I fly AY a few times a year, and I'm a OWE (AA EXP). A recent trip is emblematic of what I've come to expect from Finnair as OWE treatment (or lack of):
1) No Priority Tags added to luggage, although checking in at the Emerald Desk @HEL
2) Seat reservations not honored. I had intentionally selected window and aisle seats for my wife and didn't pay attention as we got the boarding passes. I guess I just assumed I was getting my selected seats since the TA mentioned something about preassigned seats handing over our BPs for both the AY segment and BA segment.. (turns our she was talking about the BA seats
)
Well, once we start boarding I did a double take.. I had been assigned a middle seat, next to my wife, 2 rows behind where I had made my selection. Not only that, someone else was seated in the aisle next to me. Not sure if she was also a OWE, but I had spotted her in the Premium lounge earlier.
Turns out the flight was half empty so as soon as the doors have been closed, we scattered up to some completely empty rows (My wife actually seated in the seat I actually had originally requested for her, me behind her since we both prefer window seats..)
3) Unlike most of the other OW airlines, I have NEVER been acknowledged for my OWE status and been thanked personally for choosing to fly AY. Now, this is not important to me per se, but it is really common on CX, JL, QF, and sometimes on BA and AA. I'm pretty sure there are other OWE that might find this a disappointing omission though.
On the flip side, we received excellent and friendly service at the Premium Lounge..
