Today I did something radical and decided to fly Norwegian Air instead of Finnair from Helsinki. One usually ends up hearing horror stories about low-cost airlines and how strict they can get about baggage and such. However, Norwegian Air is way more relaxed in that sense. Let’s find out what they have to offer.
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Malaysia Airlines first class lounge in Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia airlines has a lounge that is not open for an ordinary traveler. Only passengers traveling with a first class ticket or those holding the ever so exclusive oneworld emerald status can access this exclusive lounge. But is the grass any greener on the emerald side? Let’s find out!
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Lufthansa business lounge in Munich terminal 2 (Schengen) is a solid experience
Lufthansa is known for its economic yet quality wise competitive business class in Europe. But how is their lounge in one of their main hubs in Munich? Lufthansa has several lounges in Munich, so to be clear, this review is based on the one located close to gate K11 in the satellite terminal 2. Even in that particular location, Lufthansa has two lounges: a business lounge and an exclusive lounge for senator members. This review is about the business lounge that you can access if you are traveling in business class or you are holding Star Alliance gold status.
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Puerta del Sol lounge in Madrid is serious about sandwiches
Terminal 2 in Barajas airport in Madrid is the home for Star Alliance and SkyTeam airlines flying to different destinations in Europe. If you fly one of these airlines, you will probably have access to Puerta del Sol lounge, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Let’s dive in to the lounge experience!
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Lufthansa business class in Europe gives some bang for the buck
Lufthansa has probably the cheapest business class tickets in Europe. It’s not uncommon to see Lufthansa business class being sold for cheaper than Finnair economy. Lufthansa’s ultra discounted P fare class makes it possible to snag business class tickets for a good price on one of the leading airlines in Europe. There’s a catch, however. If you are collecting points for one of the Star Alliance programs, you might get considerably less points than when flying in economy class or worse yet, no points at all. This is understandable given that it is not uncommon to see P fare Lufthansa business class sold for cheaper than Lufthansa’s own economy class! 😯 The cheap price is one of the main reasons I am gladly recommending Lufthansa business class.
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The easiest route to Star Alliance gold
Star Alliance is the biggest airline alliance in the world with the largest number of member airlines. Almost every airline has their own program that lets you get the prestigious Star Alliance gold status. But which airline should you credit your miles to? Some airlines set the bar for the ever so sweet Gold card a bit too high. 🤔
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Should you go to Aspire lounge in Helsinki?
Now that SAS has temporarily closed their lounge in Helsinki, there isn’t much option left in Helsinki for non-oneworld Schengen flights to have a lounge in than the Aspire lounge. Currently skyteam airlines such as KLM and Air France, Star Alliance airlines such as Lufthansa, Aegean and Croatian airlines together with a bunch of other airlines use the Aspire lounge in Helsinki. Only if you are flying Iberia or Finnair, you will have another lounge option. So can this lounge live up to the expectations?
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Is Finnair business class in Europe really that bad?
Finnair business class in Europe has a service concept I have never really understood. On one hand, Finnair likes to set their prices to premium level but on the other hand, they don’t want to give you any value for their money. The only value I see in Finnair business class in Europe is that you will get 32 kg per luggage instead of 23 kg you would get in economy. This means that a business class ticket or an upgrade can be a killer deal if you have to move a lot of stuff between countries. What makes it better is that if you buy an economy class ticket with a piece of luggage, you will get an extra one for free if you upgrade to business class. What is more, every single piece of extra luggage you buy can also be up to 32 kg each. Note that a business light fare does not even give you this perk
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Extime lounge in Paris CDG – what a treat
Today I visited the Extime lounge located in terminal T2D in Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. There are several lounges in the CDG airport in Paris but there is definitely not much to chose from given that the airport has several terminals that are far away from each other and you are basically stuck with the options in your current terminal. To make matters worse, terminal 3 has no lounges at all, and for example, Iberia does not have any lounges in CDG because of this. Although, Iberia does have one in Orly.
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Finnair Non-Schengen Lounge – Is it something to look forward to?
Finnair has three lounges in Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. One on the Schengen side and two on the international side: Finnair Business Lounge and Finnair Platinum Wing Lounge. Most of the travellers with a oneworld ticket will access the former lounge as the latter is reserved for first class passengers (something Finnair curiously doesn’t even have) and Oneworld Emerald members. In this post, I will be reviewing the Business Lounge that is open for most Oneworld business class passagers and Sapphire status holders. This is the lounge Finnair customers can access with Finnair Plus Gold status.
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