Now I just don't get why owuld anyone price BA codeshare with Finnair.
I do LHR-HEL-TLL returns about 10 times a year. Never I managed to get Finnair to give me a better price. On top of that Finnair tickets are no change no refund, while ba allowes changes for a fee. Isn't it about time Finnair would make it's ticketing policy a bit more Friendly?
Currently looking at december flights. £230 with BA (on finnair plane) finnair exact same flight £307.
Rubbish

There is an old saying at least in Finland: "That person is not a fool who asks, that person is who pays."

Apparently someone pays for those tickets, otherwise Finnair would not be selling those. And airline fares are quite complex thing anyway - there are so many issues going on. The airline who buys those seats from other airline of course wants to get all those seats sold - then sometimes codeshare partners do not buy those actually but sell those together and both airlines have pretty much as much as seats as there is availability. And of course then there is an issue that BA is actually trying to get passengers from Finnish markets while Finnair doesn't have to do so much effort to get the business (BA needs to be more competitive than Finnair to actually get someone to buy their tickets).

And we have to remember - we are frequent flyers but most of the passengers are used to fly with their ordinary airline and do not like to switch always.

And how BA could fight against those companies who prefer Finnair? Their only possibility is to offer tickets cheaper than Finnair.

There is an old saying at least in Finland: "That person is not a fool who asks, that person is who pays."

I was just thinking the same thing! Ei se oo tyhmä joka pyytää, vaan se joka maksaa. :)

I just bought a Z-class trip on AY HEL-NGO-HEL for €462. I certainly wouldn't call AY pricing a joke.

Now I just don't get why owuld anyone price BA codeshare with Finnair.
I do LHR-HEL-TLL returns about 10 times a year. Never I managed to get Finnair to give me a better price. On top of that Finnair tickets are no change no refund, while ba allowes changes for a fee. Isn't it about time Finnair would make it's ticketing policy a bit more Friendly?
Currently looking at december flights. £230 with BA (on finnair plane) finnair exact same flight £307.
RubbishShould be happy that someone serves TLL like AY does... But BA, indeed, seems to have quite qood offers, when pre-booking well ahead, at least a month early. Very little or no extra having one leg even in the Club. The prices seem to equalise when you should find flights for the next week.

Yeah .. on a better day you can get club for £174 one way. Not too shabby.

LHR-HEL-LHR in Y is most of the time I look cheaper on an AY ticket. I guess it simply depends on the specific flights and how far ahead you book (often less than a week for me). Though I am a bit puzzled that sometimes either AY or BA can be twice the price of the other. You would expect some kind of coordination here.

The thing that is really crazy are the AY business class fares HEL-LHR-HEL as compared to LHR-HEL-LHR. Cheapest LHR-HEL-LHR around GBP 700, cheapest HEL-LHR-HEL 1700 euro.... For 2000 euro I can fly from HEL business class on BA to the US west coast.

Though I am a bit puzzled that sometimes either AY or BA can be twice the price of the other. You would expect some kind of coordination here.

Wouldn't it be illegal price fixing?

The thing that is really crazy are the AY business class fares HEL-LHR-HEL as compared to LHR-HEL-LHR. Cheapest LHR-HEL-LHR around GBP 700, cheapest HEL-LHR-HEL 1700 euro.... For 2000 euro I can fly from HEL business class on BA to the US west coast.

Different markets. You can not compare same routes but flown with different directions. HEL-LHR-HEL is targetted to Finland based passengers while LHR-HEL-LHR is targetted to UK based passengers. Competition is much harder in UK than in Finland. AY obviously wants to grab some business from UK but Finland is their home country so they can trust a little bit more loyal customer base.

Wouldn't it be illegal price fixing?I was thinking about that as well. However if availability is simply mirrored, and fares are different for each booking class (which is already the case) it wouldn't be price fixing. At the moment the (cheap) availability buckets for the same fight can vary wildly between the BA and AY codeshare. As well this isn't the only codeshare in the world - if you look e.g. at KLM and NW, they have exactly the same fares for their transatlantic code-shares (but maybe they have some exception for joint operations).

