Finnair website booking does not show all options on a given day
Mar 11, 2019, 1:56 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: LTN
Programs: Aeroflot Bonus, British Airways Executive Club
Posts: 463
Finnair website booking does not show all options on a given day
I'm finding option for a possible trip HKG - ARN - HEL - HKG, however, the website only shows 6 selections in the ARN - HEL leg, but there are 8 flights on the day. The last 2 flights are not shown in the UI, but I can price it out in ITA matrix and also Google flights. Moreover, I've checked the availability of the last flight and it is wide open.
I'm specifically looking for flight AY802 because it is the only one which suits my tight competition schedule, as I am planning to do a competition in Stockholm in the afternoon and in Helsinki the next day morning.
Can anyone confirm if this is a bug in the website, or give me a screenshot for international itinerary where more than 6 selections are given?
I'm specifically looking for flight AY802 because it is the only one which suits my tight competition schedule, as I am planning to do a competition in Stockholm in the afternoon and in Helsinki the next day morning.
Can anyone confirm if this is a bug in the website, or give me a screenshot for international itinerary where more than 6 selections are given?
Mar 11, 2019, 2:53 am
#3
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: HEL
Programs: AY Platinum, TK Elite, BT VIP, AA, BA, SK, DL, NT, WB + hotels
Posts: 8,735
Yes, it is a well-known problem, at least to me. AY.com is really only geared towards simple return bookings, and all else is difficult. It doesn't for instance give you the possibility to select the time of day (which would solve this problem). Somehow it's as if it runs out of capacity when the itinerary is a bit more complex. I just booked the other way around, ARN-SIN-ARN, and experienced the same. If you add a second HEL stopover, it manages to display even fewer (four in my case) alternatives for the ARN legs.
For most destinations, it's not a problem since there are seldom more than four flights a day, but for ARN, it's really annoying.
I would not suggest Expedia because if anything goes wrong, you'll need to contact them, which can be a hassle. Instead, I have two suggestions for you:
1) Write down the exact flights you want, and the price. Call AY. Book over the phone and tell them their website cannot sell these flights. They should wave the phone fees, so you'll pay the online price. If the agent hesitates, ask them to verify with a supervisor.
2) If the agent refuses to wave the phone fee (which I don't think will happen), you can buy a Finnair gift voucher https://www.finnair.com/fi/gb/gift-voucher for eg €50. The voucher doesn't have to cover the whole price of the ticket, you can pay the rest with a credit card. Contrary to what the website states, you can use the voucher for any AY flight, but if your itinerary starts in a non-€ country, such as HKG, you will need to call AY to make your reservation. In this case, they will wave the phone booking fee. However, the voucher must be paid by bank transfer from a Finnish bank, so this only works if you have a bank account in Finland or know someone who does and is willing to help you.
Please lt us know how this turned out!
For most destinations, it's not a problem since there are seldom more than four flights a day, but for ARN, it's really annoying.
I would not suggest Expedia because if anything goes wrong, you'll need to contact them, which can be a hassle. Instead, I have two suggestions for you:
1) Write down the exact flights you want, and the price. Call AY. Book over the phone and tell them their website cannot sell these flights. They should wave the phone fees, so you'll pay the online price. If the agent hesitates, ask them to verify with a supervisor.
2) If the agent refuses to wave the phone fee (which I don't think will happen), you can buy a Finnair gift voucher https://www.finnair.com/fi/gb/gift-voucher for eg €50. The voucher doesn't have to cover the whole price of the ticket, you can pay the rest with a credit card. Contrary to what the website states, you can use the voucher for any AY flight, but if your itinerary starts in a non-€ country, such as HKG, you will need to call AY to make your reservation. In this case, they will wave the phone booking fee. However, the voucher must be paid by bank transfer from a Finnish bank, so this only works if you have a bank account in Finland or know someone who does and is willing to help you.
Please lt us know how this turned out!
Mar 11, 2019, 3:59 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: LTN
Programs: Aeroflot Bonus, British Airways Executive Club
Posts: 463
Yes, it is a well-known problem, at least to me. AY.com is really only geared towards simple return bookings, and all else is difficult. It doesn't for instance give you the possibility to select the time of day (which would solve this problem). Somehow it's as if it runs out of capacity when the itinerary is a bit more complex. I just booked the other way around, ARN-SIN-ARN, and experienced the same. If you add a second HEL stopover, it manages to display even fewer (four in my case) alternatives for the ARN legs.
