May 16, 2017, 1:37 pm
Last edit by: lkrt
General
Upgrade space is capacity controlled, separately from revenue space in J cabin. The number of seats released to the different upgrade types are driven by a number of factors, but never by the "there are unsold seats in J cabin, let's fill them" policy some other airlines employ. Same applies with upgrades to Premium Economy.
Upgrades now book into fare bucket U, which is also used for business class awards. Note that availability tools such as Expertflyer etc. may or may not show correct U availability as AY tends to offer additional U availability to Plats and Lumos, and this hidden availability is not shown by non-AY affiliated availability tools. Premium Economy upgrade availability is in bucket F, with the above disclaimers applying similarly.
You can upgrade and review the available upgrade options at https://www.finnair.com/en/manage/upgrade.
The searches below very often show zero availability. Very few directly confirmable seats are released in particularly longhaul J. Instead upgrades must go on waitlist, from where a robot processes upgrades from an unknown set of parameters. A waitlisted upgrade can clear in minutes or never, and there is no way to know. Waitlisted upgrades are checked at T-59, 21, 10, 5 days, and at T-37 hours.
Final check most often actually takes place at approximately ~T-38 hours and you will be (most often) notified by email. In case you are denied an upgrade at this point and there is still revenue availability in J, you can contact CS which may be able to upgrade you on the spot or contact "another department" for confirmation. Furthermore, you may contact check-in desk at least in HEL, which may be able to process your upgrade.
You can check for the upgrades upon booking on the Finnair website. Each flight has a separate tab for "Upgrades", showing upgrade availability for PE and J if any exists, otherwise you will be waitlisted. Additionally, you may check your upgrade options for an already-booked flight here. EF gives you an idea of upgrade availability in the U bucket.
Upgrade-types
1. Upgrades with points
2. Upgrades with vouchers
3. Cash upgrades
5. Cash upgrades at airport
6. Complimentary upgrades
Upgrades with AY+ points
Requirements:
Perks:
Upgrades with vouchers
Vouchers are given to Finnair+ members upon advancing to and retaining the platinum and gold tiers. You can see number of vouchers, their type and expiry in your Finnair+ account.
Requirements:
Cost:
Process:
Perks:
Cash upgrades, offered on website / app
On the app as well as on the upgrade tool you can review if an upgrade is offered at a cash price. The prices vary, and reports can be seen here. The cash prices become available at 60 days prior to departure and may fluctuate in the timeframe prior to departure.
Requirements:
Cost:
Process:
Perks:
Upgrades paid in cash at the airport
(Note that according to recent reports, check-in agents are in some cases only able to process last-minute points and voucher upgrades.)
Requirements:
Cost:
Process:
Perks:
Complimentary operational upgrades
Upgrade space is capacity controlled, separately from revenue space in J cabin. The number of seats released to the different upgrade types are driven by a number of factors, but never by the "there are unsold seats in J cabin, let's fill them" policy some other airlines employ. Same applies with upgrades to Premium Economy.
Upgrades now book into fare bucket U, which is also used for business class awards. Note that availability tools such as Expertflyer etc. may or may not show correct U availability as AY tends to offer additional U availability to Plats and Lumos, and this hidden availability is not shown by non-AY affiliated availability tools. Premium Economy upgrade availability is in bucket F, with the above disclaimers applying similarly.
You can upgrade and review the available upgrade options at https://www.finnair.com/en/manage/upgrade.
The searches below very often show zero availability. Very few directly confirmable seats are released in particularly longhaul J. Instead upgrades must go on waitlist, from where a robot processes upgrades from an unknown set of parameters. A waitlisted upgrade can clear in minutes or never, and there is no way to know. Waitlisted upgrades are checked at T-59, 21, 10, 5 days, and at T-37 hours.
Final check most often actually takes place at approximately ~T-38 hours and you will be (most often) notified by email. In case you are denied an upgrade at this point and there is still revenue availability in J, you can contact CS which may be able to upgrade you on the spot or contact "another department" for confirmation. Furthermore, you may contact check-in desk at least in HEL, which may be able to process your upgrade.
