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Free drinks for AY Plats [and other experience reports of Plat recognition]

Free drinks for AY Plats [and other experience reports of Plat recognition]

Old Jul 26, 2017, 6:42 am
  #466  
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Programs: AY Plat (OWE)
Posts: 177
Originally Posted by wkndtraveler
Platinum recognition on AY is sometimes weird. On my recent flight, a FA said "Sä varmaan haluut lehden" (in English something like "I bet you want a paper") and handed a tabloid, Ilta-Sanomat, without any choise.

Is it so difficult to say: Welcome aboard, good to see you back. Would you like something to read?


The soft perk of free newspapers has been running already quite a long time. Still it appears not to be handled appropriately. Today I was on AY754 in Y, with my better half. No recognition at all. When the newspapers came to our row 8, I asked for IS. "It is 3 euros". I replied something like "... I am plat". "It is 3 euros". "Really? I think it is free for plat customers". "Are you plat? Sorry, I do not have the list on my hand. Here it comes. Any newspapers for the lady?". Soon after she came with two bottles of champagne. "Please have here some champagne for you both". For us as Fanta-only, this compensation trial did not work very well...
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Old Jul 26, 2017, 9:24 am
  #467  
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Tampere
Programs: BA EC Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,232
non-AY OWEs

Mrs999 and I are both OWE by virtue of being BA Gold. The last year or two, when flying AY Y we have almost always been offered newspapers, usually with the purser/FA bringing them to our seats before takeoff (i.e., well before the sales trolley comes through). However, we have never been offered a free drink.
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Old Jul 26, 2017, 4:29 pm
  #468  
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Location: Tokyo
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Originally Posted by henry999
Mrs999 and I are both OWE by virtue of being BA Gold. The last year or two, when flying AY Y we have almost always been offered newspapers, usually with the purser/FA bringing them to our seats before takeoff (i.e., well before the sales trolley comes through). However, we have never been offered a free drink.
That must be due to the lowly BA Emerald. As a JL Emerald I have been offered champagne on all my connections to JL in Helsinki.

And seriously speaking, you must have had a string of bad experiences, as it is normal for OWE to get a free drink.
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Old Jul 27, 2017, 12:28 am
  #469  
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: HEL
Programs: AY Plat (OWE), SK EBG (*A Gold), KQ Plat (STE+), Accor Plat, Hilton Honors Gold
Posts: 3,154
Originally Posted by henry999
Mrs999 and I are both OWE by virtue of being BA Gold. The last year or two, when flying AY Y we have almost always been offered newspapers, usually with the purser/FA bringing them to our seats before takeoff (i.e., well before the sales trolley comes through). However, we have never been offered a free drink.
It's usually not proactively offered – you just make the order and they don't charge you. Have you tried this?
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Old Jul 27, 2017, 1:15 am
  #470  
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Programs: Finnair (AY) Platinum, Air France Silver, Tallink Club One Silver :)
Posts: 1,655
Originally Posted by Steve_Hun
The free drink platinum benefit is advertised as:

You and your travel companion will receive a free drink and a newspaper when flying in Finnair Economy Class.

I've had a number of flights where we were two on the booking and indeed both of us got NF and a paper. Any experience on "how far" one can go with the number of travel companions, or is this strictly a "+1" benefit, like the lounge access. Of course I'm not expecting that in case of a group booking everyone would get a champagne, but on my next flight we'll be three of us on one booking.

Any experience?
To report back on my experience with this...

Earlier this month I had a HEL-BUD-HEL trip. We were travelling as a party of 3 (1 plat, 1 gold and a silver, so we would have just needed a basic to cover the whole spectrum ).

On the HEL-BUD flight when asked for 3 champagne, the FA was first hesitant (she was for sure still new, as she was getting "directions" from her colleague), so she asked if she can give out 3 bottles. Her colleague at the end replied to "usually it is for 2 ppl, but you can decide". So we all got champagne.

