It is always fun to fly Finnair to non-Schengen destinations. The lounge food on the non-Schengen side is way, way better than on the Schengen side. And the sauna. I had upgraded my flights to business class, one way on an Airbus A321, and on the other way on the A350.
But I almost didn't make it. Turns out that something was wrong in a change to my reservation, and the Finnair checkin desk in Helsinki simply could not check me in ... really? And the plane was about to leave, I was already late. But then I called the Platinum phone number and they fixed it :-) This caused me to miss dinner at the lounge, but I had a quick 5 minute session at the sauna. Phew.
On the way back I stopped at the -- my recommendation -- Cathay lounge in Heathrow. They are excellent food. This time I sat in the dining area, and ordered salmon for appetizer and dim sum for main course. Really, really good. Well done Cathay.
Outbound:
Inbound:
This article has also appeared here. Read all swimming stories at planetswimmer.com, sauna articles at saunablogger.cool, and flying articles at planetflier.com. Or all blog articles from Blogspot. Photos and text (c) 2026 by Jari Arkko.
This article was originally published in the Planetskier Blogspot article series.
"Mongolia is kind of close, right? Story about an attempt to ski everywhere in the world where there's snow. And in some places where there isn't. On and off-piste skiing on all continents, skiing into craters of live volcanoes, climbing, photography, and travel." The Planetskier blog focuses on skiing, caving, climbing, biking, flying, sauna, and swimming adventures around the world. See the other Planetskier blog articles about skiing, caving, urban exploration, climbing, cycling, flying, swimming, and saunas.