You can check for the upgrades upon booking on the Finnair website. Each flight has a separate tab for "Upgrades", showing upgrade availability for PE and J if any exists, otherwise you will be waitlisted. Additionally, you may check your upgrade options for an already-booked flight here. EF gives you an idea of upgrade availability in the U bucket.
Upgrade-types
1. Upgrades with points
2. Upgrades with vouchers
3. Cash upgrades
5. Cash upgrades at airport
6. Complimentary upgrades
Upgrades with AY+ points
Requirements:
- flight marketed and operated by AY (operated by Norra is also eligible as well as op by Iberia or Widerøe for Finnair as wetlease)
- ticketed booking in paid economy (there must be a ticket number in your reservation)
- all paid economy booking classes are eligible
- award flights and points+money combos are ineligible (booking class X)
- you cannot upgrade any codeshare flights
- It is not required to have a Finnair-issued ticket (although this has now been required according to some experiences)
- Northern Europe (ARN, BGO, CPH, GOT, KEF, KRK, OSL, WAW, WRO) 10,000 points one way
- Rest of Europe, TLV 15,000 points one way
- long haul (including DXB, DOH) 60,000 points one way
- Previously, shorthaul connections were upgraded at the same cost but this has been discontinued as of 15JUN23. If you wish to upgrade a shorthaul feeder flight, a separate points charge will apply.
- there have been some occasional promotions especially for short haul upgrades (winter and summer campaigns)
- When booking, you can check for direct upgrade availability on "Upgrades" tab or by looking on Expertflyer for U bucket
- once you have a ticketed booking, you can process your upgrade or waitlist yourself for upgrade online here
- you may also call AY to process your upgrade at a 1000-point surcharge (does not apply to PE->J upgrades not available online)
- If there is no availability, you can waitlist. A waitlisted upgrade may clear within hours of your request or up to 37 hours before STD. If it doesn't clear, after T-37 you may call AY, use the chat or go to the check-in desk at the airport and enquire about an upgrade.
- your status is one of the factors affecting your priority on the waitlist
- If there is no SH availability you can still upgrade the LH and waitlist the shorthaul. You'll pay the same points price even if SH does not clear though.
- NOTE: If you wish to reserve your seat in original class, select the desired seats before waitlisting. After waitlisting it is not possible to select seats via Manage My Booking, however one can do that via Chat or Call Center.
- if you waitlist, your points will be taken from your account immediately; if the upgrade does not clear, your points will be returned to you but you will lose any points that have expired during the waiting time
- your points need to be valid at time of processing the request but they do not need to be valid on the day of the flight
- When confirmed, you will receive a new e-ticket showing booking class U (or F for Premium Economy) but you will receive points/miles according to your original booking class (this may require a retroclaim if earning on other programmes than AY+)
- Once you have a new ticket, your upgrade is confirmed. However, if J is overbooked on your flight, you will be among the first pax that AY will bump back into Y. J rarely gets overbooked, though.
- as an unpublished perk, you may choose to change your upgrade from a points one to a voucher one by calling AY; your points will be returned to you save for any points that may have expired
- If you change your mind about the upgrade you may conctact CS and ask to cancel the upgrade and have points returned. There likely must be seats left in Y cabin (or potentially, original booking class) to allow this, and your points expiry date must not have passed.
Perks:
- Most of the J perks like priority check-in, priority security where available, lounge access, priority boarding. However the luggage allowance is one additional piece at 23kg (on top of your existing economy allowance).
- you will receive points/miles according to your original economy class booking class (this may require a retroclaim if earning on other programmes than AY+)
Upgrades with vouchers
Vouchers are given to Finnair+ members upon advancing to and retaining the platinum and gold tiers. You can see number of vouchers, their type and expiry in your Finnair+ account.
