Here’s an inside look at some of the remote, roundabout routings that Finnair is having to operate…
In this post:
Finnair’s challenges with Russian airspace
With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many airlines have been avoiding Russian airspace. Some airlines have done this voluntarily out of an abundance of caution, while other airlines don’t have a choice, as there are sanctions in place preventing this airspace from being used.
Arguably Finnair is in one of the roughest spots when it comes to this airspace closure. Pre-pandemic, Finnair’s long haul route network consisted mostly of flights to & from Asia, given Helsinki’s advantageous geography for this, as the airline marketed the quickest connections to Asia.
Unfortunately that advantage has now turned into a huge disadvantage, since those quick routings were dependent on being able to use Russian airspace. Now Finnair is having to operate ridiculously roundabout flights to & from Asia, adding significant travel time to all flights.
For example, Finnair’s Helsinki to Tokyo flight now requires first flying south around Ukraine, and then flying over Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, etc.
Meanwhile Finnair’s Tokyo to Helsinki flight first flies across the Pacific toward Alaska, and then goes almost straight over the North Pole, before flying south toward Helsinki.
These different routings are based on the winds. Eastbound flights have a tailwind, which is why Finnair still flies east, while westbound flights have a headwind, which is why Finnair flies “over” the earth.
Flying Finnair’s A350 over the North Pole
Gabriel Leigh with Flightradar24 flew roundtrip from Helsinki to Tokyo in Finnair business class, and on the return flight had the incredible opportunity to fly in the cockpit most of the way. If you’re an aviation geek, you’ll absolutely love this video.
The 23 minute video covers almost the entire flight, but it’s particularly interesting to hear from the pilots about what it’s like to be in command of a flight near the North Pole. Admittedly flights have taken Polar routes for a long time, so this is nothing new, but seeing what it’s like inside the cockpit is an opportunity you don’t often get.
Watching this really makes me want to fly this Finnair routing, though ideally in summer, when there are 24 hours of daylight on this routing. Meanwhile when this was filmed it was dark almost the entire way, except a brief bit of light over Alaska.
An interesting video was also published about the outbound flight, but this is filmed more from a passenger experience standpoint, and doesn’t include any cockpit footage.
Bottom line
If you’re an avgeek and have the time, I’d highly recommend checking out a video from inside Finnair’s cockpit on what must be one of the most interesting routes at the moment. Finnair’s Tokyo to Helsinki flight generally flies right along the coast of Alaska, before flying within miles of the North Pole.
I’m putting this flight on my bucket list for the summer, because I’d love to experience this when it’s not dark outside.
Anyone else enjoy this as much as I did?
I flew Doha to Seattle last April and was astonished to watch the flight path, and out the window on a daytime flight, as we flew over Iran and then Russia and then the N Pole. The sea ice looked thick near the Pole and in Canada, but broken in Russian waters. I was cozy in my Qatar pjs and QSuites bed, with a dropped jaw most of the trip. The vid did explain one...
I flew Doha to Seattle last April and was astonished to watch the flight path, and out the window on a daytime flight, as we flew over Iran and then Russia and then the N Pole. The sea ice looked thick near the Pole and in Canada, but broken in Russian waters. I was cozy in my Qatar pjs and QSuites bed, with a dropped jaw most of the trip. The vid did explain one thing that baffled me, though - at the Pole, the direction markers on my screen were going nuts, as a compass would. But when, as the narrator said, satellite connections are lost, then compasses must be in operation. Then we dropped straight south over the Canadian Arctic into Seattle. On our flight, nobody said a thing about the polar route. Im sure there were passengers who missed the whole thing.
I'm sort of a nervous flyer (getting rattled by turbulence, if I don't remember to think about the ships and waves and about imagining ground beneath my feet. However I'm hella excited about taking the polar express to Tokyo because the views are gonna be awesome. Pity we won't be going after the fall equinox because then it would be dark at points and have a good chance for aurora borealis. Oh well... :)
The star was Sirius in the constellation of Canis Major.
I flew the polar route with Finair both ways 37 years ago on a DC10, the flight from Helsinki to Tokyo took staggering (at that time) 14 hours and 16 minutes, because of very strong head wind, only after the arrival in Tokyo we vere told that a refuelling stop at Anchorage was actually considered by the crew. I guess it was a more demanding job for the crew on a DC10 37 years ago....
I flew the polar route with Finair both ways 37 years ago on a DC10, the flight from Helsinki to Tokyo took staggering (at that time) 14 hours and 16 minutes, because of very strong head wind, only after the arrival in Tokyo we vere told that a refuelling stop at Anchorage was actually considered by the crew. I guess it was a more demanding job for the crew on a DC10 37 years ago. I may go to Japan this fall (my life´s last trip to Japan) and it would be by Finair again, probably taking the southern route to Tokyo and the polar route back. Anyway. many thanks for the great video, the polar flight on an A350 seems to be a piece of cake.
Very cool video!!
Beautiful video. Wow! I have added this North Pole flight to my must experience list. Ben, thank you.
How can you allowed in the cockpit while in the air.totally a breach of current IATA and all airline policy please clarify
It must be much longer. Do they price accordingly for people's time or award points accordingly?
Big praise to Gabriel Leigh from Flightradar24, who video reviews flights in such a relaxed but thorough manner. Best man doing this out there. Not these lengthy and self-absorbed videos like from most of this other Scandinavian nonstop dude.
Hi Ben,
You might be disappointed regarding - "I’m putting this flight on my bucket list for the summer, because I’d love to experience this when it’s not dark outside." I checked the Finnair site for this routing on June 21, 2023. No direct Finnair flight (NRT-HEL) on that day comes up. I didn't see the direct routing coming up after March 2023.
It flies from HND. AY operates both from NRT and HND, just no NRT departure flight that day.
Ben, this blog goes from strength to strength. In the past hour, I’ve learned a little trick that will position me better with Air France mileage redemptions, met an intriguing future flight to the Gulf, and now picked up a wonderful aspirational flight through a beautifully produced video. Keep this going!
Many European airlines take the north pole route from Japan, not just Finnair - in fact I have been on the exact same route on LX161 some days ago (from Norway onwards heading south over Sweden to ZRH).
Some of the crew were equally enthusiastic about that special route and there were 4 cockpit crew for this flight, it is currently LX longest.
The most bizarre and wonderful avgeeky thing about LX161 taking...
Many European airlines take the north pole route from Japan, not just Finnair - in fact I have been on the exact same route on LX161 some days ago (from Norway onwards heading south over Sweden to ZRH).
Some of the crew were equally enthusiastic about that special route and there were 4 cockpit crew for this flight, it is currently LX longest.
The most bizarre and wonderful avgeeky thing about LX161 taking the polar route is that this flight normally is a day flight, departing Japan around noon and arriving at Zurich in the evening. However now heading east it is an overnight over to Alaska (minus one day) and catching the sunset again over Sweden (in winter).
Fascinating stuff!
Are you sure about the "many European airlines"? As far as I know, Finair and Swiss are the only two european airlines flying the North Pole route. The other airlines fly thru the polar area, but not close to the North Pole. Or am I missing something?
Ben random note thought you may be interested. Real ID now pushed to may 2025
Wow. Are you kidding? How come so many people are having a problem getting this? I got mine BEFORE the pandemic and am coming up on a renewal before some have even switched over. Crazy to me.
It's pretty ridiculous at this point lol. Going to take 20 years to implement if they don't extend til 2040
I dont get it either but i guess my state has been putting them on their license this whole time and figured with out frequency of required renewals everyone in texas has a new TSA approved real ID.