Finnair Unfair Fare Now Fair

I made a web booking last night using Finnair to Asia. Everything was perfect until the payment details had been entered and Finnair timed me out. Re entering the data, the fare increased by roughly 25% across the whole fare grid, not just the dates I needed.

I went ahead and booked.

This morning, the fares had reduced across the whole fare grid by the same, roughly 25%.

I understand how airlines work the fares but the manner in which the fares increased across the entire fare grid and then decreased across the grid does leave a question mark as to whether there was a computer glitch (Finnair end).

Incidentally, the flights and connections were all the same last night and this morning.

Is there any form of protection against internet sales because when I spoke to Finnair, understandably their view was “its an internet sale, you read the conditions”. Or is this just the delights of buying tickets on the internet.

In monetrary terms the price difference was £400.

I can now report that after a thorough investigation by Finnair, a refund has been made as a glitch in Finnair’s system was identified.

If the site administrator is able to change the topic name to Finnair Unfair – Fare now resolved – I have no issue.

I am hoping that my flight will have th enew business class seating. I will provide a review later.

Added 27th September 2010

Having resolved the fare issue, which was a very welcome suprise, but well done Finnair for their honesty, it put me in the right frame of mind for the LHR-HEL and HEL-BKK sectors, especially if the new A330 was on the 2nd sector, along with the new seats.

Check in at LHR was very quick, even got away with a slightly overweight case. Security was a slow, but I was through in less than 15 minutes. I managed a quick 15 minute coffee stop in the lounge before heading to the gate for boarding. Sector 1 good, food served looked extremely tasty, but I wasn’t tempted beyond a fruit salad. 2.25 later I am entering the brightly lit and fresh looking Helsinki arrivals hall and found the Finnair lounge very quickly.

The lounge wasn’t overcrowded, I noticed the Spa, but at 9.30 at night I was happy to taste the delicious vegetarian offering which was hot and finish off some online work. Before long, the boarding call and off I went in search of gate 34. Straight down the ramp, noticed there was only 1 engine under each wing so it was looking good for the A330. I still find it remarkable how a good gate crew managed to “work the passengers” and board 250 pax onto an aircraft, though 1 Air Bridge in less than 20 minutes.

Now the cabin, yes it was the A330 but only realised it had the new seating when I saw the single seats on the side. The cabin looked tight, but that’s understandable as it’s all about the numbers of the bums on seats.

The cabin lighting was extremely bright. The airport was in night mode, most passengers were probably in night mode as well, but entering the cabin was akin to walking into a sports arena, bright lights all round. It’s a pity airlines can’t find some sort of compromise at night time. I know passengers and crew need to see their way around, but there is light and there is Finnair light!

I am only 5’7 but in the upright position, I found the seat rather stiff on the back and shallow on the seat cushion. The pod did feel chunky, but has been designed with one main benefit, the lie flat and each available inch of space is needed and it does notice.

The flight took off on time, once up and having a play with the seat, it was adjusted to comfy mode and yes it’s a big improvement on the previous A340 angled seat. Lights dimmed for take-off and then back on with the arena sport lights for the meal service which started very slow but then speeded up. The food was cooked well, served hot. I enjoyed black salsify soup (still don’t know exactly what it was) followed by rolled salmon cooked with peppers and served with dill potatoes.

The IFE was excellent as a hard offering, simple to use, an excellent screen and superb viewing angles. However the choices in all areas (film, music, tv) was very poor. I ended up watching an episode of Mr. Bean and a few travel programmes. I suppose the advantage of a poor film offering is that you don’t get caught watching a couple of 3 hour films on a 9.40 flight. However, I couldn’t even find a decent hour’s worth of music. The IFE that it does need some work.

After the food, came what I was hoping would be the main event, S L E E P!

When it came, it didn’t last that long, a mere 3 hours. To be fair, the lack of sleep was certainly not down to the comfort of the lie flat seat, but down to me, however, I usually do sleep longer than 3 hours on a 9 hour + flight.

When comparing to the direct offerings from Heathrow, Thai, BA (sorry Eva, never used you) this brings some interesting differences. I will admit that I prefer the 747 with upstairs in club or the nose for First. It is far more relaxing and generally far quieter. If sleep happens though, it really doesn’t matter whether it’s an airbus or boeing, whether you are in First or business (or even economy) or which airline you are on. I just like to increase my chances of sleep happening.