Requirements:
- flight marketed and operated by AY (operated by Norra is also eligible as well as op by Iberia or Widerøe for Finnair as wetlease)
- ticketed booking in economy (there must be a ticket number in your reservation)
- all paid economy booking classes are eligible
- award flights booked via AY+ are also eligible (booking class X)
- most likely, points+money combos are eligible, too, since they book into X, but we have no verification of this
- award flights booked via parners (eg. Avios, AAdvantage etc) are not eligible
- you cannot upgrade any codeshare flights
- It is not required to have a Finnair-issued ticket (although this has now been required according to some experiences)
Cost:
- Northern Europe one "European" voucher for a one-way flight
- Rest of Europe, TLV one "European" voucher for a one-way flight
- longhaul (including DXB, DOH) one "Longhaul" voucher for a one-way flight
- LH voucher does not include upgrade for connecting shorthaul (like it does with points upgrades), SH flight requires a separate voucher/points upgrade
- you may exchange four European vouchers for one "Longhaul" voucher or vice versa by calling AY
Process:
- When booking, you can check for direct upgrade availability on "Upgrades" tab or by looking on Expertflyer for U bucket
- once you have a ticketed booking, you can process your upgrade or waitlist yourself for upgrade online here
- you may also call AY to process your upgrade at a 1000-point surcharge (does not apply to PE->J upgrades not available online)
- If there is no availability, you can waitlist. A waitlisted upgrade may clear within hours of your request or up to 37 hours before STD. If it doesn't clear, after T-37 you may call AY, use the chat or go to the check-in desk at the airport and enquire about an upgrade.
- your status is one of the factors affecting your priority on the waitlist
- If there is no SH availability you can still upgrade the LH and waitlist the shorthaul. You'll pay the same points price even if SH does not clear though.
- NOTE: If you wish to reserve your seat in original class, select the desired seats before waitlisting. After waitlisting it is not possible to select seats via Manage My Booking, however one can do that via Chat or Call Center.
- if you waitlist, your voucher will be taken from your account immediately; if the upgrade does not clear, your voucher will be returned to you but you will lose any vouchers that have expired during the waiting time
- you will receive a new e-ticket showing booking class U but you will receive points/miles according to your original booking class (this may require a retroclaim if earning on other programmes than AY+)
- Once you have a new ticket, your upgrade is confirmed. However, if J is overbooked on your flight, you will be among the first pax that AY will bump back into Y. J rarely gets overbooked, though.
- If you change your mind about the upgrade you can contact CS and ask to cancel the upgrade and have voucher returned. There likely must be seats left in Y cabin (or original booking class) to allow this, and your voucher expiry date must not have passed.
Perks:
- all usual J perks like priority check-in, one additional piece of baggage (23kg), priority security where available, lounge access, priority boarding
- you will receive points/miles according to your original economy class booking class (this may require a retroclaim if earning on other programmes than AY+)
Cash upgrades, offered on website / app
On the app as well as on the upgrade tool you can review if an upgrade is offered at a cash price. The prices vary, and reports can be seen here. The cash prices become available at 60 days prior to departure and may fluctuate in the timeframe prior to departure.
Requirements:
- flight marketed and operated by AY (or operated by Norra or Iberia or Widerøe for Finnair (wetlease))
- ticketed booking in paid economy (there must be a ticket number in your reservation)
- all paid economy booking classes are eligible
- you cannot upgrade any codeshare flights
- you do not need to be a AY+ member
Cost:
- varies case by case
- for Europe, prices range from €50 to €200 one way
- for long hauls, DEL is the cheapest with prices as low as €200 one way, other destinations tend to be €350–€500
- this thread includes a wiki about prices and a lot of further information
- if you already paid for seat selection in Y (comfort) cabin, Finnair will refund that cost after upgrade if you ask them to.
Process:
- Check the app or the upgrade tool for cash prices (earliest 60 days prior to departure)
- you will receive a new e-ticket showing booking class U but you will receive points/miles according to your original booking class (this may require a retroclaim if earning on other programmes than AY+)
- Once you have a new ticket, your upgrade is confirmed. However, if J is overbooked on your flight, you will be among the first pax that AY will bump back into Y. J rarely gets overbooked, though.
Perks:
- Most of the J perks like priority check-in, priority security where available, lounge access, priority boarding. However the luggage allowance is one additional piece at 23kg (on top of your existing economy allowance).