For most destinations, it's not a problem since there are seldom more than four flights a day, but for ARN, it's really annoying.
I would not suggest Expedia because if anything goes wrong, you'll need to contact them, which can be a hassle. Instead, I have two suggestions for you:
1) Write down the exact flights you want, and the price. Call AY. Book over the phone and tell them their website cannot sell these flights. They should wave the phone fees, so you'll pay the online price. If the agent hesitates, ask them to verify with a supervisor.
2) If the agent refuses to wave the phone fee (which I don't think will happen), you can buy a Finnair gift voucher https://www.finnair.com/fi/gb/gift-voucher for eg €50. The voucher doesn't have to cover the whole price of the ticket, you can pay the rest with a credit card. Contrary to what the website states, you can use the voucher for any AY flight, but if your itinerary starts in a non-€ country, such as HKG, you will need to call AY to make your reservation. In this case, they will wave the phone booking fee. However, the voucher must be paid by bank transfer from a Finnish bank, so this only works if you have a bank account in Finland or know someone who does and is willing to help you.
Please lt us know how this turned out!
For most destinations, it's not a problem since there are seldom more than four flights a day, but for ARN, it's really annoying.
I would not suggest Expedia because if anything goes wrong, you'll need to contact them, which can be a hassle. Instead, I have two suggestions for you:
1) Write down the exact flights you want, and the price. Call AY. Book over the phone and tell them their website cannot sell these flights. They should wave the phone fees, so you'll pay the online price. If the agent hesitates, ask them to verify with a supervisor.
2) If the agent refuses to wave the phone fee (which I don't think will happen), you can buy a Finnair gift voucher https://www.finnair.com/fi/gb/gift-voucher for eg €50. The voucher doesn't have to cover the whole price of the ticket, you can pay the rest with a credit card. Contrary to what the website states, you can use the voucher for any AY flight, but if your itinerary starts in a non-€ country, such as HKG, you will need to call AY to make your reservation. In this case, they will wave the phone booking fee. However, the voucher must be paid by bank transfer from a Finnish bank, so this only works if you have a bank account in Finland or know someone who does and is willing to help you.
Please lt us know how this turned out!
I still need to wait for about a week to make my final decision whether to buy this Finnair ticket or not (I have an Aeroflot ticket for my itinerary already but the date may not be good now, but I need to wait for more information to see whether I should change that ticket, or refund and buy the Finnair one so I am looking for prices).
Mar 11, 2019, 5:01 am
#5
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: HEL
Programs: AY Platinum, TK Elite, BT VIP, AA, BA, SK, DL, NT, WB + hotels
Posts: 8,735
I suppose they think along the lines of "96 % of our customers buy a simple return or one-way, screw the rest". To some extent, I understand it because it probably costs an unproportionately large sum of money to make the booking engine handle all sorts of complicated cases, but it still is annoying asf.
Mar 11, 2019, 5:06 am
#6
Ambassador: Finnair
Join Date: May 2003
Location: HEL
Programs: AY Lumo, BA Silver, HHonors Gold
Posts: 4,267
I have had expedia bookings a lot with Finnair and never any issues. Not really sure what these could be and what it means ”need to contact them if something goes wrong”?
I have had Irrops handled pro-actively by AY, offering CX/QF/QR flights when AY has been delayed/cancelled, in my experience no reason to avoid them. Much quicker and easier than booking manually with AY.
I have had Irrops handled pro-actively by AY, offering CX/QF/QR flights when AY has been delayed/cancelled, in my experience no reason to avoid them. Much quicker and easier than booking manually with AY.
Mar 11, 2019, 5:11 am
#7
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: HEL
Programs: AY Platinum, TK Elite, BT VIP, AA, BA, SK, DL, NT, WB + hotels
Posts: 8,735
I booked a ticket via Expedia. AY cancelled the last flight 2–3 hours before STD and offered a reroute (as is always the case when this occurs last minute). I opted to cancel, which was fine by AY but refund had to be made via Expedia. This would have required me to call their US phone number and wait in line for 45–60 minutes, so I never got any refund. Especially if OP considers a Youth fare and needs to make changes, I'd prefer to have AY ticket it directly.
