HEL Premium Lounge [now closed]

Old May 22, 2019, 5:43 pm
  #316  
 
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Originally Posted by intuition
On SK silvers have lounge during summer. And silver is 10 segments...
At ARN works year round, automated get lets you in... Hope the same flaw is in AY lounges.
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Old May 23, 2019, 12:48 am
  #317  
 
Join Date: Sep 2018
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Originally Posted by ffay005
It was supposed to be open for Golds for a limited time right after opening (because they were to renovate the current J lounge).
This is still stated, too. Yes, at the moment the information is inconsistent...
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Old May 23, 2019, 2:08 am
  #318  
 
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Me and my family will be flying HEL-FUK next week (rush hour, departure at 16:45), I have Finnair+Gold, what sort of arrangement should I expect regarding the lounge?
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Old May 23, 2019, 2:20 am
  #319  
 
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A supercrowded lounge with barely any seats available, especially if you're not alone. An unstaffed bar. On a bad day, food as terrible as at an average elementary school canteen. Think fish soup mostly consisting of milk and potatoes. On a good day, the food might reach average workplace canteen levels, with chicken Kiev being my favourite.

Sorry to sound so negative, but the AY non-Schengen lounge really is a disaster. If you have PP, try the new Premium Plaza.
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Old May 23, 2019, 2:23 am
  #320  
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Colleague's comment at 4pm - "more crowded/worse than a Chinese railway station"
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Old May 23, 2019, 3:18 am
  #321  
 
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Originally Posted by ffay005
A supercrowded lounge with barely any seats available. An unstaffed bar. On a bad day, food as terrible as at an average elementary school canteen, on a good day, the food might reach average workplace canteen levels.
Originally Posted by WilcoRoger
"more crowded/worse than a Chinese railway station"
That bad huh... I've previously visited the premium lounge march 2018 and were very pleased with the offerings, but I guess the ongoing renovation is to blame for the current situation.. Oh well, hopefully our cabin class upgrade goes through so the entire trip won't be all doom and gloom.
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Old May 23, 2019, 5:45 am
  #322  
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If you're metro-HEL based, I'd suggest to arrive as late as you can (or dare) - nothing worthwhile to do waiting for your flight. Shopping? Not much sense outbound. Lounge? Well, that's what this whole thread is about. If you're connecting in HEL, that's another story, you don't have much choice for timing. For HEL-FUK at 16:45 I'd arrive not earlier than 15:30. With your AYGold you can use the fast track security upstairs, the automatic passport gates are hardly ever congested and you'd still have time to witness the current state of affairs at the AY Business lounge.
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Old May 23, 2019, 5:56 am
  #323  
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
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I have seven hours in HEL coming up. Going by this thread, am I right in assuming that the time is best spent outside the airport, in Helsinki?

Kinda bummed that the premium lounge is not yet open...
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Old May 23, 2019, 6:47 am
  #324  
 
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Originally Posted by JMBResona
I have seven hours in HEL coming up. Going by this thread, am I right in assuming that the time is best spent outside the airport, in Helsinki?

Kinda bummed that the premium lounge is not yet open...
7 hours at airport will bore you down to HELl
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Old May 23, 2019, 8:06 am
  #325  
 
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Originally Posted by JMBResona
I have seven hours in HEL coming up. Going by this thread, am I right in assuming that the time is best spent outside the airport, in Helsinki?
Even if the premium lounge was on the level of Al Safwa or similar, I would rather spend a nice summer day in central Helsinki. There's a 30-minute train connection to Helsinki city centre that is very affordable.
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Old May 23, 2019, 9:31 am
  #326  
 
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Originally Posted by lkrt
There's a 30-minute train connection to Helsinki city centre that is very affordable.
Indeed it is. I suggest taking the Finnair bus for comfort reasons.
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Old May 23, 2019, 1:02 pm
  #327  
 
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Alright. Should I budget about 3 hours to spend in the city then?

Im Japanese, so Id be eligible to use the automated gates at entry, right?
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Old May 23, 2019, 1:10 pm
  #328  
 
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Originally Posted by JMBResona
Im Japanese, so Id be eligible to use the automated gates at entry, right?
Yes indeed.
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Old May 23, 2019, 1:12 pm
  #329  
 
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Originally Posted by JMBResona
Alright. Should I budget about 3 hours to spend in the city then?

Im Japanese, so Id be eligible to use the automated gates at entry, right?
If you've never been to Finland, take the train or Finnair bus to the city centre and walk around, visit Senate Square, Market Square, the Esplanade, Aleksanterinkatu etc. It's a small city centre, really, so in a few hours you'll see a lot. You could also walk towards Ullanlinna and take a stroll there, it's a beautiful early 1900s Jugendstil neighbourhood.

If you leave the city centre two hours before your flight, you'll be at HEL early enough to stop by at the lounge if you so wish.
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Old May 23, 2019, 2:57 pm
  #330  
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
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Originally Posted by ffay005
If you've never been to Finland, take the train or Finnair bus to the city centre and walk around, visit Senate Square, Market Square, the Esplanade, Aleksanterinkatu etc. It's a small city centre, really, so in a few hours you'll see a lot. You could also walk towards Ullanlinna and take a stroll there, it's a beautiful early 1900s Jugendstil neighbourhood.

If you leave the city centre two hours before your flight, you'll be at HEL early enough to stop by at the lounge if you so wish.
Thanks for the tips, it is indeed my first time in Finland. Looks like Ill be able to actually enjoy my layover! Hopefully I can get some solid sleep on the inbound, and Ill be looking forward to checking out Helsinki!
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