- you will receive points/miles according to your original economy class booking class (this may require a retroclaim if earning on other programmes than AY+)
Upgrades paid in cash at the airport
(Note that according to recent reports, check-in agents are in some cases only able to process last-minute points and voucher upgrades.)
Requirements:
- upgrades may be available for purchase at check-in
- flight operated by AY or Norra
- ticketed booking in economy
- all paid economy booking classes are eligible
- most likely AY+ & partner award flights in economy are eligible, too, though this is unconfirmed
- the marketing carrier does not matter, so this is the only upgrade where codeshares are eligible
Cost:
- varies, expect to pay some hundreds of euros for long haul one way
Process:
- the upgrade will be processed and paid for at the check-in desk of the airport of departure
- most likely the above means the airport of departure of that particular flight, so to upgrade HEL-BKK on a CPH-HEL-BKK itinerary, you would need to contact (transfer) check-in at HEL
- you will receive points/miles according to your original booking class (this may require a retroclaim if earning on other programmes than AY+)
- Once you have a new ticket, your upgrade is confirmed. The odds of being bumped back into Y are close to 0 as AY will not offer these upgrades if J is overbooked
Perks:
- Only in-flight perks apply
- Lounge access, priority security, additional checked in baggage is not extended to airport upgraders
- you will receive points/miles according to your original economy class booking class (this may require a retroclaim if earning on other programmes than AY+)
Complimentary operational upgrades
- usually just a new boarding pass & seat either at the gate, at check-in or even after you have boarded
- few and far between
- the decision whom to upgrade on a particular flight seems a bit random but is at least partially dependent on the price of your ticket, booking class and status
- AY highest tier members (Lumos, Plats, Golds) are prioritised with the travelling party size affecting upgrade priority (i.e. if only one seat is available in J, the party will not be split)
- you will receive points/miles according to your original economy class booking class (this may require a retroclaim if earning on other programmes than AY+)
The Big UPGRADE Thread – all you need to know about AY upgrades
Nov 2, 2022, 8:55 am
#2626
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 2,685
Well, that final sentence kind of proves you are not at all able to see the point some are making.
For as long as I've been a member, AY+ was exactly that program. With only minor flexibility in dates we were able to redeem, not only our own voucher upgrades but also family upgrades. All the time. To all the desired destinations.
"availability was never great" Pft. Talk is cheap. Give us some examples during the period 2010 to say 2019 where availability for upgrades was poor. No sweeping statements, give us actual examples of when you went into the upgrade availability search and it was zeroed out for several days/weeks/months in a row.
Let's look at the popular claim "Singapore is always difficult". Well, here are the real numbers, examplified with number of seats Finnair officially published as award seats on AY81 as a function of days before departure. Data is from Q1-2016.
Oops, looks like you needed zero flexibility to get an upgrade, as they in general published 5-8 upgrade seats every day. Similar patterns applied for other periods and other destinations. The standard number of seats varied by destination (4 seats were very common) but it was never zero. Sometimes there was blackout dates and/or weekdays, but at T-330 there was not a single destination in the longhaul network that had a full week zeroed out.
And oops, it looks like you didn't have to trawl the system 11 months in advance either to get lucky - seats were available all the way up until a few days before departure. Again, this is published availabilty for upgrades, meaning they were processed immediately upon request. No waitlist success-rate BS. Seats available = upgrade 100% cleared.
So yes, we prefer "guaranteed upgrade over six 50% ones," because that is figuratively how the upgrades in AY+ used to work.
So just stop trying to belittle others who can actually compare the program of the previous decade to the current one, where awards and upgrades share the same zeroed out bucket.
For as long as I've been a member, AY+ was exactly that program. With only minor flexibility in dates we were able to redeem, not only our own voucher upgrades but also family upgrades. All the time. To all the desired destinations.
"availability was never great" Pft. Talk is cheap. Give us some examples during the period 2010 to say 2019 where availability for upgrades was poor. No sweeping statements, give us actual examples of when you went into the upgrade availability search and it was zeroed out for several days/weeks/months in a row.
