday Season.  Terminal was very crowded. I didn't want to be at the central waiting area. Instead, I decided to pay 10 Euros and take a shower at the No. 1 Traveller Lounge and spent rest of my time at the lounge until it came time for me to board the Chicago-bound flight at 13:50.

The Miami-bound AA B767-300ER

Boarding the flight for Chicago/O'Hare.

I apologize once again for picture quality.

It was nonetheless a window seat... but with not so good view to outside.

The flight route for today's flight.

London/Heathrow was as busy as always. We spent about 30-40 minutes alone just for taxing for take-off. 

And the plane finally took off toward west. Today's flight would take us toward Scotland and Iceland before crossing southern bit of Greenland and entering Canadian airspace. We would be coming into Chicago from the north.

Nice (dirty) wing view.

Meal was served after takeoff. I don't remember if there was any choice for the meal. What came out was a chicken dish with sauteed pasta with salad and ginger biscuits. Not a bad meal for AA.

I ended up falling asleep for the rest of the flight today.  I woke up about an hour before landing as the flight attendants were passing out the pizzas. 

Descending into Chicago. Local time was around 17:00.

Lake Michigan should've been visible down there, but the clouds were hiding the view.

Sears Tower is visible beyond the wing.

My checked bag ended up not showing at the baggage claim, but AA was quick to locate the bag in London/Heathrow. They flew the bag over on the next flight to Chicago and mailed it to my personal address in Chicago. I appreciate the airline's help in locating the bag and mailing it to me directly within couple days. 

Not sure if I'll ever make such crazy trip itinerary anymore, but I sure did enjoy my first time ever being in Europe. 

[Finnair] AY 831 HEL-LHR (Helsinki/Vantaa->London/Heathrow) trip report [핀에어] AY 831 헬싱키/반타->런던/히스로 탑승기

AY 831 HEL-LHR (Helsinki/Vantaa->London/Heathrow)

DEP HEL 08:00 (actual time 11:00) 29 DEC 2011

ARR LHR 09:10 (actual time 12:10) 29 DEC 2011

Flight Duration: 3:10

Aircraft: A321

After a 11-hour long flight from Hong Kong to Helsinki/Vantaa via Finnair AY 70 (Trip report link included) I had about two-hour layover in Helsinki Airport before my scheduled boarding time for AY 831 at 8AM local time. Today's 3-hour long flight to London/Heathrow would be the third flight of the 4-segment return trip itinerary from Korea to Chicago. The whole trip itinerary was as follows:

(Click each flight segments for trip reports)

Outbound

ORD-LHR: AA 86 DEP 18:05 13DEC2011 ARR 07;55 14DEC2011

LHR-HEL: BA 794 DEP 11:20 14DEC2011 ARR 16:15 14DEC2011

HEL-HKG: AY 69 DEP 00:10 15DEC2011 ARR 15:20 15DEC2011

HKG-ICN: KE 608 DEP 00:55 16DEC2011 ARR 05:20 16DEC2011

Inbound

ICN-HKG: KE 601 DEP 13:45 28DEC2011 ARR 16:50 28DEC2011

HKG-HEL: AY 70 DEP 01:30 29DEC2011 ARR 06:30 29DEC2011

HEL-LHR: AY 831 DEP 08:00 29DEC2011 ARR 9:10 29DEC2011

LHR-ORD: AA 47 DEP 14:25 29DEC2011 ARR 18:30 29DEC2011

The boarding for the London-bound AY 831 was supposed to occur at 7:30AM.  The Finnair gate agents made announcements at around 7:40AM letting the passengers know about the mechanical issues that the A321 was having. At first it was supposed to be about an hour of delay. However, an hour of delay alone would cause me to miss my flight from London/Heathrow to Chicago/O'Hare, as I was originally scheduled on AA 87 which was scheduled to depart from London/Heathrow at 10:20AM. I spoke to the Finnair gate agent at Gate 35, and she kindly responded that I would be rebooked into the next Chicago-bound flight.  AY 831 ended up being delayed for about three hours in total.

The Gate 35 at 8AM.  The sun hasn't even come up yet in Finland.

At around 10:30AM, the boarding finally commenced for AY 831.

Today's aircraft would be Finnair's old-liveried A321.

Finnair's old livery.

There were no personal TVs on the seats for today's flight.

Local time 11AM. The plane has just taken off and the sun was beginning to rise.

The long economy class section of A321.

Mild turbulences acted up as the plane was starting to leave the Finnish airspace.

By this time the sunlight was beginning to be bothersome.

Sandwiches were provided for in-flight meal. I took some coffee for my choice of beverage.

The plane was crossing over Danish airspace as the meals were being served.

Approaching British airspace.

I could tell that today was going to be a cloudy day in UK.

We were not even past the clouds when the plane started the holding pattern for London/Heathrow.

The first holding pattern circle was made in northeast London.

