Finnair Plus - HEL Lounges?

About to try out HEL.

BA Gold travelling ARN-HEL-TLL and back.

There seems to be quite a few lounges available with varying opening times.
I get in to HEL 19.25 with a 20.10 connection so I guess there won't be much lounging there.

However, on the return I have 1.30h to spare on a Sunday, which lounge would you chose?

I've only been going though HEL for long haul connections but based on other discussions the Silver Wing lounge seems to be the best.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/finnair-plus/865442-best-ay-lounge-hel.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/finnair-plus/861469-silver-wings-lounge-after-remodeling.html

Silver Wings for the runway views. The other Schengen "status" lounge, Golden Gate does not offer comparable outside scenery.

Silver Wings is your only choice, because Golden Gate is closed on weekends. Silver Wings gets crowded after 14:30 or 15:00 until ca 17:00, for the afternoon wave of flights.

On a related subject, just received a scathing report from my wife (flying LHR-ARN-HEL-NGO today) about the lounges.

She landed from ARN and headed through passport control to the Long Haul lounge. Apparently this is currently a single shared lounge serving both AY and Priority Pass holders. Despite signs stating One World Emeralds (she's a BA Gold) were on one side and Sapphires/J ticket holders the other, she reckoned there was absolutely no segregation and described the place like a zoo; very noisy and no chance of getting near the food and drink options. She beat a hasty retreat and bought herself a nice pear cider around the corner in a quiet bar, and obviously regrets not staying Schengen-side a little longer!

I'm flying a slightly different route to her this time next week (LHR-HEL-NRT, meeting up with her in Tokyo). I'm a BA Silver flying in J.

My questions are:
- I thought there were two separate non-Schengen lounges, one for AY and one third party lounge run by Gateway - is this not the case?
- Is it usual that this lounge is so busy, or is this a holiday week we're not aware of?
- As I'll be arriving into the non-Schengen zone (i.e. from LHR), can I pass through into the Schengen area to use those lounges?
- Am I better just heading straight for a bar / coffee shop and saving the stress?

We're also both returning (KIX-HEL-LHR) the following Sunday, so the same question about passing into the Schengen zone stands there as well. We're both UK passport holders, so there are no visa issues with this - just depends on HEL passport control rules.

Thanks in advance.

Not worthwhile crossing over to Schengen-side. Try Finnair Long-Haul Lounge, for which you are eligible as you have a J-longhaul AY-ticket. Otherwise it would require BAEC gold status to get in.

In case you wish to sample the other side, with the UK passports you can cross the Schengen-border easily, in no more than 5 minutes both ways.

Not worthwhile crossing over to Schengen-side. Try Finnair Long-Haul Lounge, for which you are eligible as you have a J-longhaul AY-ticket. Otherwise it would require BAEC gold status to get in.


Thanks, but the problem is (according to my wife anyway) that the long haul lounge has been combined with the Gateway lounge and is very over-crowded as a result.

The lounge offerings are more less the same in all of the lounges, thus no T5 Galleries First like experience is to be expected. The Finnair Long Haul -lounge used the be their best offering.

At the Schengen-side I personally prefer the Gateway Tower, a small, quite peaceful one, with excellent scenery over the runways and gates. If you have AY business tickets, you should be able to get in, although most of the OW passengers are directed to the hospital clinic like Silver Wings lounge. They are next to each other. I still recommend the one I recommended earlier.

The lounge offerings are more less the same in all of the lounges, thus no T5 Galleries First like experience is to be expected.

Completely appreciate not all lounges can be like T5, but the least I expect from a lounge is a quiet and peaceful space that's preferable to the general departures lounge, and according to my wife that certainly wasn't the case earlier. I'll pop my head into the longhaul lounge next Weds, and if I don't like what I see I'll head through passport control to see what's on the other side.

Thanks ^

That non-Schengen lounge thing sounds weird - there definitely used to be two clearly separated sides to the lounge. Maybe they've ramped down the operation in anticipation of the new fab lounge complex due to open in a few months from now.

As for crossing over to the Schengen side - no one will question your motives as long as you have a UK passport (or a Schengen visa) with you. That's part of the general principles of the EU that the Finnish border guards have no real saying over.