Different markets. You can not compare same routes but flown with different directions. HEL-LHR-HEL is targetted to Finland based passengers while LHR-HEL-LHR is targetted to UK based passengers. Competition is much harder in UK than in Finland. AY obviously wants to grab some business from UK but Finland is their home country so they can trust a little bit more loyal customer base.Yes, I fully appreciate that. But I still think it is much more than any other European market I've seen. I guess that Finnair gets away with it, or at least thinks it will get away with it. Competition doesn't work so well in Finland then :(

The thing that is really crazy are the AY business class fares HEL-LHR-HEL as compared to LHR-HEL-LHR. Cheapest LHR-HEL-LHR around GBP 700, cheapest HEL-LHR-HEL 1700 euro.... For 2000 euro I can fly from HEL business class on BA to the US west coast.

That route has been like that for years - 10+ years ago, I had a boss who flew that route a lot. He bought a HEL > LHR one-way for his first flight and open returns LHR > HEL > LHR after that because it was so much cheaper to get them booked and ticketed in the UK.

Yes, I fully appreciate that. But I still think it is much more than any other European market I've seen. I guess that Finnair gets away with it, or at least thinks it will get away with it. Competition doesn't work so well in Finland then :(

You are absolutely correct, competition doesn't work so well in Finland yet regarding flights. There isn't so many airlines flying here so Finnair can have their special status.

Blue1 is trying to hit to the Finnair's portion but for example regarding LON routes, most of the fllights between Helsinki and London are by Finnair.

Blue1 is trying to hit to the Finnair's portion but for example regarding LON routes, most of the fllights between Helsinki and London are by Finnair.


Not to mention KF operates with LCC status without J class product and uses Stansted, hardly any competition on HEL-LHR route in terms of business travel... to many other destinations their main disadvantage (on top of LCC status) is their schedule, flights in the middle of the night etc..

Not to mention KF operates with LCC status without J class product and uses Stansted, hardly any competition on HEL-LHR route in terms of business travel... to many other destinations their main disadvantage (on top of LCC status) is their schedule, flights in the middle of the night etc..

Yeah, true. Blue1 seems to go down more and more on the LCC path and it basically will leave Finnair even more stronger position. It would be nice to see more competition in Finland but at the moment Finnair has very stable position.

And besides, most of the people do not like to travel few hours around the Europe to end up somewhere when there is direct flights also available. FT people are of course exception. :)

Why does the finnair.com website charge 15 euros to buy a finnair ticket?

Isn't it odd that I can get the same ticket cheaper at expedia or travelocity?

Why does the finnair.com website charge 15 euros to buy a finnair ticket?

Isn't it odd that I can get the same ticket cheaper at expedia or travelocity?

No, I don't think so. Maybe Finnair's costs are higher than Expedia's or Travelocity's?

The beauty of this system is that you can buy the ticket from multiple places but you still end up into the same plane into the same seats with the same service. The person next to you might have bought the same kind of ticket but have paid much higher or lower fare. Including different ticketing fees.

No, I don't think so. Maybe Finnair's costs are higher than Expedia's or Travelocity's?

The real reason for having a service charge is the removal of commissions to travel agents. Since AY (and most other airlines as well) removed all commissions on ticket sales some years ago TAs had to start charging their own fees on top of the base ticket fare + taxes and charges. To avoid any "unfair competition" complaints and potentially lawsuits most the airlines had to start charging their own ticketing fee - otherwise the TAs would always be the more expensive option as the only money they make is from their own fees as opposed to the airline that makes most of its money from the actual fare.

Of course the short reason is because they can get away with it :).

The real reason for having a service charge is the removal of commissions to travel agents. Since AY (and most other airlines as well) removed all commissions on ticket sales some years ago TAs had to start charging their own fees on top of the base ticket fare + taxes and charges. To avoid any "unfair competition" complaints and potentially lawsuits most the airlines had to start charging their own ticketing fee - otherwise the TAs would always be the more expensive option as the only money they make is from their own fees as opposed to the airline that makes most of its money from the actual fare.I understand what you are arguing here. In my mind the a TA actually adds (or at least should add...) some service for which they can charge you a fee. If you on the other hand go on the internet, investigate which flight to take, what it will cost, etc., you will do the TA's work yourself, so it is reasonable to me that you won't pay any booking fee. As well the airline has no need for manual intervention when you book online (unlike e.g. when you book via phone). So there is no unfair competition at all - it is simply a different type of service. And as other websites do not charge this booking fee, why don't TAs sue them?

