Questions and Answers

I found a ticket for next summer that I might want to book (Finnair JFK-HEL-BMA(apparently another airport in Stockholm)-HEL-JFK ~$600.) And there is a 5.5 hour layover in Helsinki on the outbound (Maybe enough to go into the city?) There are plenty of flights after it and I was wondering if I could get a stopover. If I intentionally miss my flight (with plenty of options later in the day) do they rebook me. If I can change my HEL-BMA flight is there a fee?
Thanks

Depends on the fare rules I think. Have you checked to see if stopovers are allowed or tried to use a multi-city tool to price the routing to see if you can get the same price?

I wouldn’t miss your flights on purpose. If you are really lucky and someone takes pity on you they might rebook you but more likely they will just cancel the rest of your flights.

Yeah I wouldnt miss a flight on purpose. That’s just asking for trouble.

Hi, [USER=2317]@Hugh B[/USER]. My family did a stopover in Helsinki on our way home from China and as a pit-stop before St. Petersburg last summer. From our experience, HEL was pretty streamlined for the most part and arranging transportation (they quite literally have a train that takes you directly from the city center to the airport and vice versa) was a breeze. I wouldn’t be overly concerned about your 5.5 layover time. If everything goes to plan, you could expect to get into the city center ~60-90 minutes after landing. I would suggest getting to the airport 90 minutes before departure (the train takes ~30 minutes if I remember correctly and it’s not much of a zoo – let’s be honest, it’s Finland). That would leave about a comfortable 2 hours to do some sightseeing. I think you could totally hit a couple of big sites (their Lutheran church, government buildings, and the Church of the Rock) or spend some nice, peaceful time on Suomenlinna Island (a UNESCO World Heritage Site no less). Honestly, I found Helsinki charming for the general ambiance, so just strolling the sites, particularly on the harbor would also be an excellent option.

I guess I’m trying to say that I can’t really comment on the stopovers/ticketing concerns, but a quick jaunt to Helsinki city center is totally doable under your conditions, as long as you’re committed to making it work!