Finnair lounges are fairly chronic with poor selection of drinks, food etc. Freixenet mmmmm.... But it beats being in the main lounge most of the time. They are not massive and in my experience get quite busy with the early morning business flights and when the long-hauls are coming and going (tend to be clumped together). Outside of those times they are fairly quiet. I have never come across them being a zoo though.... My experience has been fairly strict segregation - S/H J and Sapphires (and AY Ruby) on the left and L/H J and Emerald on the right. To be honest there is no meaingful difference between the two.

Anyone know when this via.Helsinki amazing new lounge is opening? The jacuzzi and sauna sound comedy. Has to be tried. Is it still November?

http://www.finavia.fi/hkivantaa_kehittyy

Anyone know when this via.Helsinki amazing new lounge is opening?

http://www.finavia.fi/hkivantaa_kehittyy

Via Lounge and Via Spa will be opened 11th December, according to Finavia.

Via Lounge and Via Spa will be opened 11th December, according to Finavia.

Big launch party December 10th and open for business the next day.

Big launch party December 10th and open for business the next day.

Do you know if the party is for customers too? :) ...it could be I'm travelling via HEL with a long haul biz ticket around those days.

Do you know if the party is for customers too? :) ...it could be I'm travelling via HEL with a long haul biz ticket around those days.

I just hear a few things now and then...Better contact Finnair communications. ;)

Thanks for all the feedback! ^ However, I am now even more confused! :D

Judging from the posts, as a Schenge Passport holder (SWE) + BA Gold, I am entitled to use any lounge I please?

I'll try the Silver Wings. Workin Scottish, are you in HEL this coming Wed? So am I.

Only if you arrive into HEL from a flight originating outside of the Schengen zone and/or are allowed into the non-Schengen side (the latter of which may require a boarding pass for a flight showing scheduled departure from HEL for a non-Schengen destination).


Anyone know when this via.Helsinki amazing new lounge is opening? The jacuzzi and sauna sound comedy.

Sound or appear comedy? A bunch of portly men and assorted others in various states of undress could indeed make for quite the Benny Hill type show. :eek:

is there any talk of any lounge staying open for longer than 9PM. there are still host of flights leaving midnight(ish) and nowhere to go.

The Long haul lounge is open untill 23.30 in the non-schengen and Silver Wings the same on the schengen side...

Oh boy, can't wait for the new lounge to open...the long haul lounge is short of sitting space as we speak...staff having problems with being able to clean tables and making sure there's at least something avaiable to eat and drink... I feel bad for those poor souls who have forked out money from their own pockets to fly AY J to Asia...this simply sucks as far as lounges go...hopefully they'll enjoy it at 37kft at least.

It's been bad for years but not like it's today..

In the Silver Wings Lounge as I type this. I must say, although a little crowded, it is not a bad lounge at all. Flight got in 19.20 from ARN and TLL leaves at 20.10. Lounge was right next to gate 25 so time for a quick visit.

Drinks selection is not that exciting however the food selection is more exciting than for instance in SK's Gold lounge in CPH. Views are fantastic.

Not bad for a Sapphire/Emerald hybrid imo.



Gotta run :D

In the Silver Wings Lounge as I type this. I must say, although a little crowded, it is not a bad lounge at all.

The lounge will be expanded later into the space occupied by the SAS lounge next door. Hope that eases the congestion somewhat.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8310/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/120)

Does anyone know if they'll grant access to HEL's lounges if flying J LHR-HEL but Y HEL-Asia? Am I right it's OW policy that as long as you have a J international boarding pass on that day, you are allowed to any lounge, even though you are departing in Y in the next segment?

I actually to succeeded sneak in to Long-Haul lounge with 2 of my friends, who flew Y and didnt have any Oneworld status. Got lucky, cause desk wasnt manned at that point.

I actually to succeeded sneak in to Long-Haul lounge with 2 of my friends, who flew Y and didnt have any Oneworld status. Got lucky, cause desk wasnt manned at that point.

It's pretty easy to do that at various times during the lounge's operating hours as it seems like the one or two people who are assigned to staff the lounge check-in desk at any given point of time are also to do other duties that require them to leave the desk from time to time. [Or maybe they are taking coffee/smoking breaks?]

