FINLAND. Helsinki Airport’s new West Pier has opened as operator Finavia continues to enhance the customer experience for its rising number of passengers.
As reported, SSP has opened the first Jamie’s Deli in Finland and the world’s first Moomin-themed airport café – Moomin Coffee – at West Pier.
The new area also includes a Plaza Premium Lounge, five jet bridges, 13,000sq m of additional space and a new child care room.
The opening of West Pier follows the recent Aukio extension, with both areas emphasising Finnish nature and customer experience. [Click here to read a full report in The Moodie Davitt eZine on Finavia’s commercial strategy and how it is adapting to new realities.]
“The opening of Helsinki Airport’s West Pier comes at a very good time as Finnair’s successful Asian strategy continues to increase the number of transfer passengers at our airport,” said Joni Sundelin, Helsinki Airport Executive Director at Finavia. “In addition, the two new Chinese carriers signed by our route development team will start flights: Tibet Airlines in April and Juneyao Air in June.”
Sundelin added: “We want to stand out by providing an exceptionally good customer experience and responsible operations. We strive for smooth and safe processes, and enhance our services and work hard to ensure that emissions from airport operations do not increase as the number of passengers increases. All our airports are carbon neutral.”
Finavia recently increased the use of renewable diesel at all its airports and has installed additional solar panels on the roof of the terminal building at Helsinki Airport.
West Pier’s design evokes Finnish nature and has a forest theme, with features including tree-like charging stations for mobile devices and large luminaires made from translucent plywood.
PES-Architects designed the space. Head Designer Tuomas Silvennoinen commented: “Wall surfaces are decorated using nine-metre-tall wooden reliefs made from Finnish birch. The three-dimensional surfaces convey the mood of fluttering foliage and old wood-shingled roofs.”
The Plaza Premium Lounge is open to all passengers for an entrance fee, and is located on the second floor above Aukio. “We are very happy to have found a service provider partner that belongs to the largest independent lounge network in the world. This enables us to cater to a very important customer segment of ours,” said Sundelin.
A second phase of the West Pier project, including the extension of baggage handling facilities, will be completed during November/December, Finavia said.
Other ongoing projects at Helsinki Airport include the improvement of the level of service for Schengen flights and the construction of a new entrance to Terminal 2.
