Finnair Raises Business Class Round-the-World Airfares

Finnair has significantly increased its round-the-world airfares in Business Class, with prices on some itineraries almost doubling. But there are still good deals to be found, and the Oneworld airline’s round-the-world fares in Economy and Premium Economy have actually decreased slightly.

As travel agent Alan Lam explained in episode 86 of the AFF on Air podcast, Finnair offers special deals on round-trip flights from Australia to Europe travelling via Asia or North America. While these aren’t officially “round the world” tickets, they can be used as such by travelling to Europe via Asia in one direction, and via North America in the other direction.

Previously, Finnair’s Business Class airfares from Australia to Europe were priced such that it was excellent value to fly around the world. But in July, Finnair massively increased its Business Class fares for travel between Australia and Europe via North America.

Previously, it was also possible to add on a connecting Qantas domestic flight onto your ticket at little or no cost. For example, if you lived in Adelaide, you include a connecting Qantas Business Class flight to Melbourne or Sydney (to connect to an international flight) on the same ticket for minimal extra cost. But Finnair is now charging around an extra $650 for each domestic connecting flight in Qantas Business Class.

How much more can you expect to pay now?

As an example of what’s changed, here’s an example of a Finnair round-the-world itinerary we included in our article about these deals in May 2022:

This itinerary, flying a combination of Qantas and Finnair Business Class, would have cost $6259 for a “Business Classic” ticket in May 2022. The price would now be $7,832. The surcharge to book this as a “Business Flex” ticket, which is refundable and allows complimentary seat selection, remains unchanged at $600.

If you changed the above itinerary to depart from Brisbane though, and flew to Europe via Los Angeles instead of Dallas, you could save around $600.

Previously, it was also good value to book a Finnair ticket from Australia to Europe via the USA in both directions. But this has now become particularly more expensive.

For example, a routing such as Sydney-Dallas-Helsinki-Oslo-Helsinki-Dallas-Sydney would now cost $9,560 for a Business Classic fare or $10,160 for Business Flex. Booking this itinerary from Perth (i.e. Perth-Sydney-Dallas-Helsinki-Oslo-Helsinki-Dallas-Sydney-Perth) would now cost $13,211 for Business Classic or $13,811 for Business Flex. That’s a huge price increase and no longer really good value at all.

There are still good deals with Finnair

It’s not all bad news. Finnair still has some good deals to Europe if you don’t mind flying via Asia in both directions (although this is no longer a “round-the-world” ticket). For example, the following itinerary would currently cost around $5,994 as a Business Classic fare:

Stopovers in other cities such as Bangkok, Delhi and Hong Kong are also possible for a similar price.

If booking a Finnair Business Class deal to Europe, the best fares are now available if you depart from Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne. If flying via North America in one or both directions, you’ll get a better price if you use Qantas’ Brisbane-Los Angeles flight on the trans-Pacific leg. And you’ll get the best airfares if your destination or turnaround point in Europe is Oslo, Stockholm, Warsaw, Tallinn or Copenhagen. (Note that you can use an open-jaw in Europe to fly into one airport and out of another.)

Finnair’s Business Class airfares to other European destinations in the UK, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as to Budapest, Prague, Riga and Vilnius, also remain good value. But airfares to destinations in Spain and Portugal are significantly higher.

If you wish to travel to Dubai or Tel Aviv, Finnair’s Business Class airfares also remain highly competitive if you travel via a stopover point such as Singapore, Thailand or India (and Helsinki). For example, the following itinerary would cost $6,246 for a Business Classic ticket, flying Qantas or Thai Airways between Sydney-Bangkok and Finnair for all other sectors:

The above itinerary would also net you at least 35,350 Qantas Frequent Flyer points and 600 status credits, flying Qantas and Finnair the whole way. These special Finnair airfares are only available to book through travel agents.

Finnair’s Economy & Premium Economy round-the-world fares remain good value

Luckily, Finnair’s round-the-world airfares in Economy and Premium Economy have been spared from the latest price rise. In fact, some prices have come down a little bit.

In May 2022, the following Finnair Premium Economy itinerary would have cost $4,424 for a Classic ticket or $4,624 for a Flex ticket:

This itinerary now costs $4,346 or $4,546 for a Classic or Flex fare, respectively.

Finnair currently offers Premium Economy on flights between Helsinki and Singapore, Hong Kong, Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago and New York, as well as Stockholm-New York.

Meanwhile, the Economy Classic price for the same Economy Class round-the-world itinerary that we showed you in May’s article has come down from $2,009 to $1,832. The equivalent Economy Flex airfare has changed from $2,109 to $2,032.

Lufthansa round-the-world airfares

Finnair is not the only airline to offer special round-the-world airfares to/from Europe to customers in Australia and New Zealand. Lufthansa Group airlines including Lufthansa, Austrian and SWISS also offer similar deals for travel to Europe via Asia or North America.

In May 2022, we brought you examples of prices for the following itinerary:

Since then, the Economy and Premium Economy airfares have increased but the Business airfare is now slightly lower. Here are the new prices for this itinerary from Sydney, with stopovers in Los Angeles, Chicago, Oslo and Singapore:

Economy Class:

• Economy Basic: $1,920 (was $1,691)
• Economy Basic Plus: $2,070 (was $1,845)
• Economy Flex: $2,220 (was $1,999)

Premium Economy:

• Premium Economy Basic: $3,820 (was $3,383)
• Premium Economy Basic Plus: $4,000 (was $3,573)
• Premium Economy Flex: $4,180 (was $3,763)

Business Class:

• Business Basic: $6,413 (was $6,507)
• Business Basic Plus: $6,683 (was $6,787)
• Business Flex: $6,953 (was $7,067)

Summary of Finnair round-the-world pricing changes

There’s quite a lot going on here, so the changes could be a bit difficult to follow if you’re not a travel agent. But here’s a summary of what’s changed with Finnair’s special airfares from Australia to Europe:

• Finnair has increased its Business Class base fares, particularly from Australian airports that are not international gateways
• Domestic connecting flights within Australia now attract significant surcharges
• Routings via North America are now substantially more expensive
• There is no longer consistent pricing for different origins & destinations

You can discuss this topic on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.