AY's primary long-haul lounge entrance is left unguarded more often than any other airline's primary long-haul lounge entrance at its own hub that I've ever visited.

I actually to succeeded sneak in to Long-Haul lounge with 2 of my friends, who flew Y and didnt have any Oneworld status. Got lucky, cause desk wasnt manned at that point.

Lucky? More like one sort of stealing to me... ;)

One thing I liked about Silver Wings is that, although they do not provide individual desks or workstations for those wishing to work on their laptops, they do provide plenty of power outlets in the main seating area. This is a significant improvement over many domestic U.S. lounges (mainly AA Admirals Clubs), where one can be hard-pressed to find a place to plug in a laptop or cell phone charger.

Oh boy, can't wait for the new lounge to open...the long haul lounge is short of sitting space as we speak...staff having problems with being able to clean tables and making sure there's at least something avaiable to eat and drink... I feel bad for those poor souls who have forked out money from their own pockets to fly AY J to Asia...this simply sucks as far as lounges go...hopefully they'll enjoy it at 37kft at least.

It's been bad for years but not like it's today..

Funnily enough, I was also in the long haul between 3.15pm-4.45pm (Finnish time) on the same day as you (Wed 7th Oct). I had to move between the proper L/H J side to the other in order (and back) to find a working beer pump. Busy but not full would be summary - I had a comfortable seat at one of the higher tables and there were plenty of odd seats dotted around (although their did seem to be several large Japanese groups taking up a lot of the soft seats).

As for yesterday - unbelievable!!! We had access to both sides (travelling with my BA Gold wife), but the only 2 seats we could find together on either side were in the small side room of the short-haul side under a noisy airconditioning unit at an uncleaned table.

We retreated to the Schengen side - the Silver Wings lounge was over-capacity (although by resorting to asking quite sharply if all the seats were taken, we did embarrass some selfish people into moving their coats and bags - whilst some people were already perching on tables and standing :mad:), the Tower lounge looked full as we walked back past after deciding the Silver Wings was uncomfortably crowded (we'd already decided on an alternative strategy by this point - see below), and the Gateway lounge is closed on a Sunday (why, when there is obviously such a pressing need for lounge space?).

Anyway, our alternative was to head back into the non-Schengen side (our onward boarding pass to LHR enabled us to do this) and buy a drink at the My City Helsinki bar between gates 35 and 36. Very nice space, with lots of comfy seats and not at all busy.

IMO, the whole point of a lounge is to provide a sanctuary from the less pleasant environs outside in the main terminal - at HEL, quite the reverse is true right now. Appreciate that the airport is in a transitional period at the moment, but I have to say that this did sour the experience of using HEL as a transit point somewhat (as my in-flight experience of Finnair was superb - hope to do a trip report soon). :(

I am in Bangkok airport with Biz ticket to Helsinki on Finnair They have no lounge here or have concealed it well so I went to BA lounge

I am in Bangkok airport with Biz ticket to Helsinki on Finnair They have no lounge here or have concealed it well so I went to BA lounge

Finnair.com:
BC=business class and FC=Finnair Club. S=Finnair Plus Silver. Platinum and Gold are just recommendations Oneworld elites can choose other OW lounges.

***Luis Tavern First Class Lounge
P, G
Concourse F, level 3, after passport control.

Luis Tavern Business Class Lounge
P, G, S, FC, BC
Concourse G, level 3, after passport control.

Cathay Pacific Lounge
P, G, S, FC, BC
Concourse G, after passport control.
Open daily: 05:30–19:30.

I fully agree that the Long Haul Lounge is sub-par compared to other airline's offerings. I've never personally had a problem finding a seat on the Emerald/long haul J side, though I do find the alcohol selection (especially wine) disappointing. The free wifi access is a plus though.

The rest of the product is pretty decent, so I will be very interested to see what the new lounge looks like. My first experience is likely to be on 19 December en route to LHR from Asia.

The free wifi access is a plus though.


This has been provided for free by the Airport authority for everybody for the last year or so - so another advantage of the lounge gone.