Underwhelming: Finnair Business Class Lounge Helsinki (Non-Schengen) Review

Worth Coming to Airport Early For: No (generally good food but weird design and no natural light. Also the airport itself is very nice)

Better Than The Terminal? No (Helsinki airport is one of the nicest airports out there)

Introduction

After a fun one day layover in Helsinki, it was time to fly back home to NYC. This was my very final flight on my two week Southeast Asia trip, which was a lot of fun but also a lot of bouncing around. I was also getting a cold at this point so was pretty excited to head back home and get some rest.

I had a pretty easy travel day ahead of me – I just needed to head to Helsinki airport, chill in the lounge, then fly back home to NYC on Finnair’s business class (this time on their A330, which was still good but not as good as their A350).

In this post, you’ll find:

How to Get to Helsinki Airport

Helsinki airport, like most airports in Europe, are well – connected by train. You can uber for 30 – 50 euros from the city center, which can take 30 minutes to an hour depending on traffic.

The train takes around 50 minutes from Helsinki Central Station, but is pretty cheap (~5 euros) and super convenient. I opted for the train.

I was expecting to find just a decent European airport, but Helsinki Airport was actually very, very nice. Probably the nicest I’ve been to in Europe. I probably would have liked this lounge more if the airport terminal itself wasn’t so nice in comparison.

How to Access This Lounge

This lounge is generally only accessible if flying on a same-day business class ticket on Finnair. It’s currently open from 5:30am – midnight (main lounge), with the Platinum Wing open from 10:30am top 12:00am. It’s also important to note there’s a separate Finnair Platinum Wing that’s harder to get into, but also has a sauna (I wish I could have gone in here). Here are the official entrance policies:

For the Finnair Business Lounge (non-Schengen):

1. Business Classic, Flex, and Saver ticket holders
2. Finnair Plus Gold /Platinum members + 1 guest + children under 18
3. Finnair Lumo members + 4 guests + children under 18
4. Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire cardholders + 1 guest

To get access to the Platinum Wing with the sauna, you pretty much either need to be a Finnair top tier status holder or oneworld emerald member:

1. Finnair Plus Platinum members + 1 guest + children under 18
2. Finnair Lumo members + 4 guests + children under 18
3. Oneworld Emerald members + 1 guest

Unfortunately, it was just the regular Finnair Business Lounge today for me, but the sauna remains on the bucket list.

Where to Find This Lounge in the Airport

This specific lounge (non-Schengen) is located by gate 52. Besides being very aesthetically nice, Helsinki airport is great in that it’s just one big terminal which makes it super easy to navigate. It’s split into two main sections, Schengen and Non-Schengen area flights.

The lounge is right by gate 52, which is around a ~10 minute walk from the primary security screening area. It’s kind of easy to miss with a very non-descript entrance. Very Finnish.

Lounge Tour & Amenities

The lounge is quite large, and despite leaving around a peak international departure bank (late afternoon), it never felt too busy. After a quick boarding pass scan, I was admitted to the lounge.

The lounge is basically structured as two main rooms: one towards the entrance with its own drink bar, then the larger room in the back with food and a full-service bar.

Here’s the front room with a smaller self-service bar:

Here’s the side seating section on the way to the main lounge area:

And here’s the main area:

The buffet area is quite big, with a mix of hot and cold options:

I was saving room for the flight itself, so I just went with a small plate of pork, potatoes, and a salad:

In the back, there’s a full service bar if you’re looking for a pre-flight drink:

The lounge also offers showers, which is great. I think airport showers are kinda gross so I generally avoid unless absolutely necessary, but if they’re you’re thing then you’re in luck here:

And of course, the bathrooms were nice and clean:

My biggest gripe with this lounge is that there’s zero natural light. They have curtains with ambient natural light, but otherwise it kind of feels like a dungeon compared to the bright and airy terminals.

Also, the seating and food is decent, but nothing special compared to the very nice terminal. The inside just kind of feels like a nice Ikea showroom (mindful Ikea is Swedish not Finnish), which I guess is true to its Scandinavian roots but doesn’t feel like a premium hub international business class lounge.

Conclusion

All in all, this lounge is fine for a quick bite or drink but would otherwise skip it and either spend more time in the terminal itself, or just spend more time exploring downtown Helsinki.

Next stop: my final flight of the trip, Helsinki – New York (JFK) on Helsinki’s AirLounge Business Class again, but this time on their A330.