Finnair is showing photos of its new Schengen lounge that opened on July 9 at Helsinki Airport (HEL). The lounge primarily serves customers traveling on short-haul flights within Europe and passengers connecting to Helsinki from the US and traveling to Lapland, Finland and beyond. The wider Nordic and Baltic regions.
The new lounge can accommodate 440 passengers, an upgrade from the existing lounge in the Schengen Area part of the airport.
The Finnish airline says the lounge is inspired by Finnair’s Nordic design and is “designed to bring customers unparalleled comfort and convenience.”
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The carrier, based near Helsinki, said the design was led by Studio Joanna Lajisto and included Nordic design details, such as wood textures, soft forms and warm colors. The furniture is sourced from Nordic designers like Artek, Nikari and Gubi.
The lounge has two areas. The bulk is for business-class passengers and those with OneWorld Sapphire status (American Airlines AAdvantage platinum-level status and higher). Another area for Finnair’s top-tier status holders and OneWorld Emerald members (with AAdvantage Platinum Pro-level status and higher) will be the Platinum Corner. Finnair Plus Platinum and Platinum Lumo members are also eligible.
Finnair is also selling access to the Platinum Corner for 30 euros ($32) or 4,800 Avios.
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The new lounge is named for Europe’s Schengen Area, which includes most European Union countries with the exception of Cyprus and Ireland. Non-EU countries are also part of the Schengen area, including Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. This means that flights to these countries will not require border checks.
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The new Schengen Lounge will look familiar to those who have used Finnair’s other lounges at Helsinki Airport.
Customers flying directly to and from the US can continue to access Finnair’s Platinum Wing Lounge (for top-tier elite members) or its Business Lounge (both in the non-Schengen area part of the airport), first unveiled in 2019 was
Finnair will have a total of three lounges at Helsinki Airport:
- Business Lounge
- Platinum Wing Lounge
- Schengen Lounge (including Platinum Corner)
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Ben Smithson/The Points Guy
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Finnair has just completed the rollout of its new long-haul business class
Finnair also announced that it completed the refurbishment of its entire long-haul fleet.
The refresh includes an all-new business-class section with new seats, a new premium economy cabin and an updated economy cabin. Finnair was the launch customer for the new AirLounge seats designed by seat manufacturer Collins Aerospace.
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