Sitting in the front section of the airbus I notice more noise. Forward is a galley or a prep area and behind is a galley. There is far more traffic walking through the airbus. When the cabin lights are dimmed, the forward galley lights are full on and the curtains were constantly left open.

On the subject of price, well Finnair naturally win hands down with their ticket costing well below the similar BA / Thai club fare.

However, the most interesting comparison is the flight time. Finnair markets itself as flying the shortest route to Asia from Helsinki. This may be true in terms of distance, but the A330/340 is slower than the 747. Indeed an hour out of BKK the LH 747 sped past us 1000’ below. With a flight time of 9.40 HEL-BKK as appose to ca. 10.45 from Heathrow, I think the shortest distance idea is a little flat. However, here’s the kicker. Even with the transit in HEL, I still arrived into BKK earlier than had I flown direct from LHR – and for me, that is an advantage.

The big question, would I use Finnair again. The answer is a resounding yes. Bottom line (for me) on a 9 hour + flight is a flat bed and cost. I am a frequent traveller to Asia and would generally not pay more than more than £2300 for business or £3000 for First. Each airline fixes their prices to its market; my choice is which market to buy from.

=return flight report will be added in a couple of weeks=

Return Finnair BKK-HEL-LHR

I was pleasantly surprised that 3 days after arriving in BKK, a credit appeared on my Amex statement for the £400 refund. I was told at Heathrow that this would take up to 8 weeks to process, so well done Finnair. I do think however, that Finnair could have acknowledged their admitted computer fault in writing to me.

Now for the return leg…….

I do love the customer service focus in the Far East. The hotel arranged for my car and I was met at BKK by the hotel’s airport representative, who took my bags, arranged check in and took me through to the Finnair lounge (BA’s first class lounge) where I was greeted by my favourite team of BA lounge staff, worldwide. They always seem to care, they manage to find me my regular seat, bring me my regular drink and ensure all those last minute items from a 2 week business trip have been closed off.

The flight was called on time, a shortish walk (by BKK standards) to the gate and it was a case of all aboard another A330, with flat beds and off we go to Europe.

Again the Finnair light show began, the lights are extremely bright. The meal service was started almost immediately after take-off, which being slightly later (local time) than the HEL-BKK sector, was welcome. The food offerings were not as good as the outbound leg. There were no lighter offerings and I ended up with a slither of smoke salmon and some fruit. The other meals were too heavy, (for me) for a past midnight departure.

The business class section was less than 50% full and the cabin crew were certainly very friendly and helpful especially in wanting to get the service over with so the cabin could go into night mode. With the meal service over, lights went to dim, I tried to work on my lap top as once again the IFE had nothing of real interest,………. but sleep was calling. The seat was positioned to flat, a couple of pillows strategically positioned and 7 hours later (from a 10 hour + flight), bingo, a great night’s sleep. The light from the forward galley had not been a problem on this leg and the walkthrough traffic was a lot less than outbound, probably because if the lighter loading and the later departure time.

I was woken for breakfast, but apart from a cup of coffee decided to bypass the Finnair breakfast as I had a BA sector and knew that there would be a full C breakfast offering.

We landed in Helsinki on time, de boarding was speedy and everything was working well, in fact just too well!!

To be fair, the following is not really the fault of Finnair but does form part of the Finnair experience.

I never have issue with security, my bags and body can be checked as often as the airport authority’s desire, but what I do have an issue with are new European laws that seem to make absolutely no sense at all that and are implemented for the sake of implementation.

All transit passengers were met by a security control whose sole purpose appeared to be to check the size of duty free purchases and confiscate the larger liquid items or offer the passenger the chance to check the item in landside. I had a litre bottle of whisky confiscated, despite the bottle being in a sealed box and sealed bag and was told that this is due to a new European directive for transiting passengers. A lady behind me had a very expensive bottle of perfume confiscated (she had no time to go through the system to check a bag in) and her husband had a bottle of brandy confiscated, again in a sealed bag. I do consider myself a seasoned traveller and had no idea of these new rules. Incidentally, travelling aircrew on duty are apparently exempt from this rule, as explained by the security staff. I chose to go land side to check the whisky in using my hand luggage.

