Finnair Adopting Avios in 2024

Probably good news for non-Finnair program members as it'll make it even easier to book Finnair award seats.

Probably bad news for Finnair program members as it entails a switch to a revenue-based program.
 
Just received an email with more details than that OMAAT blog post.

Hello Guvner,

I'm excited to share the latest Finnair Plus news with you: 2024 will mark the start of a new era of our Finnair Plus program. In early 2024, we are introducing Avios as our loyalty currency, and all your Finnair Plus award points will be converted automatically into Avios, with a new world of collect-and-use opportunities opening to you. At the same time, the Finnair Plus program will become spend-based. It means we will reward you based on your spending on Finnair services, similar to many retail loyalty programs. We will also add new benefits to the program, and our Finnair Lounge on the Schengen side of Helsinki Airport will move to new, more spacious premises in 2024.

This will be new in the Finnair Plus program in early 2024: 

  • The Finnair Plus program will become spend-based, so you will collect the Avios loyalty currency and reach tiers based on the money spent – for your flight as well as travel extra purchases – with Finnair. This means that it will no longer be possible to reach tiers with the number of flights only. Collecting tier points and loyalty currency on partner-marketed or -operated flights will continue to be based on the travel class, booking class, and distance flown. However, you will collect based on miles, not kilometres, flown.
  • Avios, our new loyalty currency, will offer you new opportunities to collect and use your loyalty currency in extensive networks of Avios’ partners, including, a wide range of travel experiences and online shopping brands. Avios is the loyalty currency used by some of Finnair’s oneworld partners’ loyalty programs, British Airways Executive Club, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, and Iberia Plus. Finnair Plus award points will be converted into Avios with a 3:2 ratio. The value of your existing points does not change when switching to Avios, as the prices in Avios will be updated with the same 3:2 ratio.
  • We will review the tier point limits required to reach different tiers to reflect the new spend-based earning of tier points and the switch to Avios, and we will communicate these limits later this year.   
  • Milestones will be a new benefit, meaning you, as a Platinum member, will receive additional upgrade benefits when reaching a certain amount of tier points within your existing tier.
  • The upgrade benefits will be simplified. There will be just one type of upgrade benefit, bringing more flexibility for you: you can easily choose if you wish to use your benefits for long-haul or for European flights. You will get the same amount of upgrade benefits as before when reaching your tier. The required amount of upgrade benefits varies between long-haul and European flights, and it requires fewer upgrade benefits to upgrade from Premium Economy to Business Class going forward.
  • Your possibility to use Avios on award flights is improved: we will increase the number of Classic award seats and guarantee at least 4 award seats on Finnair flights within Europe and 8 on Finnair long-haul flights.*
  • As a new benefit, all Finnair Plus members will enjoy a complimentary internet connection for messaging on our European flights operated with Airbus narrow-body aircraft. In addition, your existing benefit on European flights, the 30-minute Browse package, will be upgraded to a Stream package, which is suitable for browsing the web and social media, and allows you to use streaming services and a VPN.


In addition, we will improve digital customer service for Platinum members in October. You can contact our agents via a priority chat service both in Finnair mobile app and online. The WhatsApp service in English will be available 24/7.

The new, more spacious lounge premises on Helsinki Airport’s Schengen side will open in the second half of 2024 and feature a dedicated area for our Finnair Plus Platinum and Platinum Lumo members. Our current Schengen lounge will continue to serve you until the new lounge opens.

We will communicate more later this year, including the exact date for the changes. The changes to the Finnair Plus program do not require any action from you, and before the changes take effect, award and tier points will accrue, and you progress in tiers as before. At the same time, with the renewal of the Finnair Plus program, many of the familiar benefits, rewards, and opportunities to collect and use your loyalty currency will remain.

Read more on our website.

Your loyalty and your opinions matter to us. I want to express my sincere thanks for your loyalty and the constructive feedback that many of you have shared with us this year. You are warmly welcome to join our Facebook Live event on Finnair’s Finnish Facebook page on Monday 21 August from 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (EET) for questions and answers, and you can send your questions also in advance through Facebook and Instagram. On the same day, we will answer your questions in English on Instagram.



Kind regards,

Ole Orvér 
Chief Commercial Officer 
Finnair



*Excluding flights where our partners have reserved the majority of the seats and flights that do not depart from or arrive at Helsinki Airport.
 
jase05 said:
Now if this nice “Avios cartel” can keep the majority of award seats amongst themselves and not release them to other partners that would be great 😝
Click to expand...
Or all OW shift to Avios to implement alliance wide upgrades….🤫
 
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jase05 said:
Slim chance of that with the relationship between QR and QF.
Let’s hope QR can exert some influence over the other Avios partners 🤣
Click to expand...
QR can leave OW, and Take MH with them!

