Summary Finnair's Platinum Wing lounge, complete with a Finnish sauna, offers top-tier status holders a unique airport experience. The airline's Asian network is gradually recovering, with flights to ten destinations and over 150,000 seats this summer. Finnair recently opened a new Business Lounge at Helsinki Airport, elevating the travel experience for business and elite-tier members.
Finnair is celebrating five years since launching its acclaimed Platinum Wing lounge in Helsinki. Along with its high-quality dining and seating, the Nordic-inspired lounge features a traditional Finnish sauna, making it one of the more unique lounge experiences anywhere in the world. Finnair's Platinum Wing celebrates five years The Finnish carrier opened its Platinum Wing lounge at Helsinki Airport (HEL) on June 4th, 2019 - the lounge is available exclusively for top-tier Finnair and one world status holders, namely Finnair Plus Platinum Lumo and Platinum members, and one world Emerald cardholders.
With seating for up to 155 guests, the homely lounge offers an array of comforts for passengers in Helsinki Airport's non-Schengen area. The sauna is the highlight, featuring darkened natural aspen wood, mood lighting, and organic care products, while the main lounge offers separate working, resting and dining zones. As for its culinary offerings, flavors from Finnair's extensive Asian network complement traditional Finnish dishes.
Passengers can also enjoy the airline's beloved Reindeer Burger, made from locally sourced smoked reindeer and beef (there's a vegan version too, 'called Beyond Burger’), alongside plenty of other special vegetarian dishes. Meri Järvinen, Head of Airport Customer Experience, said, "As one of Finnair’s trademark features, the Platinum Wing has been a hit since its launch five years ago, giving customers a final taste of Finland before take-off." Asian network still recovering While its North American network has fully recovered, there is still a lot of ground to make up in the airline's Far East connections.
Finnair has steadily relaunched to many of its Asian destinations since the dual setbacks of the COVID pandemic and Russian airspace complications, but is still operating at just over half its 2019 capacity. According to data from aviation analytics company Cirium for August 2024, the carrier now flies to ten destinations in Asia: Destination Frequency Seats (monthly) Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK) Daily 17,924 Delhi Indira Gandhi (DEL) Daily 16,170 Hong Kong International (HKG) Daily 17,238 Tokyo Haneda (HND) Daily 18,870 Seoul Incheon (ICN) Daily 19,902 Osaka Kansai (KIX) Five-times-weekly 14,124 Nagoya Chubu Centrair (NGO) Twice-weekly 5,348 Tokyo Narita (NRT) Six-times-weekly 17,334 Shanghai Pudong (PVG) Three-times-weekly 7,228 Singapore Changi (SIN) Daily 18,010 That's over 250 monthly flights and more than 150,000 seats going both ways this summer - however, while still extensive, it is just over half the airline's August 2019 capacity to Asia, when it flew almost 500 monthly flights to 17 destinations. New Business lounge Finnair also launched a new Schengen-side Business Lounge in Helsinki only last month, significantly upgrading the airport experience for business travelers and Gold/Sapphire members and up flying on Finnair's European routes.
Opened on July 9th, the new lounge can accommodate up to 440 guests - 150 more than the previous lounge - and also features a 'Platinum Corner' for elite-tier members (Platinum, Platinum Lumo and Emerald). The lounge will accommodate 440 people in the airport's Schengen departures area, including passengers with oneworld Emerald frequent flyer status. Järvinen added, "Having sown the seed for premium Nordic travel back in summer 2019, we have since launched newly designed Business Class lounges in both the Schengen and non-Schengen areas of Helsinki Airport, as we continue to invest in the ground experience for our loyal customers.
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