Let's look at the popular claim "Singapore is always difficult". Well, here are the real numbers, examplified with number of seats Finnair officially published as award seats on AY81 as a function of days before departure. Data is from Q1-2016.
Oops, looks like you needed zero flexibility to get an upgrade, as they in general published 5-8 upgrade seats every day. Similar patterns applied for other periods and other destinations. The standard number of seats varied by destination (4 seats were very common) but it was never zero. Sometimes there was blackout dates and/or weekdays, but at T-330 there was not a single destination in the longhaul network that had a full week zeroed out.
And oops, it looks like you didn't have to trawl the system 11 months in advance either to get lucky - seats were available all the way up until a few days before departure. Again, this is published availabilty for upgrades, meaning they were processed immediately upon request. No waitlist success-rate BS. Seats available = upgrade 100% cleared.
So yes, we prefer "guaranteed upgrade over six 50% ones," because that is figuratively how the upgrades in AY+ used to work.
So just stop trying to belittle others who can actually compare the program of the previous decade to the current one, where awards and upgrades share the same zeroed out bucket.
It seems to me, that at least HEL-SIN route, on any given day max number of upgrades for points available is now 2. Used to be 5 or even more.
Does anybody has experience, if those 2 are booked up, will there more open up? Thai Airways used to have this few years ago, not sure if they have anymore.
Does anybody has experience, if those 2 are booked up, will there more open up? Thai Airways used to have this few years ago, not sure if they have anymore.
Can only repeat what Ikrt has already wrote. And to add a little to it, bought HEL-SIN-HEL value ticket in Jan for Easter (mid April). The HEL-SIN leg had one available upgrade slot, that I've managed to grab using the online upgrade tool. For The SIN-HEL leg there was no upgrade availability, so I've asked CS to waitlist me. The upgrade cleared ~3 days prior the return flight.
Similar experience with JFK-HEL leg. Stayed waitilisted for few months and upgrade cleared few days before return flight.
Similar experience with JFK-HEL leg. Stayed waitilisted for few months and upgrade cleared few days before return flight.
Earlier this year I was on the waitlist for JFK-HEL upgrade for 2 months...they had at least 11 available seats according to expertflyer.com when they said that I'd be put on the waitlist.
The day before the flight there was 3-4 available seats.
No upgrade. Flew home with a 39° fever in economy comfort.
AY Plat status didn't deliver
There was a storm in NYC area the day after, and I bet that some people with a flight for the storm day changed their flight to the day before to secure they'd have a flight, and the rest of the J seats were gone with the wind.
But 8 weeks prior the flight waitlisted. Damn. Still hurts my brain
The day before the flight there was 3-4 available seats.
No upgrade. Flew home with a 39° fever in economy comfort.
AY Plat status didn't deliver
There was a storm in NYC area the day after, and I bet that some people with a flight for the storm day changed their flight to the day before to secure they'd have a flight, and the rest of the J seats were gone with the wind.
But 8 weeks prior the flight waitlisted. Damn. Still hurts my brain
Another data point which I don't remember experiencing before or heard here.
EU shorthaul flights, at least some of them (mine LHR) seem to have 4 seats reserved for booking upgrades. I have a larger group that i tried to upgrade with plat line, and the agent could directly close 4 upgrades (I saw before that the cabin was empty). Later I checked the online tool and it indeed seems to produce availability 4 as max.
Not sure if this is useful information, but anyway
Another thing is that they tend to open more upgrade space on-the-go if booking situation allows. Too bad my group is still waiting for those other upgrades to open, I need to call again plat line soon to inquire.
EU shorthaul flights, at least some of them (mine LHR) seem to have 4 seats reserved for booking upgrades. I have a larger group that i tried to upgrade with plat line, and the agent could directly close 4 upgrades (I saw before that the cabin was empty). Later I checked the online tool and it indeed seems to produce availability 4 as max.
Not sure if this is useful information, but anyway
Another thing is that they tend to open more upgrade space on-the-go if booking situation allows. Too bad my group is still waiting for those other upgrades to open, I need to call again plat line soon to inquire.
