Finnair today announced (read more here) its updated Business Class cabin and brand new Premium Economy offering that are rolled out over the next two years.
Finnair Plus members can use their points for award flights, and there are upgrade certificates that Platinum and Lumo members can use to upgrade long-haul flights.
You can access Finnair here.
Upgrade certs with many, if not most, airlines can be used to upgrade one cabin class. When there was no Premium Economy, life was easy. The upgrades were from Economy to Business.
But with the introduction of this new Premium Economy, it is unclear what road Finnair will take with its award pricing and upgrade certificates.
We have been in touch with the Finnair spokesperson, that told us that they would communicate more about award flights and upgrade certificates on March 1, 2022, when the new Premium Economy will go on sale:
We will communicate about the upgrade and award flight offering in connection with the sales start of Premium Economy – sales start is on March 1.
Conclusion
I wouldn’t be surprised if in the future you can use upgrade certificates from Economy to Premium Economy or from Premium Economy to Business, or perhaps use two certificates to Business from the deep Economy.
There is quite a disparity in the number of miles required for Finnair awards compared to Oneworld partners when redeemed using Finnair Plus points. I hope that the number of points (miles) required for business class awards on their own flights won’t change.
We should learn more about possible changes in less than three weeks on March 1, 2022.
