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).
Quote:
Originally Posted by YClass
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.
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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.
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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.
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?
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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.
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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.
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.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NoWindowSeat
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 ), 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
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.
However, I am now even more confused! 
), 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?).
