Questions & Answers
Here we have gathered all the hottest questions regarding the updated ticket types valid as of 1 June 2023 on all short-haul flights and most long-haul flights. Light, Classic and Flex ticket types are available in all booking classes in Economy, Premium Economy and Business Class. The new Economy Superlight ticket type is available on short-haul flights.
The biggest changes affecting sales were the introduction of Superlight ticket type and changes to baggage allowance of Business Class tickets.
You can find the available ticket types as well as the updated benefits and rules table under Different ticket types and Ticket type benefits.
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What is the new Economy Superlight ticket type?
Our new Economy Superlight ticket is ideal for travelling within Europe with minimal baggage. With the Superlight ticket, you can only take one small bag that fits under the seat, and the travel time cannot be changed after booking and tickets cannot be refunded. For a fee, you can add a carry-on bag or checked baggage and further tailor your booking with all of our available travel extras at any time.
What has changed in the Business Class baggage allowance?
Travellers are allowed to bring only 1 cabin bag and 1 checked bag when travelling with Business Class tickets (only the cabin bag with Business Light tickets). Note that the weight limit of checked baggage has been changed to be the same as in Economy and Premium Economy Class (max 23kg). All special and oversized baggage, such as golf bags, skis, and heavy bags up to 32 kg, are available only as travel extras to be purchased before travel.
*Tickets purchased on or after 11 December 2023 for long-haul flights: We will increase the checked baggage allowance for Business Class customers with Classic and Flex tickets for Finnair long-haul flights; customers can bring two pieces of checked baggage, each weighing up to 32kg. As stated above, previously the baggage allowance included one bag weighing 23kg. The carry-on baggage allowance will remain unchanged and passenger can take a carry-on bag (55x40x23) and a small bag (40x30x15) which together weigh up to 12 kg when travelling in Business Class.
The baggage allowances for long-haul Business Light tickets, Business Class tickets for European flights, and all Economy and Premium Economy tickets will remain as described earlier. You can check baggage allowance per route and ticket type on Checked baggage allowance page.
What do I need to do with the old bookings which have been made prior to the ticket type renewal?
Nothing; the existing bookings and tickets will remain valid as they are with the existing fare rules and benefits until the ticket has been used. From 1 June 2023 onward it is only possible to buy the new Economy Superlight tickets.
Are there any other changes I need to take into consideration?
We are storing the selected ticket type in the PNR at the time of pricing. This makes sure that the benefits which are tied to a certain ticket type, are delivered correctly to the customer.
For a travel agent this means two things.
- You will be able to check and see the fare family code after pricing the booking, in e.g. Amadeus with the command TQD (for example TQD/T1/FC1 - refer to TST number and Fare Component number)
- You will see a new SK element automatically appear in a PNR after ticketing:
- for example, SK BFLE AY HK1 BUSINESS FLEX/S2/P1 to indicate that a Business Flex fare has been sold and ticketed for that specific segment
- based on these SK elements, the ticket type specific benefits are applied to the customer
- these SK elements are not restricted so you will be able to see them in the booking office (PCC) where the booking was made.
Important information for Amadeus users:
Always price the flights before you confirm any benefits to the customer.
This is especially important when booking seats; you are able to see if the seat is included as a benefit (seat map, SSR) only after pricing the flights. The chargeability of the seat(s) is automatically checked at the time of repricing as well as ticket issuance. If you change the flights, re-pricing the flights or ticket revalidation is required for the seat validation.
If you need to do manual pricing, you will not be able to add the fare family code into the manual TST yourself; you must contact your local Finnair agent help desk for assistance. You can find your local contact details here.
You can view and check the fare family code with a TQD entry; for example, TQD/T1/FC1 for TST number one, fare component one (fare family code is component specific so if you book eg. a combination of Light and Classic, you need to view both separately).
Important information for other GDS users:
We recommend issuing tickets before booking any seats to the customer as the seat validation only happens at ticketing time (see above the difference in Amadeus bookings for comparison).In other GDS’ bookings, the fare family code is automatically computed for both automatic and manual pricing at the time of ticketing.
If you are not certain that a fare family code is correctly stored in a PNR or you have any questions, please contact your local Finnair agent help desk, contact details can be found here.
Can I upgrade the ticket type (fare family) e.g. from Classic to Flex?
No, ticket type upgrades are not allowed anymore; if you need to change a ticket, you need to do it within the same ticket type. As an example; an old Z-class Classic ticket to a new Z-class Flex ticket type is not allowed. If the original ticket type allows changes and the customer decides to travel on another time, the original ticket type and the original benefits will apply. If the journey has not yet started and the routing or fare is changing, the rules and benefits of the ticket type will apply, however the change must be made to the same ticket type, e.g. Classic --> Classic.
Are name changes allowed?
Yes, name changes are allowed with Classic and Flex ticket types with a fee. Check the name change fee in the GDS fare rule. Light and Superlight ticket types do not allow name changes.
Does this change apply also to Finnair’s corporate and/or any other special negotiated fares?
Yes, these changes in the ticket type rules and benefits also apply to any negotiated and/or special fares where the fare rule is derived from the published fare. There can be some minor exceptions, for example the Marine fare's change/refund policy now follow Flex instead of previous Classic. Also note that the Corporate Classic fare has now become fully changeable without any penalty (paying only the possible fare difference between the original and new tickets) yet became non-refundable. The airport priority services have been removed from the Corporate Economy Flex fares as they have been removed from the published Economy Flex ticket type.
Does this change apply also to group bookings?
No, group bookings have their own rules. Read more under Group travel.
Does the chosen ticket type affect on passenger's Finnair Plus tier benefits?
No, the Finnair Plus tier benefits are applied to all ticket types just like before and our top tier customers can enjoy their tier benefits as normal.
Will the purchased ticket type related benefits remain in involuntary rebooking/rerouting cases?
Yes, all the original ticket type's benefits remain. However, if rerouting needs to be done to another airline, usually travel related benefits such as airport priority services and seating cannot be transferred to another airline.
What happens to ticket benefits and rules when the travel class is upgraded?
The original ticket's change and refund policy will apply. Otherwise,
- when the upgrade is purchased in advance, the full benefits of the upgraded travel class will apply. For example, if you upgrade an Economy Light ticket to Business Class, the ticket cannot be changed nor can it be refunded, but otherwise the customer gets the full Business Class benefits including priority services at the airport and lounge access.
- when the upgrade is purchased at the airport, the customer gets the Business Class experience onboard but priority services at the airport including lounge access are not included and also the baggage allowance follows the original ticket's baggage allowance.
Please note that the frequent flyer tier benefits remain unchanged and tier members who have priority services and lounge access as benefits continue to get those services as normal, even when an upgrade is purchased at the airport.
Does this change affect the fare to/from North America and Japan (the so-called Atlantic Joint Business and Siberian Joint Business)?
The ticket types offered on the joint business markets (Atlantic Joint Business and Siberian Joint Business) will differ from our own ticket types to some extent. However, we are aligning the benefits included in the ticket types together with our joint business airline partners. We always urge the travel agents to check the fare rules in the GDS when pricing/ticketing a PNR.
Where can I check the selected ticket type?
- display the ticket type e.g. in Amadeus with command TQD (for example TQD/T1/FC1 - refer to TST number and Fare Component number)
- look for a specific SK element in a booking, e.g. SK BFLE AY HK1 BUSINESS FLEX/S2/P1
- customers can also check the ticket type in the boarding pass