Welcome to the Planetflyer website, with flying-related stories from being a passenger to being an aviation nut and geeking out in museums. You can also click on the map below to see where in the world they took place.
All flying-related articles:
| Mavrovo skiing North Macedonia North Macedonia. I have to confess I did not much about it beforehand, almost anything. We had attempted to arrange a ski trip there once but did not find enough information or people to talk to. So let it be known to everyone: North Macedonia is a major ski destination, with massive mountains with well-organized large ski resorts and specialty services like cat skiing. Much recommended. Full story (TGR version) December 2023, Mavrovo ski resort, Mavrovo, North Macedonia; Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland; Frankfurt Airport, Frankfurt, Germany; Zagreb Airport, Zagreb, Croatia; Skopje International Airport, Skopje, North Macedonia Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Flying | |
| Rats... Frankfurt I had been consuming the food at the Lufthansa Business Lounge in Frankfurt (T1) for hours while on a layover from my flights from North Macedonia to Finland. Then I saw it. And now running back. Grabbed my phone, but it was too quick. Definitely a mouse, but I think too big for that actually. I'm semi-confident it was a rat. Full story December 2023, Frankfurt Airport, Frankfurt, Germany Flying | |
| Prague lounge shower Good basic lounge, and with a shower cabin & with towels. Nice. Full story November 2023, Prague international airport, Prague, Czech Republic Travel; Flying | |
| Go-Around from HEL It did wake me up! The Finnair A320, OH-LXD, was landing late in the night. Suddenly the engines were turned higher up and the plane started rising. A few minutes later the captain announced that due to unexpectedly high tailwinds, they could not slow down quickly enough to land. So around we went... Full story October 2023, Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland Flying | |
| Second-hand clothing store at my airport! I don't fly as much as I used to, so it was the first time I saw the Helsinki-Vantaa airport new shops. These include a nicely decorated and expanded Moomin shop and a second-hand clothing store. Very nice! Nothing for men / sports, however.. maybe next time. Full story September 2023, Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland Flying; Travel | |
| The Njiellalanjávri expedition Last week I went with Jarmo Ruuth and Duncan Simey to look at Njiellalajävri lake and surroundings in the Käsivarsi wilderness area. This is a far-away area almost at the Norwegian border. We saw no one in the area except for a few reindeer. There are not even common hiking paths. The Internet knows very little about this lake, not even a picture. Despite the incredible beauty of the lakes and the rock! We knew the area only through satellite images, geological surveys and maps. Full story August 2023, Njiellalanjávri, Enontekiö, Finland; Toskaljärven maanalainen joki, Enontekiö, Finland Caving (None, Research); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst, Researching); Hiking; Flying | |
| Flying the Marimekko 350 lying again Finnair's Marimekko-decorated A350, OH-LWL. Nice. Full story July 2023, Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland Flying | |
| Ljubljana Airport What a wonderful airport and mountainous approach! Full story July 2023, Ljubljana Airport, Ljubljana, Slovenia Flying | |
| Walls of Piran Piran is a medieval town on the coast of Slovenia. A wonderful town, clearly retaining its historic parts. The protective walls of the city date back to the 7th century, and can be toured for a nominal fee. Much recommended. Full story July 2023, Walls of Piran, Piran, Slovenia Urban-Exploration (Historic-Sites, Castles); Flying | |
| For once, a nice airport cart Saw an interesting passenger assistance cart at Heathrow today. Actually, would have wanted that service, given my troubles with my feet... Full story July 2023, Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom Flying | |
| The HOT lounge No, HOT is not a new low-cost airline. It is literally the hottest airport lounge anywhere, ever. True statement! Finnair's Platinum lounge at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport sports a sauna. A dark colored, nice proper sauna. Respect! Full story July 2023, Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland Sauna (Normal); Flying | |
| May 1st at the Finnair Lounge Wow. Munkkeja (donuts). Traditional May 1st delicacy. Full story May 2023, Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland Flying | |
| Finnair's European A350 routes I've occasionally ended in a wide-body A350 flight flown by Finnair, on an intra-European route. Turned out that this week I got two experience two of them in different cities: Brussels and Amsterdam. The third route that they regularly fly is London Heathrow. Full story May 2023, Brussels Airport, Brussels, Belgium; Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, Netherlands Flying; Travel | |
| A Certificate for Visiting the North Pole! Finnair gave me a certificate for being on their flight over the North Pole! When I asked the flight attendant about the coordinates (which are not exactly at North Pole), she promised to check with the crew. When she came back, she said that the captain says he doesn't know what coordinates were on the certificate, but that it was probably the marketing department's idea of the location of the North Pole :-) Full story April 2023, North Pole, International Flying | |
| Japan Airlines First Class Lounge Haneda, Tokyo Internal Airport. Japan Airlines has a very nice lounge... and it was an empty one at the time for the Finnair flight to leave late in the evening. Full story April 2023, Haneda Airport, Tokyo, Japan Travel; Flying | |
| Trip to the North Pole br Full story March 2023, North Pole, International; Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland Flying; Sauna (Normal) | |
This is the 3th set of articles. The previous sets were set 1, and set 2. The next sets are set 4, set 5, and set 6.
The Planetflyer articles appeared originally in the Blogspot Planetskier series, at TGR posts, or at the Relaa website. See also the articles about skiing, caving, urban exploration, climbing, cycling, swimming, and saunas.