So in my opinion an online booking fee is completely ridiculous - just include it in the base fare if you need the money :mad: :rolleyes: Like all other unavoidable airline-related fees such as fuel surcharges.

But I agree - apparently then can get away with it, that's why they do it :(

But I agree - apparently then can get away with it, that's why they do it :(

Actually, in my opinion the best idea is to give them feedback. Do not book with their web tool. Don't pay them any fees. Book through other channels. But then again, some TAs are actually more expensive than Finnair web booking.

The general problem with TA-s is that most of them are as USELESS as a snooze button on a smoke alarm.
If you want to get a proper flight - not to pay ridiculous money etc... you actually need to give them the exact flights you want to be on.
Especially bad is if you have a company policy of: YOU MUST USE A TRAVEL AGENT".

However - this still beats the point of Finnair.com being the most expensive place to buy Finnair tickets. Opodo/Lastminute/Expedia are cheaper.
Codeshares are cheaper. Why pay more?
Out of Respect?

The general problem with TA-s is that most of them are as USELESS as a snooze button on a smoke alarm.
If you want to get a proper flight - not to pay ridiculous money etc... you actually need to give them the exact flights you want to be on.
Especially bad is if you have a company policy of: YOU MUST USE A TRAVEL AGENT".

However - this still beats the point of Finnair.com being the most expensive place to buy Finnair tickets. Opodo/Lastminute/Expedia are cheaper.
Codeshares are cheaper. Why pay more?
Out of Respect?

True. It is constant balancing between how much you trust your TA, how capable are they and what kind of premium you are willing to pay. Sometimes some fares are only available through airline websites, not through TAs. If the first priority is to find cheap fares then of course most of the TAs are out of the question, then it is best to shop around and switch the site always but it requires quite a lot of effort and time. If the first priority is to save own time and effort, then capable TA is worth the fee they charge. Everyone will have their own preferences, I am TA person (company requires usage of TA and personally I use one TA only - I don't deal with airlines directly any longer if possible).

Now I just don't get why owuld anyone price BA codeshare with Finnair.
I do LHR-HEL-TLL returns about 10 times a year. Never I managed to get Finnair to give me a better price. On top of that Finnair tickets are no change no refund, while ba allowes changes for a fee. Isn't it about time Finnair would make it's ticketing policy a bit more Friendly?
Currently looking at december flights. £230 with BA (on finnair plane) finnair exact same flight £307.
Rubbish

Well, I fly LON-TLL sometimes as well and I never fly BA/AY via HEL, for two reasons. It's quite expensive and you have to changes planes on route. A R/T ticket with Estonian Air (OV), which flies nonstop LGW-TLL, costs £155 incl. taxes. I checked for December and that price is available on more or less all flights.

Sure, OV doesn't serve any complemantary meals or drinks in Economy but otherwise they're quite OK. And if you consider the price difference and that is a nonstop flight I think the choice is quite easy between OV or AY via HEL. When flying OV you can put your miles to SAS Eurobonus (which of course can be used to credit miles for all *A -airlines).

That is if OV happens to be on time. I am Estonian and I promised myself that I will never step my foot on their plane again unless there is an extreme urgency to do so.

Also Finnair has a better seat and legspace and the DON'T operate from Gatwick South.

That is if OV happens to be on time. I am Estonian and I promised myself that I will never step my foot on their plane again unless there is an extreme urgency to do so.

Also Finnair has a better seat and legspace and the DON'T operate from Gatwick South.

I've been lucky myself when travelling with OV, they've alwyas been in time so far.

If you'd like to avoid both OV and LGW and get a better price than AY/BA you could opt to fly with SAS, which have decent prices as well LON-TLL (around £160 for a R/T incl. taxes). If you book it through flysas.com you'd usually get routed via CPH, meaning you'd fly on OV operated flights with SK-codeshare CPH-TLL, but the £160 prices is also available if you fly LHR/LCY-ARN-TLL when you can travel SK all the way. You might have to call SAS to get that itnerary though. The price is a lot better than the price you get from AY/BA but the service onboard SAS intra-European flights is not at par with AY/BA in Economy.