The holding pattern as seen on route map.

The second holding pattern circle was made above southwest London, near New Malden.

The plane touched-down into London/Heathrow at around noon local time.

Taxing into Terminal 3.

I had about two hours until my next flight to Chicago/O'Hare. I wanted to freshen up so I headed to No. 1 Traveller Lounge in Terminal 3 where I could pay 10 Euros to take a shower. The shower facility was a state-of-the-art kind of facility, which fancy shower faucets and sinks. It was money well-spent, and I thoroughly enjoyed my showering experience here.

The shower lights changed every 10 seconds or so. By far it was the most fancy shower facility I have been to.

Looking toward Terminal 4 from Terminal 3.

Click here for my next flight, American Airlines AA 47 from London/Heathrow to Chicago/O'Hare.

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[Finnair] AY 70 HKG-HEL (Hong Kong->Helsinki/Vantaa) trip report [핀에어] AY 70 홍콩/첵립콕->헬싱키/반타 탑승기

AY 70 HKG-HEL (Hong Kong->Helsinki/Vantaa)

DEP HKG 01:30 29 DEC 2011

ARR HEL 06:30 29 DEC 2011

Flight Duration: 11:00

Aircraft: A340-300

Following my previous trip report, which was Korean Air B737-900ER ride from Seoul/Incheon to Hong Kong (Trip Report Link included) I headed to the Finnair check-in counters in Hong Kong Airport after a long, 6-hour layover in the airport. This trip would be the second flight of the return itinerary from Korea to Chicago. The whole trip itinerary was as follows:

(Click each flight segments for trip reports)

Outbound

ORD-LHR: AA 86 DEP 18:05 13DEC2011 ARR 07;55 14DEC2011

LHR-HEL: BA 794 DEP 11:20 14DEC2011 ARR 16:15 14DEC2011

HEL-HKG: AY 69 DEP 00:10 15DEC2011 ARR 15:20 15DEC2011

HKG-ICN: KE 608 DEP 00:55 16DEC2011 ARR 05:20 16DEC2011

Inbound

ICN-HKG: KE 601 DEP 13:45 28DEC2011 ARR 16:50 28DEC2011

HKG-HEL: AY 70 DEP 01:30 29DEC2011 ARR 06:30 29DEC2011

HEL-LHR: AY 831 DEP 08:00 29DEC2011 ARR 9:10 29DEC2011

LHR-ORD: AA 47 DEP 14:25 29DEC2011 ARR 18:30 29DEC2011

The aircraft for tonight would be Finnair A340.  Tonight's aircraft were retrofitted with Finnair's new products, including the new economy class seats. Coincidentally, Finnair just showcased the new uniform week prior to tonight's flight, so I got to see the airline's new uniform in person.

The check-in counters for Finnair were opened at local time 22:30.

There were many Chinese passengers on today's flight, most of them probably bound for destinations in Europe other than Finland. I was probably the only one bound for USA on this flight.

I had some Grilled Chicken Burger by McDonald's after passing through passport control and security customs. The GCB is probably one of my favourite sandwiches by Mickey D's in a foreign country.

I received two boarding passes: one for AY 70 (Hong Kong to Helsinki) and one for AY 831 (Helsinki to London)

Finnair A340, which arrived from Helsinki earlier today at around 3PM, has been sitting on the airport ramp since then. The plane was taxied to tonight's departure gate, Gate 18, at local time 23:00.

I boarded the plane, which was about 50% full tonight, at about 1AM. At that time, a Jeju Air aircraft from Seoul/Incheon and Korean Air B737 from Busan/Gimhae just pulled into the airport gates. Korean Air A380-800, bound for Seoul/Incheon was getting ready for push-back.

Finnair's new economy seats were retrofitted for this A340. I apologize for not taking detailed pictures of the airline's new uniform.

This man ended up taking up all four seats on his row!

Safety brief information

The AVOD system was much newer than the one that was provided on the AY 60 flight.

Dinner was served shortly after take-off. Finnair did not carry menus aboard flight, but captain made announcements of the meals, with the details of each choices. I ended up choosing a beef dish sautéed slightly in curry sauce served with potatoes, green beans, and corn.

It may not look like it, but the flight was more than halfway done by this point.

The breakfast service started as the plane neared Moscow.

For breakfast, it was egg scramble, with two breakfast sausages, baked beans, steamed broccoli, fried potato wedges, and a muffin.

The plane was about to fly directly over St. Petersburg, Russia.

One hour before arrival.

I arrived into Helsinki/Vantaa Airport terminal at local time 6AM, ahead of schedule. The immigration and customs were breeze; despite many people arriving from different flights from other parts of Asia, the lines were kept short. I went to buy some Finnish snacks in the airport before heading toward my onward flight to London/Heathrow.

Click here for my next flight, Finnair AY 831 from Helsinki, Finland to London/Heathrow, UK.

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