We boarded the Finnair flight and met Santa Claus, without moving from the sofa

I should have taken the Flight to Rovaniemi a few days before Christmas, five tickets purchased through Membership Rewards points earned exclusively by taking advantage of the generous "introduce a friend" promo in recent months.

Unfortunately, the pandemic and rules imposed by both Italy and the Finnish government led to the cancellation of the trip. The company mi returned all Finnair plus points, but I still wanted to keep my promise to my 3 children that I could visit Santa Claus' house. So when Finnish company announced that it would sell virtual trips for Christmas, I did not let them pass me by.

Tickets were on sale for €10, with proceeds going to UNICEF to help slow the spread of Covid-19 among children around the world. Being a "real" flight, I also earned 250 F+, or points from the Finnair Plus loyalty program..

AY0533 virtual flight review

After check-in and the usual checks, all passengers settled into the very comfortable seats of the Airbus A350/900, the flagship of the Finnish fleet. Normally the route is operated with single-aisle aircraft, but for the occasion Finnair chose to use the aircraft normally used on the long-haul route.

The experience can be immersive if you are equipped with augmented reality viewers, but it is also enjoyable with a tablet, as moving the device allows us to look around and poke around at our neighbors' places. Everything is "as if it were real": there are announcements from the captain, the crew, and the classic sounds/noises we are used to hearing before takeoff.

All passengers were given the classic glass, Finnair's trademark, as well as blueberry juice.

Immediately after takeoff, lunch was served, and of course salmon could not be missing from the menu.

Suddenly the cabin was "invaded" by the sky and the spectacle of the northern lights.

We landed in Rovaniemi and were greeted by Santa's helpers who escorted us inside the house.

Fortunately, living room temperatures were not as prohibitive as at the Polar Circle.

The trip ended inside Santa's house, of course actually going there is another thing but more could not really be done this year.

In conclusion

Potentially 8 experience, but because of too many dead spots the final grade is 6.5. Nice pictures, sequences, captain's on-board messages, everything like in reality, but every time after 15/20/30 seconds the video freezes: not because of poor connection, but to allow to rotate the device and see the seats in the plane, the landscape, the driver's view.

Do you want to take this trip too? You still have time, the last two flights leave today, December 29 at 7 p.m. and tomorrow, December 30 also at 7 p.m. Buy tickets here.

• christmas covid