On the BUD-HEL segment 10 days later, the FA was a lot firmer. He said that only Plat +1, so if we want a third one, we have to pay for that. He also mentioned, that it would be different for a family, where 2 adults could get the champagne, and kids would get soft drinks / juice.
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Old Jul 27, 2017, 1:48 am
  #471  
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 229
Unfortunately it is only one drink per person. Second drink I had to pay
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Old Jul 29, 2017, 12:43 am
  #472  
 
Join Date: May 2015
Location: ATL/MCO
Programs: Costco Executive, RaceTrac Sultan of Soda, Chick-fil-A Red
Posts: 5,649
Originally Posted by casper79
Unfortunately it is only one drink per person. Second drink I had to pay
Given that there is no published policy it seems to be the FA's making their own rules be it unlimited drinks or one per person.
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Old Jul 29, 2017, 2:34 am
  #473  
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: HEL
Programs: AY Plat (OWE), SK EBG (*A Gold), KQ Plat (STE+), Accor Plat, Hilton Honors Gold
Posts: 3,154
Originally Posted by miamiflyer8
Given that there is no published policy it seems to be the FA's making their own rules be it unlimited drinks or one per person.
There is a published policy: one drink for the Plat and one for his/her companion.

Anything else shouldn't be expected.
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Old Jul 29, 2017, 5:45 am
  #474  
 
Join Date: May 2015
Location: ATL/MCO
Programs: Costco Executive, RaceTrac Sultan of Soda, Chick-fil-A Red
Posts: 5,649
Originally Posted by lkrt
There is a published policy: one drink for the Plat and one for his/her companion.

Anything else shouldn't be expected.
Their website in the Plat page says "You and your travel companion will receive a free drink and a newspaper when flying in Finnair Economy Class", it doesn't explicitly say one beverage per person. Let's say someone orders a gin & tonic, they will be handed two containers of free liquid. As some FA's like to provide more than one serving, it makes me think there is no official policy.
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Old Jul 29, 2017, 6:09 am
  #475  
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: HEL
Programs: AY Plat (OWE), SK EBG (*A Gold), KQ Plat (STE+), Accor Plat, Hilton Honors Gold
Posts: 3,154
Originally Posted by miamiflyer8
Their website in the Plat page says "You and your travel companion will receive a free drink and a newspaper when flying in Finnair Economy Class", it doesn't explicitly say one beverage per person. Let's say someone orders a gin & tonic, they will be handed two containers of free liquid. As some FA's like to provide more than one serving, it makes me think there is no official policy.
It's pretty clear. A drink per person = one drink per person. This is the official policy.
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Old Jul 29, 2017, 2:04 pm
  #476  
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Helsinki
Programs: AY Platinum, IHG Gold, Diners
Posts: 1,274
I've never had problems to get champagne for me and the mrs, and cokes for the two juniors. I could have sworn I had seen it being mentioned plat + 3 somewhere is the max, but as I can't find it, I must have dreamt it.
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Old Jul 30, 2017, 12:04 am
  #477  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: HEL
Programs: AY+Plat, ALL Plat, Scandic L2
Posts: 3,619
So, if I travel with a colleague on separate PNR, can I refer them so they also get a free drink (even though they're somewhere else on the A/C)?
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Old Jul 30, 2017, 12:25 am
  #478  
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Join Date: May 2011
Location: MMX (CPH)
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I'm assuming "companion" would mean either being on the same PNR or someone sitting with you.
(Otherwise we all should send a champers to the sorry traveller on 58Ö)
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Old Jul 30, 2017, 3:03 am
  #479  
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Originally Posted by intuition
(Otherwise we all should send a champers to the sorry pretty cute single traveller on 58Ö)
There, I corrected it for you.
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Old Jul 30, 2017, 3:04 am
  #480  
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Join Date: May 2011
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I do hope they show these attributes on the seatmap!
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