I made it to Dallas (DFW) with several hours to spare. The trauma of the last flight is behind me, but now I need to figure out what to do about my boarding pass that has no information (other than I’m in the correct airport).

I suppose my partner was right. American hasn’t flown to Helsinki in a while, and this flight is a codeshare with Finnair. Therefore, I’m flying Finnair to my next destination, HEL.

DFW is HUGE

DFW is a giant airport. You can use the Skytrain to get around. It’s convenient. 

As I exit my first flight, I promptly check the monitor and notice my next flight is from gate D8. So I decide to walk. I have time to kill. Why not?

Even though I landed in terminal C, I made it halfway and took the Skytrain one stop to the lower D gates.

I proceeded to the gate and asked the gate agent about my blank boarding pass. 

She informs me that my boarding pass is not valid and Finnair doesn’t use American Airlines boarding passes anyway. So she prints a new one for me.

Now I have all the information I need. 

And I can relax. I am not flying to HEM. I’m flying to HEL, as originally planned. 

Finnair from DFW to HEL in Coach Mile Fare A350

And now for the flight review. This is a 10-hour flight, so it’s vital you’re comfortable.

I’ve never flown Finnair before. I’m excited to check out the plane and experience what this airline offers, even in coach.

The colors are greys and whites. It creates a unique and sleek atmosphere. Even the flight attendants are wearing grey and black uniforms. They’re cute. I like them.

I guess it does not surprise me that everyone on this flight is platinum blond. Only Finns fly to Finnland? It’s a plane full of gorgeous people.

My Coach Seat

I find my seat and notice the blanket, pillow, and water bottle neatly placed on all of our seats. I’m glad they give us some items. I didn’t think we would get anything. Good job, Finnair.

The leg room is a little tight, but it’s okay. I’m not a tall person. And even though I was in an aisle seat, the middle seat in my row was empty, which was fantastic. A little extra space for my broad shoulders is always a plus.

The trey is small but cute. They have screens on every seat. 

There is one USB port, one outlet, a USB-C port, and an earphone jack.

The seat also has a seat pocket for your tablet or phone. I primarily used it to store things in it, though, but you can prop your tablet to watch movies and such.

My Experience on this 10 Hour Flight

It was tough. I’ve had so much going on in my head. I love a good amount of solitude, and the pandemic assured me I would never get any of it. So these 10 hours of alone time were blissful.

I use my solidarity to think about my life and choices. I decompress, so to speak.

Needless to say, I couldn’t sleep. And I didn’t sleep the entire flight. And even though it was a tight space, I wasn’t uncomfortable.

I couldn’t watch any movies. My brain was all over the place, and I really wasn’t interested in any of the ones they had. But they had a good selection.

I listened to Bad Bunny, Un Verano Sin Ti, pretty much the entire flight. It makes me think of Puerto Vallarta and some of the people I’ve met that have changed my life there.

It makes me wonder how I got to a place where I want some of these people around.

A few years before the pandemic, I was so fed up with the people in LA that I stopped talking to most, and now suddenly, I want to be around certain people in PV? What’s happening to me? Sometimes I don’t even recognize myself.

And so I ruminated, and I ultimately decided I was in the right place. I am on my way to Berlin. A trip I’ve had planned for a year. Because I needed my equivalent of being alone in the woods with nothing but hard trees as far as my eyes could see, and Berlin has hard trees. Oh, so hard! 

So, here we go!

The Meal Service

About an hour and a half in or so, they began serving dinner. 

The food came in cute little boxes with wooden cutlery.

They served cole slaw and cheese casserole of some sort. A bun and a Heath Toffee bar.

The food was tasty.

One guy opposite me complained that it was not vegetarian and could not eat it.

The flight attendant handled the situation nicely. She told him they would get him appropriate food but also informed him to pre-select a veggie meal service next time.

Then she told him to file a formal complaint so the airline could understand and have more veggie meals on board in the future. 

I felt the flight attendant took care of it nicely.

If there is one complaint I have is that the flight attendant forgot to give my row drinks. But that’s easily fixed. And it was.

Breakfast

Breakfast was simple but equally tasty. They gave us an omelet with seasoned potatoes and steamed tomatoes. I also got some coffee.

The meal was smaller than dinner, but I enjoyed it.

Welcome to HEL

I made it to HEL exhausted. I had six hours to kill here. So I got to the lounge, had breakfast, and tried to nap. Unfortunately, my brain still needed me to think about the world around me.

Let’s Break It Down:

American Airlines from DFW to HEL in coach is a tight space. The flight is about 10 hours long.

You get a pillow, blanket, and water bottle in your seat for comfort and earphones.

The meal service is fantastic. 

You get two meals: Dinner and breakfast.

Dinner consisted of cole slaw and cheese casserole of some sort. A bun and a Heath Toffee bar.

Breakfast was an omelet with some potatoes on the side.

The flight attendants were fantastic.

Although the flight was fine, I was unable to sleep. Perhaps it was my busy brain, or maybe it was because coach seats don’t recline too much.

In any case, this was a free fare. I purchased it on points, so I’m not complaining too much.