But having a single FF currency across OW and alliance wide upgrade makes a lot of sense. Which likely means QF won't be in.
 
Interesting observation on the Finnair thread on FT about the changes.

All the Finnair Plus members are livid at the switch to a revenue program, understandably.

But they're also worried about redemptions being swamped by members in the BA/IB/QR programs (Finnair Plus is 10% the size of these programs). Now that they share the same currency, Finnair will no longer be able to have award seats just for Finnair Plus members.
 
levelnine said:
Interesting observation on the Finnair thread on FT about the changes.

All the Finnair Plus members are livid at the switch to a revenue program, understandably.

But they're also worried about redemptions being swamped by members in the BA/IB/QR programs (Finnair Plus is 10% the size of these programs). Now that they share the same currency, Finnair will no longer be able to have award seats just for Finnair Plus members.
Click to expand...
I suppose AY could just make a limited inventory available to Avios (alliance) members.

Then, as a benefit to AY elites, they have a different inventory of award seats which are available. These may be visible online only to those elites or they may have to call. And this inventory is inaccessible to the rest of the alliance. Admittedly, this kind of control does not nearly (I said,  nearly) exist in any form across  oneworld as of yet, cf. SQ, LX, AF and some others in other alliances.

Just because Avios is a common currency doesn't mean that all the elite levels are completely standardised (e.g. like Miles & More).
 
AY has announced that their FF program, Finnair Plus, will switch over to Avios in 2024. They will also switch to a revenue-based tiering and guarantee rewards seats on every European and long-haul flight.

They will also move their Schengen-side lounge in HEL to a bigger space in H2/2024.

www.finnair.com

Finnair Plus changes

Finnair Plus becomes spend-based in 2024: you will collect loyalty currency and reach tiers based on your purchases with Finnair.
www.finnair.com www.finnair.com
 
anat0l said:
Then, as a benefit to AY elites, they have a different inventory of award seats which are available. These may be visible online only to those elites or they may have to call. And this inventory is inaccessible to the rest of the alliance.
Click to expand...
That is certainly possible, but doesn't look like what will happen. Instead, Finnair is committing to releasing a set number of award seats per flight like BA do. Presumably it'll work the same way as BA — those seats will be open for everyone. I can see why Finnair elites are disappointed.
 
levelnine said:
Interesting observation on the Finnair thread on FT about the changes.

All the Finnair Plus members are livid at the switch to a revenue program, understandably.

But they're also worried about redemptions being swamped by members in the BA/IB/QR programs (Finnair Plus is 10% the size of these programs). Now that they share the same currency, Finnair will no longer be able to have award seats just for Finnair Plus members.
Click to expand...
Don’t QR hold back seats against others using Avios too?
Just because they are all on Avios it shouldn’t mean that each airline can’t tuck away some seats for their own elite members I wouldn’t have thought unless as mentioned earlier they are going down the BA path.
I don’t mind the revenue based system though TBH
 
jase05 said:
Don’t QR hold back seats against others using Avios too?
Just because they are all on Avios it shouldn’t mean that each airline can’t tuck away some seats for their own elite members I wouldn’t have thought unless as mentioned earlier they are going down the BA path.
Click to expand...
Yes, but you can instantly and freely transfer Avios between programs. So BA/QR members can switch their Avios to AY Avios and scoop up any AY-exclusive tickets.

And AY are going down the BA guaranteed award seats route:
In early 2024, we will increase the number of Classic award seats and guarantee at least 4 award seats on Finnair flights within Europe and 8 on Finnair long-haul flights*, so you will have better possibilities to use your Avios for award flights.
Click to expand...
 
My Finnair Platinum status (OWE) finishes up at the end of the year.
I can understand why so many are upset about the upcoming change to a revenue based program.

Looking at a route such as SIN-HEL there are very few dates over the next year with business awards available to a general member or partner programs such as say Qantas.
However as a Finnair platinum member I can see many dates with 2 or more business award seats available over the next 12 months.
Even though they are only guaranteeing 2 long haul business award seats there may actually be more award seats made only available to higher tiered members of Finnair Plus as is currently the case.

I still have a substantial balance of Finnair points which will become a reasonable balance of Avios 😉

A really good use of Finnair points is 60K for Syd-Per return in business on Qantas.
Assuming no devaluations to partner awards then this would be available for 40K Avios 🤫

Australia-North America return in J on Qantas currently 270K would become 180K Avios. Yes I know these seats are rarely available for booking thru partner programs.
 
SeatBackForward said:
QR can leave OW, and Take MH with them!

But having a single FF currency across OW and alliance wide upgrade makes a lot of sense. Which likely means QF won't be in.
Click to expand...

What would they do with all the toasters
 

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