Moreover, if it's not a last minute cancellation, but a normal schedule change, that must be handled between customer and OTA. Personally, I'll rather spend some time with Janica over the phone to secure smooth handling later on, but, of course, YMMV.
Mar 11, 2019, 5:48 am
#8
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Vantaa, Finland
Programs: AY Lumo, FB Gold
Posts: 1,667
I booked a ticket via Expedia. AY cancelled the last flight 2–3 hours before STD and offered a reroute (as is always the case when this occurs last minute). I opted to cancel, which was fine by AY but refund had to be made via Expedia. This would have required me to call their US phone number and wait in line for 45–60 minutes, so I never got any refund. Especially if OP considers a Youth fare and needs to make changes, I'd prefer to have AY ticket it directly.
Mar 11, 2019, 6:55 am
#9
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Programs: Finnair (AY) Platinum, Air France Silver, Tallink Club One Silver :)
Posts: 1,655
You know there's also expedia.fi and they have a Finnish customer service team reachable via a Finnish phone number. Some of them are a bit inexperienced so you have to stand your ground if asking for something a little more complicated (like getting a refund for my AF/KL ticket after a 3+ hour schedule change), but they do get the job done. I've booked hundreds of tickets thru them and on the few times I've had to call in for a refund/rebooking they've always been able to resolve the situation just fine.
Mar 11, 2019, 7:37 am
#10
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 2,016
Is the OP aware that AY flies from two airports in Stockholm, ARN and BMA? Is there a difference in offered flights depending on which airport you search for?
Under Regulation 261/2004, the airline is responsible for rebooking and refunding you, so if the travel agency is uncooperative, then you can go back to the airline. Try escalating with AY or KRIL.
I booked a ticket via Expedia. AY cancelled the last flight 2–3 hours before STD and offered a reroute (as is always the case when this occurs last minute). I opted to cancel, which was fine by AY but refund had to be made via Expedia. This would have required me to call their US phone number and wait in line for 45–60 minutes, so I never got any refund. Especially if OP considers a Youth fare and needs to make changes, I'd prefer to have AY ticket it directly.
Mar 11, 2019, 8:49 am
#11
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: HEL
Programs: AY+ Gold (OWS)
Posts: 528
I booked a ticket via Expedia. AY cancelled the last flight 2–3 hours before STD and offered a reroute (as is always the case when this occurs last minute). I opted to cancel, which was fine by AY but refund had to be made via Expedia. This would have required me to call their US phone number and wait in line for 45–60 minutes, so I never got any refund. Especially if OP considers a Youth fare and needs to make changes, I'd prefer to have AY ticket it directly.
Mar 11, 2019, 11:23 am
#12
Ambassador: Finnair
Join Date: May 2003
Location: HEL
Programs: AY Lumo, BA Silver, HHonors Gold
Posts: 4,267
I booked a ticket via Expedia. AY cancelled the last flight 2–3 hours before STD and offered a reroute (as is always the case when this occurs last minute). I opted to cancel, which was fine by AY but refund had to be made via Expedia. This would have required me to call their US phone number and wait in line for 45–60 minutes, so I never got any refund. Especially if OP considers a Youth fare and needs to make changes, I'd prefer to have AY ticket it directly.
Moreover, if it's not a last minute cancellation, but a normal schedule change, that must be handled between customer and OTA. Personally, I'll rather spend some time with Janica over the phone to secure smooth handling later on, but, of course, YMMV.
Last edited by NoWindowSeat; Mar 11, 2019 at 1:20 pm Reason: typos
Mar 11, 2019, 2:29 pm
#13
Join Date: Jan 2012
Programs: AY+ Plat, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 2,846
This is not a direct answer to the question (AY's IT in general mystifies me). But have you considered BMA instead of ARN? I believe there is a ~20:30 flight from BMA, which might work considering how close BMA is to Stockholm and the fact that you can show up much closer to departure time without sweating it. The late BMA flight definitely shows up if you use the multi-city search function on the AY site.
Mar 12, 2019, 12:11 am
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: LTN
Programs: Aeroflot Bonus, British Airways Executive Club
Posts: 463
This is not a direct answer to the question (AY's IT in general mystifies me). But have you considered BMA instead of ARN? I believe there is a ~20:30 flight from BMA, which might work considering how close BMA is to Stockholm and the fact that you can show up much closer to departure time without sweating it. The late BMA flight definitely shows up if you use the multi-city search function on the AY site.