And now I got an email, which I have not seen before
FINNAIR
CUSTOMER CARE CENTER
01053 FINNAIR
TELEPHONE: +358 9 818 0800
FAX : +358 981831876
Waitlist Confirmation Status
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear
Your waitlisted Business Class upgrade request was not confirmed at this time. The status of your request will be checked again five days before departure and an email notification will be sent to you automatically. If the upgrade is confirmed, you will receive an updated ticket by email.
Reservation details:
Booking reference:
Membership Number:
Flight Number: AY 839
From: Helsinki
To: London
Flight date:
Best Regards,
Finnair Plus
FINNAIR
CUSTOMER CARE CENTER
01053 FINNAIR
TELEPHONE: +358 9 818 0800
FAX : +358 981831876
Waitlist Confirmation Status
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear
Your waitlisted Business Class upgrade request was not confirmed at this time. The status of your request will be checked again five days before departure and an email notification will be sent to you automatically. If the upgrade is confirmed, you will receive an updated ticket by email.
Reservation details:
Booking reference:
Membership Number:
Flight Number: AY 839
From: Helsinki
To: London
Flight date:
Best Regards,
Finnair Plus
It's a shame that everyone here was so unlucky, missing out on these automatic upgrades for SIN, JFK etc.
Now you might nitpick that these reports are from when this thread was posted, i.e. 2017, and not 2016. This does however raise the question of, if guaranteed upgrades were so important, why didn't the "I must have them guaranteed"-crew leave in e.g. 2018 or 2019.
edit: in the first 5 pages that I looked through, I saw more reports of waitlists than immediately cleared upgrades.
I just read two pages ahead (from 5-7), it seems some poster back then already figured out that published availability numbers didn't correspond to actual availability. I wonder where he is now?
Last edited by NewbieRunner; Nov 2, 2022 at 9:57 am Reason: Merged consecutive posts by same member
Nov 2, 2022, 10:10 am
#2627
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: HEL
Programs: AY, SK, TK
Posts: 7,602
C’mon lads, calm down a bit with the quest for who’s right
What this hulabaloo tells is, it confirms well enough the dissatisfaction of upgrade space and that is the only relevant feedback for finnair: BRING THAT ÄÄSS BACK LIKE A BOOM BOOM NOW!
What this hulabaloo tells is, it confirms well enough the dissatisfaction of upgrade space and that is the only relevant feedback for finnair: BRING THAT ÄÄSS BACK LIKE A BOOM BOOM NOW!
Nov 2, 2022, 11:51 am
#2628
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: try to stay home
Programs: AY, M&M, BAEC ...and don t care of status anymore
Posts: 2,043
I just can say that me and Mrs. Size could travel for years mainly to BKK in J and it was either paid, upgraded by points or vouchers or pure awards, for more then 10 years that was possible, a simple phone call, play a little around with the dates and seats been cleared (sommetimes on need to call "the other department"). During this time we each collect about 2,5 million points and we could finally spend most of them. My flexibility was like this "a need a 12 - 14 days trip to BKK in any give period in lets say Feb 2023. Most of the time I booked max 6 weeks ahead, sometimes 12 weeks but that was the most of flexibility I need to have.
Now I m calling and ask can you give me any given 10 - 14 day period in the next 330 days where I can spend my vouchers - and the answer is just "No, but I can put you on the waitlist". What really frustrates me ist that there are destinations where you can get Upgrades and Awards so it is not the new system, they just deceided that some destinations won t get instant upgrades/awards anymore. Fair enough, my next flights to ORD and DFW are booked.
But since I need to go to BKK it makes no sense to me anymore to stay loyal to AY since my incentive been the awards and upgrades to BKK, thats why I paid more for AY tickets then needed on my dates. And funny enough maybe my next paid flights will be on AY again since they will be the cheapest as it looks like in the moment. So I don t say "I will never fly AY again" but I m saying "I will only book the cheapest tickets for my needs, no problem if it s. AY again".
