Review: Finnair Non-Schengen Business Class Lounge, Helsinki Airport, Finland
Our visit was during late March 2022 prior to our departing flight from Helsinki Vantaa Airport to London Heathrow on their 07h45 departure. While I admit to being a bit of a Finnair fanboy, some improvements can be made but all round they have done an excellent job on the experience - let's take a look.
Location
Source: Japan Airlines
The Finnair Business Class Lounge at Helsinki Airport in the non-Schengen zone can be found just a couple of minutes walk from Gate 52. Be sure to keep an eye on gate number and not take the wrong turn as I did, resulting in a 10 minute detour after border control.
Getting in
As a Business Class Lounge access rules are pretty simple. Business Class Passengers departing from the non-Schengen zone on Finnair and oneworld partner airlines are able to utilise the services of the space. Frequent flyers in the oneworld alliance can access the lounge for those with oneworld Emerald or higher status - this equates to British Airways Silver, Finnair Gold, Cathay Gold or higher. A separate Platinum Wing also exists, however at the time of visiting it still remains closed due to reduced traffic demand on the Finnair network - I hope to be able to try this out later in 2022 or in early 2023 on flights to Asia.
For those with a flight itinerary exclusively in the Schengen area, the website advises that it is only available to non-Schengen flights. There are some reports online that you will be able to get through the border guards and visit, I wouldn’t risk the delays of getting through particularly if your passport requires stamping. Connecting itineraries with a non-Schengen flight to/from a Schengen flight are eligible for entry.
The lounge recently extended its opening hours to pre-Covid levels from 06h00 to 24h00 covering almost all departing flights in the non-Schengen zone.
Design, aesthetic and functionality
I last visited this lounge in August 2019 when it had not yet finished renovations. At that time, the size of the lounge was around half of what it is now and was extremely crowded with many connecting passengers. Finnair have taken the Nordic aesthetic to the next level for better or worse. I love the design but I can see why many feel the airline have taken minimalism to another level with their design.
The entrance is a large space where there should be a member of staff to greet you, so we just walked in instead. The hanging tubes create an interesting ceiling design creating a depth in lighting that makes it pretty to look at. This also begins the heavy use of light coloured wood throughout the lounge that creates an airy space despite there being no direct natural sunlight through adjacent windows.
Initially, the reception will enter you into the space that formed the whole of the temporary lounge when I last visited. On this occasion, it was empty but features a mixture of seating arrangements including:
High table top seats
Plush soft armchairs
‘Pod’ seats with in-built tables for working on a laptop or eating from a plate
All of these are covered in a selection of pastel colours, light greys and dark blues.
In this section, there is one rather random leftover from the old lounge in the form of these spherical seats. Part of me thinks that these used to hang from the ceiling. Regardless, they look cool but they do not fit in with the current lounge design thanks to the glossy white finish.
Much of the rest of the lounge follows a similar design for primary seating continuing with the same colour scheme. As you move to the far end of the lounge the design begins to alter a little bit with more emphasis on seating to relax in over eating in. This includes long Finnair blue sofas, with cleverly inbuilt power outlets similarly to the American Express Centurion Lounge at Heathrow, as well as chairs with stools to get some rest on. Semi closed booths with dividers finish the space off which can make for a good place to have more private conversations with your fellow travellers.
One thing I will note is that while I like the overall design, some parts of the lounge, particularly the wall and ceiling appear to have that industrial smoothened concrete look that seems to be popular at the moment. With few people visiting the lounge, it just makes the place feel quiet and empty at times.
Food and drinks
While not the worst spread of food I’ve seen at a lounge, the breakfast offering at the Finnair Business Lounge is limited. The food itself tastes good but there just isn’t enough selection. This may be justified due to limited non-Schengen flights departing although with busy flights departing in the morning to London Heathrow, this must be improved. During our visit, breakfast consisted of:
Salad items
Sliced cheddar cheese
Sliced ham
Karjalanpiirakat or Finnish rice pasty
Selection of sausages, including (I believe) Ryynimakkara which has a texture similar to British black pudding
Porridge
Boiled eggs
Fresh bread
The selection may look like a lot when written down but looking at it on the photos appears a lot more bare.
Drinks have fared better post-pandemic with two self-serve tea and coffee making facilities as well as a fully-serviced bar in the afternoons and evenings. They appear to have a decent selection of beers, local and international, wine, Finland’s grapefruit and gin long drink and a number of cocktails.
Amenities + odds and ends
Showers were easily accessible during our visit and employed an effective system for access. To reserve a room, you simply tap one of the displays that are glowing green outside the door to reserve for a 30 minute period. Once reserved, the display and its surroundings will glow red instead. The only thing I couldn’t work out was how to end a booking without asking for staff support.
Inside the private bathrooms itself you’re treated once again to a cool Nordic feel with marble clad sink and surroundings alongside a toilet and shower cubicle. Quite a basic shower on offer but it does the job with hot, powerful water.
Shampoo, shower gel, conditioner and moisturiser are provided by the excellent Swedish brand La Bruket which can also be found on Finnair’s widebody aircraft. Toothbrush, paste, cleansing sheet and comb are provided as standard on-arrival in the bathrooms.
Toilets, which are found separately to the bathrooms at the far end of the lounge, are almost identical in appearance with a similarly sleek design and appeared to be clean on my visit.
Toilet cubicles include a small sink which, from what I can see, exists primarily for the bidet hose as there is no soap at these contraptions. Thankfully, soap is found on the primary sinks in these toilets.
Heading back outside of the toilets, the only other noticeable amenity that may come in handy on a layover is the printer services outside of the bathrooms. This may come in handy for those needing last minute document printer on a layover - for example the extensive documents you need to get into Thailand that have to be printed off.
And one final note, near the dining area there is a small one-way exit which may be negligibly quicker when heading to gates 40-48.
Conclusion
I am a big fan of Finnair, that’s no secret. Their lounge design is on-point, in my view, and I think will have a timeless modernity that Nordic design is all about. The hard product here is excellent. The drink selection is good and I am sure that people wanting a good tipple during the afternoon services will be well served with the bar on offer. Seating selection is varied and extensive, I cannot see a situation where the lounge might be spilling over the edges due to too many guests - this can easily fit a few hundred people. When viewed in comparison with other European airlines, such as their Nordic poor-relation SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Lufthansa and British Airways, this lounge is head and shoulders above in quality.
That being said, improvements can definitely be made to the soft product - i.e. the food. There should be more options on offer during the breakfast period that are a bit more varied than what they have right now. Nice additions would be Barista-made coffee during the early-morning periods, similar to the Qantas Lounge, that would be appreciated to kick start your day that bit better. Additionally I see some issues when connecting Asian flights begin to get busier, I foresee issues with shower capacity for people on layovers since there are only a total of six. I believe that when it reopens, the Platinum Wing improves on the Business Lounge offering - including better dining options and Barista coffee - but I cannot compare to something I’ve not tried yet. Regardless of the oneworld airline you are travelling with from Helsinki Vantaa Airport in the non-Schengen zone, you will have a peaceful relaxing time during your visit - as well as not being too far from the departing gates. Finnair have, on-balance, created an excellent ambience with a few tweaks that can be made to improve the experience further.
