I arrived back at Helsinki Airport around 4 pm, well before my 8 pm connection to Ivalo. Since I booked an Economy ticket separately from my Business Class award to Helsinki, I didn’t have lounge access. However, with the expectation of an extended wait at the airport, I ended up springing for paid lounge access. Finnair sells access to the Finnair Lounge Helsinki for €39. This was an unforced error. At the time, I bought the pass for the chance to review the lounge. But it occurred to me later I could access it for free with my Business Class ticket to Frankfurt on the way home. Oops.
Rocky reviewed this lounge from a visit in early 2022; you can read his review here.
Note: this post is part of my trip report series about my trip to Finnish Lapland in October, 2022. Click here for the trip report index and introductory post.
Finnair Lounge Helsinki
Location
Near Gate 22 on the upper level. Note: do not confuse this lounge with the Finnair Business Lounge. That lounge is near Gate 52 and is for non-Schengen passengers only.
Access
The following passengers may access the Finnair Lounge Helsinki:
- Finnair Business Class passengers (Classic and Flex fares only)
- Finnair Plus Platinum Lumo, Platinum, and Gold members (four guests for Platinum Lumo, one guest for others)
- Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members
Any Finnair passenger in any class of service may purchase access to the lounge. The cost varies, but was €39 when I purchased it. You can buy access at the lounge desk subject to availability, but at a higher price.
Please note, a new Finnair Lounge reportedly opened earlier this month (July 2024).
Review
Date of Visit: October 21, 2022
Like many lounges these days, the Finnair Lounge features automated access gates. Just scan your boarding pass, and if you have lounge access, the gates open for you. However, there is an attendant to help if you have any issues. From the very start, this lounge has some unique touches. The giant Finnair tail fin and classic “bubble chairs” designed by Eero Aarnio welcome speak to the very Nordic design of the space.
The lounge does take on kind of an odd shape. It’s almost like a trapezoid up front, which then tapers into a very long, narrow space in the back. From the reception area, there’s a small seating area overlooking the terminal near the restrooms. Since it is near the restrooms, and doesn’t have outside views, this section was noticeably quieter than the main lounge.
There’s also an extension of the dining room that connects to the main lounge area on the other side.
As you may have noticed in the photo of the reception, there is a large seating area here. I did find this area rather noisy and exposed, so I headed further back into the lounge. As you head back, you immediately transition into the food stations (I’ll cover these later on).
Just beyond the “Food Market” is a large dining area taking up the center of the lounge. Helpfully, there are plentiful plugs and USB ports, even on the dining tables.
As mentioned previously, an extension of the dining area leads to the terminal seating area. Note that the four person table in the transition area do NOT have plugs, if you need one.
There’s also bar seating along the windows, which provide excellent views of the ramp area during daylight hours.
I even lucked into a Japan Airlines 787 during my stay.
As you continue heading to the back of the lounge, you reach a series of quieter areas. Just past the dining area is a small set of standard single loungers. In the second photo, you’ll see the luggage lockers in the connector to the terminal side of the lounge. Also, you’ll see the first of the lounge’s unique square phone rooms.
There are also a handful of couch-type seats along the window.
As you continue further back, there’s what I call the “hidden” dining room. This area includes bar seating along the window, dining booths along the wall, and a couple of tables in the center. In the far corner is some additional standard seating. I did find this area much quieter than the rest of the lounge, so I set up shop along the window here. In addition, while the rest of the lounge filled up towards evening, this section remained pretty empty.
In the second photo, you’ll also notice another room way in the back. This is a designated “quiet area”, with a couple of napping chairs in the corner.
You’ll also see more of those phone boxes here.
Food & Beverage
The lounge’s food and beverage selection can be found in the “Food Market”, not far from the reception area. Finnair provides both hot and cold options in this lounge, though I found the selection so-so overall. The cold option included both green and pasta salads, which I found decent enough.
The fresh bread selection was also quite good.
The hot selection, though, struck me as just OK. That day’s selection included potato wedges, pasta with tomato sauce and zucchini, and some kind of round bread. It resembled ruisleipä (Finnish rye bread), but I’m not certain that’s correct. There also was a squash soup (not pictured) that was pretty good.
The beverage selection was solid, however. There’s no barista in this lounge, but you can get espresso drinks from a machine.
There’s also the typical selection of wines and mid-shelf liquors that you find in most Business Class lounges.
But there are also some unique offerings here. First is a juice dispenser, including lingonberry juice. (Yes, there is blueberry juice, on the second page of the screen. I’m pretty sure any Finnair lounge that didn’t serve blueberry juice would be kicked out of the network.)
But the most unique offering is what’s on tap. Yes, there’s Finnish beer (Sandels), but it’s the other two items that are worth checking out. The “Fizz” is a dry apple cider, while the third (with the blue handle) is the Hartwall Original Long Drink. A Finnish Long Drink is mix of gin and grapefruit soda, usually produced in three varieties. That’s strong (7.5% alcohol), standard (5.5%), and light (2.6%). I didn’t realize what the long drink was, and so didn’t try it here, but I did have one in Inari later on this trip.
To the left of these drinks is another oddity – house red and white wine on tap. I didn’t have the guts to try it. On the right, meanwhile, is a type of Coca-Cola freestyle machine.
Finnair Lounge Helsinki – Final Thoughts
This is a good lounge, with plenty of seating and a clean Nordic design throughout. There’s also excellent ramp and runway views the entire length of the lounge. The food selection could be improved, but overall, this is a solidly above average Schengen business lounge.
