Review: Why Fly Inn Helsinki Was A Disappointment?
The content on this page includes affiliate links. While clicking on these links won't cost you anything extra, we may earn a modest commission from any purchases.
Fly Inn Restaurant, located on the airside of Helsinki Airport, serves a breakfast and lunch buffet. Priority Pass is accepted as a payment method. Based on our review, is visiting this restaurant as a Priority Pass member worth visiting?
Covered in the Article
Fly Inn Restaurant Accepts Priority Pass
Fly Inn Restaurant in Helsinki Airport is not a lounge but a restaurant that serves complimentary buffet for Priority Pass members. Depending on your Priority Pass membership type, the visit may be free, or Priority Pass may charge you a small fee afterward. The same rule applies to your guest.
Because Helsinki Airport is our base airport, we decided to try if this restaurant's buffet is worth the money for Priority Pass members. We visited Fly Inn Restaurant to have a lunch buffet before our flights to Israel.
Location of the Restaurant
Fly Inn Restaurant is easy to find. It is located on the air side and in the Schengen area of the airport. If you travel from the Schengen area, you may visit the restaurant before heading to the immigration. You will find the restaurant near the Gate 27, second floor just next to Aspire Lounge.
What Priority Pass Members Get?
When you visit the restaurant between 6 am and 10 am, you will get a complimentary breakfast buffet. From 10 am to 2 pm, the restaurant offers a lunch buffet. After 2 pm, no complimentary food is available for Priority Pass members, but Fly Inn Restaurant continues to serve customers functioning as a usual à la carte restaurant.
The buffet includes a complimentary glass of wine or beer for Priority Pass members. Pepsi was the only soft drink option that was available. There are no juices, coffee or tea included.
The Normal Price of the Buffet
For comparison, the breakfast buffet would cost 16,90 euros while the lunch buffet cost 19,90 euros. No drinks are included in the normal price.
Our Visit and Experiences
We visited the restaurant at 11 am for a lunch buffet. Big Priority Pass posters were visible, so we knew we had arrived at the right place. At first, the staff was somewhat surprised when we asked for a lunch buffet with Priority Pass, but we got in without further problems.
The buffet tables were behind the cash desk, so we could not see and check them before we had paid our visit. That was a big mistake. We would have never gone there if we had known first what foods were offered. When someone is speaking about a lunch buffet, you are expecting that there are several warm food options available. Instead, the lunch buffet at the Fly Inn restaurant was unsatisfying!
Only a Few Food Items
The only warm food item was cheap soup. Three kinds of vegetable salads were also available, some bread and a few croissants left from the breakfast. That was all! Nothing else and no desserts.
When we faced this reality, we felt pretty disappointed. Did we waste a Priority visit to get a cheap soup? Not even coffee or tea for dessert was available, but you would have needed to pay extra for that.
Our Rating
Location
The location of the restaurant is good. You will find it easily after the security check. There is also a great view of the tarmac.
If Helsinki is your origin, you may visit the restaurant no matter if you travel to a Schengen or non-Schengen destination. Passengers connecting from a non-Schengen to a non-Schengen destination can't use this restaurant.
Comfiness and Friendliness of the Staff
The restaurant is comfortable. It is stylish but a little worn. The view of the tarmac is great, and the tables are just good for eating. There were also just a few sockets available for charging devices. Fortunately, the restaurant was almost empty when we got in so that we could share a charging port away from our seats.
The restaurant staff were friendly even though the first contact with him was weird. We didn't feel welcomed, and the staff acted like he was somehow surprised that someone arrived at an otherwise empty restaurant using a Priority Pass.
Drinks
Wine, beer and Pepsi are good starts, but we expected more choices. No tea or coffee was included. Not juices, either. Each of us had to choose only one drink from the three options and this is limited to 1 serving per person, forget the word 'unlimited drinks' at this restaurant.
Buffet
We would never refer to a cheap soup, ordinary salad bowls and bread as a buffet while this restaurant does!
Price-to-quality Ratio
Spending a Priority Pass visit to this restaurant does not give the full worth of your money. The poor food selection does not give enough value for your visit.
Overall Rating
The only good reason to have a Priority Pass lunch buffet in this restaurant is to get a nice view of the tarmac, including its good location.
Bottom Line
Do not head to this restaurant if you want a nice lunch buffet at Helsinki Airport. The buffet was poor. We have not tried the breakfast buffet, but after the lunch experience, we are not expecting much.
It is not worth wasting one Priority Pass visit in this restaurant while the normal price is only 19,90 euros. Next to the Fly Inn Restaurant is the Aspire Lounge, which we have visited several times. Even though it is an ordinary lounge, it still has better lunch options than Fly Inn Restaurant. Aspire Lounge also offers many kinds of drinks, desserts and pastries.
Add Comment
Comments