Booking Finnair using BA and ineffective CS agents
Apr 9, 2012, 4:04 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: SPG Plat, AE*E, Hyatt Diamond, AAdv, BA Exec
Posts: 257
Booking Finnair using BA and ineffective CS agents
Hi guys.. Trying to book a flight from Toronto to Europe on Finnair. I think BA is showing incorrect availability. If I try to book YYZ - Helsinki direct on say Aug 12, I get no BA availability and no partner availability. Then I try YYZ - BER on the same date - again no BA availability. But when you add partners, you see YYZ - HEL - BER all on Finnair that is available to be booked.
So I call in and get an extremely rude agent who is not willing to believe that perhaps the system is not showing the right availability. Anyone have any experience with this?
So I call in and get an extremely rude agent who is not willing to believe that perhaps the system is not showing the right availability. Anyone have any experience with this?
Apr 9, 2012, 4:28 pm
#2
Join Date: Jan 2006
Programs: MUCCI
Posts: 5,706
From the initital description, this sounds like it could be a married segments rule/behaviour coming into play.
[An airline could take a view that it can still sell tickets X to Y for money, so will not make any more award seats available. But, it might not be able to sell many tickets X to Z via Y, so will make that available for awards. Hence you can get the behaviour described quite correctly.]
But before writing it off, do you have any other access to check oneworld award inventory?
You could signup to AwardNexus, and try the Qantas (QF) award search. [Will leave you to do that one yourself, rather than use my own credits. You get 100 free, and can refill every 90 days.]
Assuming it is economy you are looking for, ExperFlyer can also see that for finnair.
And it is showing 4 economy award seats available on the flight, regardless of whether you search YYZ-HEL, or YYZ-BER.
[An airline could take a view that it can still sell tickets X to Y for money, so will not make any more award seats available. But, it might not be able to sell many tickets X to Z via Y, so will make that available for awards. Hence you can get the behaviour described quite correctly.]
But before writing it off, do you have any other access to check oneworld award inventory?
You could signup to AwardNexus, and try the Qantas (QF) award search. [Will leave you to do that one yourself, rather than use my own credits. You get 100 free, and can refill every 90 days.]
Assuming it is economy you are looking for, ExperFlyer can also see that for finnair.
And it is showing 4 economy award seats available on the flight, regardless of whether you search YYZ-HEL, or YYZ-BER.
Apr 9, 2012, 5:19 pm
#3
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Switzerland
Programs: BA Gold, LH Sen, Bonvoy Plat
Posts: 843
Maybe BA is just trying to protect you from booking AY's all-economy B757 charter style YYZ flights? The consensus on FT's AY board has been that the B757 flights should be avoided at all costs. 
Apr 9, 2012, 11:28 pm
#7
Ambassador: Finnair
Join Date: May 2003
Location: HEL
Programs: AY Lumo, BA Silver, HHonors Gold
Posts: 4,268
I would imagine this is because TATL J is already very competetive market and there's very little natural J demand for HEL-YYZ..it's pure seasonal semi-charter...to be avoided at all possible costs...horrible hard product with 227 ppl in a 757.