Quick update from my HAJ-HEL-CAN experience a couple of days ago.

No problem with online check-in for my HAJ-HEL flight as there was 26 hours for my onward flight. For my flight to CAN I didn’t try to bypass the visa question, so I thought I do it at the airport. However, on the day of departure, I received an sms from Finnair that they automatically checked me in. Boarding pass was available in the Finnair app.

At the gate I was asked to show my onward connection for the TWOV. In my case I was connecting on a KE flight to Incheon a couple of hours later. No further questions asked. After landing I decided to test if I could do an airside transfer (carry-on only). I walked straight to the CZ Priority desk (my mistake as I thought it was marked SkyPriority ) and told them I just arrived from Helsinki and connecting to Incheon. They called up someone from Finnair to come over and help me with my transfer. Don’t know why they needed someone from Finnair. Anyway, I was asked to take a seat while they took my passport and itineraries. Normally I don’t want to handover my passport if it is not needed, but my experience with China is that you better give it if you want to continue your journey as fast as possible.
The representative of Finnair provided me every few minutes with an update. In the end it only took me just under 40 minutes to get from the Finnair plane to the China Southern lounge. Probably the most relaxed transit I’ve ever done in China.