AY Platinum Wing Lounge at HEL in non-Schengen area (re-opened 1 June 22)
Jun 5, 2019, 10:57 am
#20
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 286
Still builders and cleaners at work with the fine tuning..
Definitely they upped their game, havn´t seen anything in Europe like it:
First a very nice and spacious bar area, with top shelf liquor like Hendrick´s, and rose champagne (same brand though...).
Also innovative offerings like champagne with water melon foam. but maybe that was for today only.
After that some quite private "shell chairs" at the right hand wall.
In the centre, round dining room tables offering a la carte meals, quite limited offerings tough, one meat, one fish and one vegetarian + two fruit desserts.
At the back, a buffé with quite some selection of hot and cold stuff, included hand peeled shrimps, soups, salmon pork, fish etc..
Unfortunately, AY seems to go over the top with the slow cooking. Today I first tried some slow cooked pork from the buffé, then ordered the beef cheek from the a la carte meny, only to be served a slow cooked beef neck onboard... :-(
I don´t eat fish, but it looked like the same issue there.
Then a round dessert table. It looked very nice at first, but at a closer inspection it only offered the similar small bites that´s been offered at the two other AY lounges for quite some time now.
However the cheese offerings looked much better than before.
To the left of the buffé there was a huge lounge area behind a long dark curtain, with some view over the piers. Looked nice and relaxed with cosy laidback chairs.
And to the left of the entrance where the bathrooms etc. A new thing here was that there were separate changing/shower areas for gents and ladies.
But the sauna was still shared. By some strange reason, the ladies hadn´t felt comfortable with showering in the open outside the old sauna I was told...
There should also be some relax rooms in this area, but I had no time to visit those. Hopefully, they will now offer flat beds instead of the extremely curved ones in the old premium lounge.
To sum it up, a very nice lounge that can compete with almost anything I´ve seen.
But they should really make sure the a la carte offerings vary more from the buffé + offer more sophisticated desserts.
(Sorry for no pics, I was a bit short of time, and I´m sure the net will be flooded with nice pics of the faciilities anyway...)
Also innovative offerings like champagne with water melon foam. but maybe that was for today only.
After that some quite private "shell chairs" at the right hand wall.
In the centre, round dining room tables offering a la carte meals, quite limited offerings tough, one meat, one fish and one vegetarian + two fruit desserts.
At the back, a buffé with quite some selection of hot and cold stuff, included hand peeled shrimps, soups, salmon pork, fish etc..
Unfortunately, AY seems to go over the top with the slow cooking. Today I first tried some slow cooked pork from the buffé, then ordered the beef cheek from the a la carte meny, only to be served a slow cooked beef neck onboard... :-(
I don´t eat fish, but it looked like the same issue there.
Then a round dessert table. It looked very nice at first, but at a closer inspection it only offered the similar small bites that´s been offered at the two other AY lounges for quite some time now.
However the cheese offerings looked much better than before.
To the left of the buffé there was a huge lounge area behind a long dark curtain, with some view over the piers. Looked nice and relaxed with cosy laidback chairs.
And to the left of the entrance where the bathrooms etc. A new thing here was that there were separate changing/shower areas for gents and ladies.
But the sauna was still shared. By some strange reason, the ladies hadn´t felt comfortable with showering in the open outside the old sauna I was told...
There should also be some relax rooms in this area, but I had no time to visit those. Hopefully, they will now offer flat beds instead of the extremely curved ones in the old premium lounge.
To sum it up, a very nice lounge that can compete with almost anything I´ve seen.
But they should really make sure the a la carte offerings vary more from the buffé + offer more sophisticated desserts.
(Sorry for no pics, I was a bit short of time, and I´m sure the net will be flooded with nice pics of the faciilities anyway...)
Jun 5, 2019, 11:16 am
#21
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: try to stay home
Programs: AY, M&M, BAEC ...and don t care of status anymore
Posts: 2,041
Finally, and I booked all upcoming flights with the tightest possible connection :-( But if checking the rules this is clearly a a bummer if enforced:
when the departure flight leaves from the non-Schengen area and is operated and marketed by a oneworld airline.
