Helsinki - Pori

[5711N0205W]

The travel department is unable to ticket me a flight to Pori as the operator of that route does not appear on the booking engines, instead I can go to Tampere and take a car then drive 130Km.

Digging around exposes Job Air / Air 100 / FlexFlight APS who are all concerned in the operation of the Helsinki - Pori route. I can book tickets myself at; ETUSIVU - Air100 Oy (http://air100.fi/) though obviously it's not then a single ticket connecting flight, any reason why I shouldn't do this? Travel is scheduled for May.

TIA

[bfisk]

As in every case, if you purchase separate tickets for your itinerary, make sure you have travel insurance that covers you in case of delays. Other than that, there is the inconvenience of probably having to recheck your bags in HEL if you travel with checked luggage.

If you can catch a direct flight from wherever you are going to Tampere and drive from there, that is a good option. If you are arriving to HEL and then connecting to Tampere, to then get a rental car from there, you might as well get the rental car directly from HEL. Driving time to Pori is around 3 hours, compared to about 1:30 from Tampere. This means you won't save a whole lot of time by flying the extra segment, and more segments means more chances of delays and missed connections etc.

As a third option you could check out VR: Junamatkat verkkokaupasta. Katso aikataulut ja osta lippu. - VR (http://www.vr.fi) for train tickets. They offer fairly good frequency at moderate speed, but the hassle is that there is no train station at the airport in HEL, so you need to get a bus or a cab to the nearest train station which is Tikkurila.

Good luck and tervetuloa Suomeen!

[5711N0205W]

Thanks bfisk, some useful information there, since generally train travel is the best form of passenger transport :) I'll give that a serious look.

[WHBM]

That's a bit of a poor travel agent who has just given up because a flight is not on their favourite booking engine.

In my experience of connecting onto the minor Finnish domestic operations (in my case going to Lappeenranta when Golden Air and then others ran the route from Helsinki) they are fine with people changing to the flight before/after, and not the approach of supposedly more "developed" aviation markets where, if you miss a connection, not only do you need to buy another ticket but at four times what you originally paid.

Given that commercial services to Pori (again a bit like Lappeenranta) have been started and lost again a few times in recent years, flights are unlikely to be full.

If you want to be sure you can always email them and ask.

[5711N0205W]

Goldenair - I couldn't remember the name of the operator last time I was up that way (few years ago), I do remember a whole more civilised approach to Airports and Travel than in some other less enlightened parts of Europe.

The corporate travel provider charges a fee, the value to the organisation is that they enforce the company travel policy which will save money when you spend in excess of £1 million per year. To the individual they haven't added a whole lot that I couldn't purchase directly off the page, their implementation of an Amadeus self service booking system (reduced transaction fee) is pretty abysmal too.

I'm pretty happy to go with the local carrier (and book directly) but a 3 1/2 hour excursion on the Finnish railways system also has some attractions.

[WHBM]

An amusing moment on one such Golden Air flight, a Saab 340 like the current Pori service, was there was a trainee FA along with the regular one. They stood up at Helsinki to do the safety briefing, in front of maybe a dozen pax, one on the mike and the other doing the pantomime. Did the whole thing in Finnish, then started again and did the whole thing in Swedish. Then they looked and pointed at the manifest with my through connection from London shown, looked at me, looked at each other, nodded ........ and did the whole lot again in English.

Of course I paid the most particular attention to it.

[farci]

That's a bit of a poor travel agent who has just given up because a flight is not on their favourite booking engine.
I suppose Skyscanner's (http://www.skyscanner.net/flights/hel/por/cheap-flights-from-helsinki-vantaa-to-pori.html?oym=1303&iym=1303&rtn=1) beneath them? :ugh: