Get ready to sweat in HEL!
Last summer I visited Helsinki for a couple of nights on American’s seasonal Chicago to Helsinki service. Finnair isn’t an airline we hear all that much about, given that they’re smaller than their joint venture partners American and British Airways. And while they have a ton of routes to Asia, their US route network is limited.
That being said, I quickly discovered that they’re actually a pretty awesome airline, and especially that Helsinki Airport is one of the easiest in Europe to connect in, with the shortest minimum connection times of any airport in Europe. Compare that to London Heathrow and Charles de Gaulle, and it’s downright heavenly.
Helsinki Airport Terminal
One other thing I enjoyed is the Finnair Lounge in Helsinki, which is spacious and bright. While the food spread wasn’t amazing and it didn’t have any special amenities, it was a pleasant place to spend a couple of hours.
Finnair Lounge Helsinki
Finnair opening a new Premium Lounge July 1, 2014
It appears as if Finnair will be improving their non-Schengen lounge facilities even further. On July 1, 2014, Finnair will open a new premium lounge which will be adjacent to their current lounge, located near Gate 36 in the non-Schengen area of Helsinki Airport.
They’re marketing this as a “premium” lounge, and it will exclusively be available to Finnair Plus Platinum & Gold members, as well as oneworld Emerald & Sapphire members. Business class passengers will continue to have access to the current lounge.
The new lounge will be 407 square meters (~4,400 square feet) with enough seating for up to 122 guests.
Finnair’s New Premium Lounge Helsinki Airport
Finnair’s New Premium Lounge Helsinki Airport
Finnair’s New Premium Lounge Helsinki Airport
Finnair’s New Premium Lounge Helsinki Airport
Finnair’s New Premium Lounge Helsinki Airport
Finnair also adding new shower suites and Finnish sauna
But the greatest new feature is actually available to guests of both the old and new lounge — Finnair is adding new shower suites as well as a Finnish sauna. Going back several years Finnair used to have a sauna in their lounge, which they closed due to lack of demand. That’s probably because Finnair does an amazing job scheduling short connections given their minimum connection times, so connecting passengers rarely have a need to wait in the lounge.
Finnair’s New Premium Lounge Helsinki Airport Shower Rooms
Finnair’s New Premium Lounge Helsinki Airport Shower Rooms
Finnair’s New Premium Lounge Helsinki Airport Sauna
Merits of not making best lounge available to business class passengers?
I always find it fascinating how different airlines take different approaches to lounge access policies. With Singapore Airlines, business class passengers get access to a better lounge than top tier Star Alliance elite members (Business Lounge vs. SATS Lounge). Conversely, at Lufthansa, top tier Star Alliance elite members get access to a better lounge than business class passengers (Senator Lounge vs. Business Lounge).
I do find it interesting when you can’t buy a ticket that in and of itself gets you access to an airline’s best lounge, so I tend to think the Singapore approach makes more sense than the Lufthansa approach, for example.
Of course that’s perhaps against my own self interest in the Finnair case, as a oneworld Emerald member.
What do you think? Does it make sense to give an elite member traveling in economy class access to a better lounge than the passenger traveling in the airline’s top product?
Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.