Now I m calling and ask can you give me any given 10 - 14 day period in the next 330 days where I can spend my vouchers - and the answer is just "No, but I can put you on the waitlist". What really frustrates me ist that there are destinations where you can get Upgrades and Awards so it is not the new system, they just deceided that some destinations won t get instant upgrades/awards anymore. Fair enough, my next flights to ORD and DFW are booked.
But since I need to go to BKK it makes no sense to me anymore to stay loyal to AY since my incentive been the awards and upgrades to BKK, thats why I paid more for AY tickets then needed on my dates. And funny enough maybe my next paid flights will be on AY again since they will be the cheapest as it looks like in the moment. So I don t say "I will never fly AY again" but I m saying "I will only book the cheapest tickets for my needs, no problem if it s. AY again".
Nov 3, 2022, 4:54 am
#2629
Join Date: May 2017
Programs: AY Plat (OWE), TK Elite (*G), BT VIP, HH D, BW DS
Posts: 484
Was denied LHR upgrade at t-37, but the flight went J0 shortly before that, so figured it's full. On the morning of the flight, noticed it went back to J1. Plat/Lumo checkin at HEL upgraded me to that without hesitation.
Interestingly, the agent at the desk had to ask me to show my vouchers on the app to confirm I had them. But that's good old AY IT I guess, might be related to why they've had such trouble for last minute upgrades with loyalty instruments.
Interestingly, the agent at the desk had to ask me to show my vouchers on the app to confirm I had them. But that's good old AY IT I guess, might be related to why they've had such trouble for last minute upgrades with loyalty instruments.
Nov 3, 2022, 8:24 am
#2630
Join Date: Dec 2016
Posts: 639
Upgrade non refundable: original booking class not available
Hi,
I have an Eco Light ticket which I upgraded with points (U). I need to cancel the ticket as most likely I won't be able to travel on that date: I know that Eco Light fares are non refundable but was very surprised when the Finnair agent on the chat said that I cannot get the points refunded either as "the original booking class (Z) is not available". Does that sound correct?
I have an Eco Light ticket which I upgraded with points (U). I need to cancel the ticket as most likely I won't be able to travel on that date: I know that Eco Light fares are non refundable but was very surprised when the Finnair agent on the chat said that I cannot get the points refunded either as "the original booking class (Z) is not available". Does that sound correct?
Nov 3, 2022, 8:40 am
#2631
Join Date: May 2013
Location: HEL
Programs: AY Plat (OWE), SK EBG (*A Gold), KQ Plat (STE+), Accor Plat
Posts: 3,157
Yes, upgrades can generally only be cancelled if original booking class is available – there might be an exception if you cancel the flight altogether?
Nov 3, 2022, 9:37 am
#2632
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: SFO
Programs: AY Plat, LH FTL
Posts: 7,375
I'm understanding that voluntary downgrades may not be possible if the original fare bucket is no longer available, but if I cancel an upgraded flight prior to check-in or departure, certainly my upgrade instrument should be returned, shouldn't it??
Nov 3, 2022, 10:12 am
#2633
Join Date: Oct 2017
Programs: QR Gold AY Plat
Posts: 72
Yes, correct - but you may have to contact AY CS to get your points/vouchers back. I canceled my upgraded flights online I think in May, and the points refund was not processed automatically.
Nov 4, 2022, 12:22 pm
#2634
Join Date: Jun 2015
Programs: AY+, SK EB
Posts: 2,962
This far, I haven’t had issues with getting my uograde vouchers used. Sometines the upgrade requests didn't clear, but in those cases J was full. Now it seems you have to fly to some specific long-haul destinations (ORD, DFW, DEL, BOM) if you want to get your upgrade vouchers used. The triple points promo from May will create a lot more vouchers and at least I already have the gut feeling, that once I reach Lumo I will have a hard time to get all the vouchers used. And being left with unused vouchers creates a lot of discontent when you had a number of flights where you tried to use them.
Flying AY is ok, but for now only if they are awards.
