April Europe Weekend/Review Trip! Part 2: Helsinki to Budapest

Upon arrival into Helsinki, I proceeded directly to Finnair’s non-Schengen Platinum Wing lounge.  This was my first visit to the lounge since June of 2023, when I flew London to Berlin via Helsinki.

The non-Schengen Finnair lounge is located very centrally, and I was inside the lounge within a couple minutes of deplaning.  This lounge is my favorite in the world that I’ve visited, but I’d read that there had been some cost-cutting to the food since I was last here in 2023.

Upon entry, I proceeded directly to the sauna to relax before having some lunch.  Thankfully, no changes had been made to the sauna because that’s a very important value proposition to this lounge being the best that Finland has to offer.

After the sauna, I took the opportunity to check out the food selection.  I was not particularly hungry, since I had been had breakfast on the plane and would be having another meal on the next flight. 

The lounge still has a sit-down dining area as well as a buffet.  The buffet is intended to be the appetizers and desserts, and the main course is cooked to order.

Upon first inspection, the buffet had not noticeably changed from last year, which is great!

There was a selection of small plates, as well as a soup and bread area.

There was also some buffet of Indian-style chicken, which is what I selected along with some bread and fruit. The dessert bar was the same as before, which is also great.

The main change came in the sit-down dining.  The menu items were reduced to just a handful of key items, like salmon and a reindeer burger.  Apparently I was very tired and/or off my game during this lounge visit because I failed to get many pictures of the lounge or of the menu.

But the good news is that, aside from the reduced cooked-to-order menu, nothing else in the lounge had been downgraded, which is what matters.  Therefore, my 2023 review still stands.

About 15 minutes before boarding was scheduled to begin, I departed the lounge and made my way to gate 31.  Helsinki airport is extremely efficient, so I cleared passport control immediately and then continued directly to my gate. Unfortunately, lettered gates in a European airport mean your plane will be at a remote stand.

I did not mind at all walking up to the plane because the weather was nice, and we got a great view of the plane.

My aircraft for this journey was an A321, and since it’s a narrow-body operated by a European carrier, that means that its business class is just a standard economy 3-3 configuration with a blocked middle seat.  I had selected seat 1C for this 2-hour flight, and you know that you’re in business class because the bulkhead tells you so.

In terms of hard product, this is a pretty unexciting seat, but the flight is short enough that it’s not an issue.  While 1A was occupied, Business Class on this flight was relatively empty, which was nice.

After take-off, the curtain in the aisle was closed.  Otherwise, how would one know that we were in Business Class?

Service began with a hot towel, which was something I don’t remember having previously gotten on a short-haul Finnair flight.  I had ordered a special Asian vegetarian meal for this flight.  Pre-pandemic, Finnair often served beef as the only option on these flights, which was a problem if I didn’t pre-order a special meal.  That does not seem to be the case as frequently now, which might have something to do with the cost-cutting measures Finnair has implemented.  I’m actually very pleased about this change.

The meal on this flight consisted of a curry main, which is standard for an Asian vegetarian meal, a cold plate (which I really didn’t know what it was), a roll, and a Fazer chocolate bar.  Fazer is a main Finnish confectionary brand, and I actually am a big fan of the (probably also cost-cutting) change from a typical dessert to a chocolate bar.  You don’t have to eat the chocolate bar immediately if you don’t want to, and it shows off a great Finnish brand that is uncommon to find outside Finland.

I then ordered some champagne to go with my meal, and they brought me one of the airplane-sized bottles, which was fun.

Pretty soon after the meal service, it was time to land in Budapest.  I haven’t historically included many pictures from my actual destinations, but I’ve been making a joke for a long time that I’m on a goal to see all the World Wonders that you can build in the video game Civilization VI, and the Hungarian Parliament Building, Országház is one of them.

Now that I’ve visited the building, I’ll get +4 Culture and +100% Diplomatic Favor per turn as long as I’m a Suzerain of a city-state.

In summary, Finnair’s intra-European Business Class experience continues to be comfortable and consistent.  Dining at the Platinum Wing has noticeably been reduced, but compared to what passes for a “lounge” in Chicago, the Platinum Wing was amazing (5/5).  A blocked middle seat is nothing to get excited about but is the norm in Europe (3/5).  The meal service was standard for Finnair, which is to say that it was good, given that I had ordered a specialty meal (4/5).  In-flight service was also unmemorable but no complaints (4/5).  The in-flight entertainment was typical, with only a short duration of free WiFi.  This flight gets a 18/25, which is actually higher than the intercontinental flight, but that’s thanks to how strong the Platinum Wing is in my opinion.

I booked this flight as part of a Finnair award ticket from Chicago to Helsinki to Budapest for 95 000 Finnair points and around $140 in taxes and fees.  I bought these Finnair points in 2020 for €643.75, so the total ticket cost around $840, and this portion cost around $200.