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
Inbound
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.
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