Nov 5, 2022, 10:00 am
#2635
Join Date: Oct 2022
Programs: finnair
Posts: 11
If the upgrade was denied, did you got the points/vouchers refunded in the 24h period like promised? For me this happened already twice where points were not refunded without asking separately (waited ~1 week or so before asking).
Nov 5, 2022, 10:38 am
#2636
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 2,685
Yes, usually the points reservation is simply cancelled, typically before the flight. With vouchers I am not that sure..
Nov 5, 2022, 10:48 am
#2637
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Mostly EU & (SE)Asia
Programs: Various shiny cards at hotel chains and airlines
Posts: 1,040
It seems there is new rule in AY business cabins. At least 1 business class seat must remain empty.
My HEL-BKK did not clear at T37. It was showing availablity in J&C some shortly before that and also after, J1C1... etc, so I WhatsApped them that I would like to get upgrade or at least back to the list and they said that there's a new policy that at least 1 J seat at all flights must remain empty. When I challenged them that I see plenty of flights were all J seats are allocated, then she said that that is mistake... Then I called the Platinum line by phone and same message...
Later they followed up with email as well
So, staff upgrades trump over Lumos even at AY per latest guidelines.
My HEL-BKK did not clear at T37. It was showing availablity in J&C some shortly before that and also after, J1C1... etc, so I WhatsApped them that I would like to get upgrade or at least back to the list and they said that there's a new policy that at least 1 J seat at all flights must remain empty. When I challenged them that I see plenty of flights were all J seats are allocated, then she said that that is mistake... Then I called the Platinum line by phone and same message...
Later they followed up with email as well
Thank you for your inquiry and patience.
I requested some additional information regarding the available seat in J-class that must be left empty at all times. As I mentioned in the chat before, this is not an upgrade slot and it cannot be confirmed to any passenger. This seat must be left open in case of emergencies, such as crew transportation or other kind of inner use. In other words, this seat cannot be occupied by anyone outside of Finnair personnel, and therefore it cannot be given to any passenger regardless of their tier-level.
I understand your frustration regarding the upgrade slots, and I am sorry we were not able to provide this service for you on this flight. Hopefully you can us your benefit to some other flight that you have with us in the future.
I requested some additional information regarding the available seat in J-class that must be left empty at all times. As I mentioned in the chat before, this is not an upgrade slot and it cannot be confirmed to any passenger. This seat must be left open in case of emergencies, such as crew transportation or other kind of inner use. In other words, this seat cannot be occupied by anyone outside of Finnair personnel, and therefore it cannot be given to any passenger regardless of their tier-level.
I understand your frustration regarding the upgrade slots, and I am sorry we were not able to provide this service for you on this flight. Hopefully you can us your benefit to some other flight that you have with us in the future.
Nov 5, 2022, 11:48 am
#2639
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: HEL
Programs: AY, SK, TK
Posts: 7,602
It seems there is new rule in AY business cabins. At least 1 business class seat must remain empty.
My HEL-BKK did not clear at T37. It was showing availablity in J&C some shortly before that and also after, J1C1... etc, so I WhatsApped them that I would like to get upgrade or at least back to the list and they said that there's a new policy that at least 1 J seat at all flights must remain empty. When I challenged them that I see plenty of flights were all J seats are allocated, then she said that that is mistake... Then I called the Platinum line by phone and same message...
Later they followed up with email as well
So, staff upgrades trump over Lumos even at AY per latest guidelines.
My HEL-BKK did not clear at T37. It was showing availablity in J&C some shortly before that and also after, J1C1... etc, so I WhatsApped them that I would like to get upgrade or at least back to the list and they said that there's a new policy that at least 1 J seat at all flights must remain empty. When I challenged them that I see plenty of flights were all J seats are allocated, then she said that that is mistake... Then I called the Platinum line by phone and same message...
Later they followed up with email as well
So, staff upgrades trump over Lumos even at AY per latest guidelines.
Nov 5, 2022, 2:06 pm
#2640
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Seat 1L these days :)
Programs: AF Platinum/AY LUMO/SK EBG/baEC S/HYATT Globalist/MR LTP/A3 *G/HH Dia/IHG plat
Posts: 7,965