This appears to be a regular occurrence at Helsinki as the BA check in staff tried to make light of it by saying I was not the first today to get caught out.

I got back to gate 37 just as boarding commenced. I was looking forward to my breakfast. After all, so many forum readers seem to compliment BA on the C breakfast and here I am on a 3 hour flight – I must surely get the works.
All that was offered was a hot greasy English breakfast. I happen to enjoy the healthier option of fruit, low fat yoghurt and cereal which I thought was part of the full C breakfast offering. The cabin crew commented that the Helsinki route is a no competition route, hence BA do not need to fill the food tray offerings. Well there is a competition on this route, Finnair!

On landing at Heathrow T3, my checked bags were the first off the baggage carousel, out of customs/immigration (eye scanner was working) and then a quick transfer over to T5 to use the superb arrivals lounge and to meet a client, who had flown in from Washington (there goes another story, but not for this thread!!!)

So all in all what are my conclusions. I choose my carrier based on the following criteria:

1. Price – each route I use a simple formula to establish an acceptable fare basis. Usually this is based on length of flight, length of trip and destination. The further I go, the higher the budget. I would not for example pay more to go to NYC in business of First than I would pay to go to BKK.

2. Flat or angled seats – for an 8 hours+ flight I will select a flight that has an option of a non-angled flat seat.

3. One world or Star Alliance – if you are going to collect air miles, loyalty does pay

4. 747 or Airbus – my preference s upstairs in a 747 and I do consider this when choosing a flight.

I travel to Asia 6 or 7 times and I will admit my preference is BA or Thai First. However, cost is now an issue and if I can reach my destination for a £1000 less, then it is an option I have to take. Up until recently, BA seemed to have the dominance over flatbed club seats, but the Finnair offering does provide competition. As mentioned in BT, Lufthansa are bringing out new flatbed business class seats by 2011 and I am sure other will follow.

I will continue to use BA, but not when I have to pay significantly higher fares over the secondary airlines like Finnair. If there is a £500+ saving by making 1 stop in Helsinki, then I will consider this as a viable option. To pay over £3000 for a business class ticket when I can fly for £1800 is not viable. So BA, revisit your pricing for the English market, which I know you have no intention of doing!!

One of the other points about Finnair scheduling I like is the fact that all A330’s are kitted out with the new business class seat. The timetables are clear when the A330 is flown and when the A340 is flown (I know nothing is guaranteed). This enables me to schedule my trips accordingly, not like the new BA First, where there is a dedicated hot line for passengers to check. Before I am screamed at, I know BA is larger than Finnair and I know that more aircraft are coming through with the new F product. But I do like the fact that I am able to know in advance what product I am buying. Spending £1500+ on a product should not be a lottery. As a buyer, I ought to have the right to know EXACTLY what I am buying.

I am just about to book my November trip to Asia and yes, I am going to look at Finnair as an option as well as BA and Thai.

All in all, I still love my job, I feel very blessed that I am able to travel to such exotic locations in extreme comfort and feel fortuante that I can turn left on boarding, except when I use a set of stairs on the 747.

Happy days indeed.

Hi CMB

A good and positive review. Thanks.

I’m a big Finnair fan but haven’t yet used the new cabin layout. Thanks for the info.

Simon

TominScotland

I had a quick look in the FInnair website. AY69 on Mondays appears to be the A330. Once you have your dates, go to the Finnair fare grid and see the aircrat type by clicking on the flight number. Obviously cannt be guaranteed, but this is how I booked my flights.

Hey CM !

Happy for you …!!!..I do endorse your approach fully and salute AY for a brilliant strategy and successful business model………..all smart busines travellers ought to follow suit !….with all respect due to BA still…….am not a BA CLub World seat lover ….it is ok but not the best..I prefer spacious ,traditional seating and flat horizontal bed ………

Enjoy your AY experience again !..am about to sample it again from MUC to DEL via HEL on 19.11 ..need to sample the VIA spa !!!!!!!!!!!…

Cheers !