Jun 5, 2019, 12:23 pm
#23
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Helsinki
Programs: AY+ Plat basic
Posts: 430
Thanks for the reports so far! Keep them coming! 
I would be very much interested in the drinks selection: hendricks is still not any superpremium gin, the finnair fine champers they had in the premium lounge already and Camus XO in cognacs is hard to beat. But how about whiskies? And some better beers? LH wines or even something better?
I would be very much interested in the drinks selection: hendricks is still not any superpremium gin, the finnair fine champers they had in the premium lounge already and Camus XO in cognacs is hard to beat. But how about whiskies? And some better beers? LH wines or even something better?
Jun 5, 2019, 12:35 pm
#24
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Switzerland
Programs: AY Platinum Lumo, LX Senator, SK Life-time Gold, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 282
Jun 5, 2019, 12:38 pm
#26
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 286
Thanks for the reports so far! Keep them coming! I would be very much interested in the drinks selection: hendricks is still not any superpremium gin, the finnair fine champers they had in the premium lounge already and Camus XO in cognacs is hard to beat. But how about whiskies? And some better beers? LH wines or even something better?
I would be very much interested in the drinks selection: hendricks is still not any superpremium gin, the finnair fine champers they had in the premium lounge already and Camus XO in cognacs is hard to beat. But how about whiskies? And some better beers? LH wines or even something better?Henrdrick´s I´m sure many would regard as a super premium gin, but perhaps there where also those Finnish brands etc, I was a little stressed..
Camus XO was on the shelf, sorry that I´m not much into whiskey so I didn´t notice.
Wines seemed to be great the little I could try those, some very nice Margeaux for my main and some (not chilled enough) Riesling with the shrimps.
Jun 5, 2019, 12:41 pm
#27
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: HEL
Programs: AY Platinum (OWE), SK G(*G), BW Diamond
Posts: 810
Also Gold pleb +family was let in today after rush hour so AY also keeps up that part of the bargain, quite nice.
Are the drinks more or less the LH J beverages or something extra?
Are the drinks more or less the LH J beverages or something extra?
Jun 5, 2019, 12:42 pm
#28
Join Date: May 2015
Location: ATL/MCO
Programs: Costco Executive, RaceTrac Sultan of Soda, Chick-fil-A Red
Posts: 5,660
Yes
- Available exclusively for Finnair Plus Platinum Lumo members (+ four guests) and Platinum members (+ one guest), and oneworld Emerald members (+ one guest), when the departure flight leaves from the non-Schengen area and is operated and marketed by a oneworld airline. When open, Finnair Platinum Wing will also be available for Finnair Plus Gold members (+ one guest) until the renovation in the Finnair Business Lounge is completed in the autumn. Access may be limited during peak hours.
Jun 5, 2019, 1:06 pm
#29
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: C2
Programs: AY ex-Lumo, TK Elite, BT VIP, ITA Executive
Posts: 1,157
I hope AY at least kept their drinks selection from the former Premium Lounge. That would by memory mean Napue, Arctic Blue, Hendricks, Bombay and Beafeater on the gin side. Nikka, Laphroaig, Macallan, Jameson and few more on the whisky/whiskey side (don't really remember the exact selection, but good for a brand reference). Other liquids go outside my scope of operations, therefore no comments on that. Any "enhancements" would be against the apparently interesting concept of the Platinum Wing. Excited to check it out myself, as well as to read any reports from those who make a visit earlier!
Jun 5, 2019, 1:10 pm
#30
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,601
Are there any oneworld coded flights operated by a non-oneworld carrier apart from SVO flights by SU and PVG by Juneyao. Of course there are some non-oneworld flights operated by AY but I would not assume access anyway (VN, Ural Air, CZ and Juneyao and CA). These airlines are not even partners of AY+