Finnair operates two lounges at its Helsinki Airport hub. Two of those – the Finnair Business Lounge and Finnair Platinum Wing – are in the airport’s non-Schengen area. The third one – the Finnair Lounge – is in the Schengen area, serving passengers departing on flights within the Schengen zone.
During my recent trip around the Northern Hemisphere, I had a chance to visit the Finnair Lounge for a few minutes. While I was traveling to Japan, I decided to visit the lounge briefly before clearing passport control. Continue reading this review to see what the lounge was like.
Location & Opening Hours
As hinted above, the Finnair Lounge at Helsinki Airport can be found airside in the Schengen zone – i.e. after security check but before passport control. More specifically, the lounge is located one floor above the main departures level near gates 22 and 23. The lounge is well-signposted, easy to spot, and can be accessed either using stairs or an elevator.
The Finnair Lounge in the Schengen part of the airport is open from 5:30AM until 11:30PM every day.
Entry Requirements
Like most other oneworld airline business class lounges, the Finnair Lounge (Schenge) at Helsinki Airport can be entered free of charge by passengers departing on a Finnair or other oneworld airline-operated flight on the same day and:
- Traveling in business class (Finnair’s Business Saver tickets other than on itineraries to/from Japan are excluded)
- Holding a oneworld Emerald or Sapphire status (status holders can bring in one guest traveling on a oneworld flight)
Additionally, select passengers traveling on Finnair flights that would not be otherwise eligible can purchase access into the lounge in advance or at the airport. Finnair Plus Silver members can do so at a discount.
While technically the lounge is meant for passengers departing from the Schengen area, you can also access it before clearing passport control if you are traveling outside the Schengen zone. That said, unless you just want to check the lounge out as I did, I would just head straight to one of the non-Schengen lounges.
Lounge Tour
Right after scanning my boarding pass at an automated gate and entering the Finnair Lounge were two customer service/reception counters of which one was staffed at the time of my visit on a Tuesday afternoon. Behind the counters was a nice mock-up of a Finnair aircraft tail.
Near the reception was a seating area with three Eero Aarnio bubble chairs, a counter along one of the walls, some rows of lounge chairs, and a communal table with eight seats. There was also an area reserved for Finnair’s top tier status Platinum Lumo status holders which had a couple of dining tables, some lounge chairs, and a work booth.
Almost every seat in this area – just like in the rest of the lounge – was taken. As such, while I liked the lounge’s design itself, it was too crowded at the time of my visit to provide an enjoyable stay.
To the left of the counter mentioned above was the lounge’s buffet area which was also an aisle leading to the next major part of the lounge.
I will talk about what could be found in the buffet area in the next section of this review.
Passing through the buffet area led to a long and very narrow part of the lounge that extended along windows providing great apron views.
Seating along these windows mostly consisted of counters, large lounge chairs facing the windows, sofa chairs in rows perpendicular to the windows, and some regular tables with chairs too. Additionally, there was a narrow counter for those that preferred – or more accurately for those that couldn’t find a seat – to eat/drink while standing.
The one thing that all of the seating/standing areas had in common was good access to power outlets. There also appeared to be a small children’s space based on a review I saw later – I missed that one, though.
In a couple of places, there were also work booths which provided at least a bit of privacy in the crowded lounge. That said, they were completely transparent so I can imagine it feeling a bit weird sitting in one. They were all occupied, though, so I didn’t have to worry about that.
There was also a seating area extending from the area near the windows toward the inside of the terminal. This area consisted of a couple of dining tables and provided a slightly quieter place than the narrow parts along the windows. That said, all of the seats there were occupied during my visit too.
Parallel to the area along the windows was another, much smaller but equally narrow area on the terminal side.
There, along windows overlooking the inside of the terminal, was a counter with maybe a dozen or so seats. There were also a couple of tables and separating the two were luggage lockers.
Lastly, there were also a couple of shower booths in the lounge, however, I did not use them.
Food and Drinks
Cold soft drinks available in the Finnair Lounge included soda (Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite, and Fanta), juices (orange, apple, lingonberry), and water from dispensers.
Hot drinks included coffee drinks from an espresso machine, as well as coffee from a dispenser. There was also a selection of half a dozen or so different types of tea.
While there was no liquor, there was a selection of wines and beers. Alcoholic beer was on tap and included Hartwall and Sandels; there was one more tap but that one was out of use. There was non-alcoholic canned beer too.
As for things to eat, starting with lighter items, there was a small salad bar with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and potato salad. There was also a selection of bread.
Additionally, there were whole apples and oranges.
Warm items included chorizo-vegetable soup and zucchini and mifu (meat alternative) lasagna.
Lastly, desserts and snacks included carrot cake, cinnamon cookies, and Oreo-like cookies.
Finnair Lounge (Schengen) Helsinki Summary
Like Finnair’s other lounges, the Finnair Lounge in Helsinki Airport’s Schengen area was nicely designed given the space constraints. That said, at the time of my visit, the lounge was overcrowded to the point where waiting in the terminal would have been more comfortable if I was departing on an intra-Schengen flight. While the number of passengers was certainly the main factor behind the lounge being crowded, the very long and narrow layout didn’t help the situation either.
As for the food and drinks in the lounge, the selection was average at best. It would have been nice if there were some cold cuts and some non-vegetarian hot options. While not an issue for me, I am sure many would also appreciate if there was some liquor in addition to beer and wine.
Luckily, I was departing to Tokyo and so I could head to the much spacier and less crowded Finnair Business Lounge in the non-Schengen area. In case you are taking a flight within Schengen, then I do not recommend arriving at the airport early or booking a long transfer just to visit the lounge.
