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Business class travellers are used to receiving a generous checked baggage allowance as part of their higher fare and premium passenger experience, but that’s no longer the case with Finnair.
The Finnish flag-carrier member is a popular choice for Australians headed for Europe and connecting via Singapore and Bangkok, especially on a Oneworld itinerary with partner Qantas.
But under sweeping changes to Finnair’s baggage rules, business class passengers bound for Europe have had their wings clipped to a single checked bag – yes, just one piece of luggage – weighing 23kg for all tickets bought from 1 June 2023 onwards.
(There are exceptions for flights to and from Japan, mainland China and North America, where between two and three checked bags of 32kg each are permitted.)
Compared to Finnair’s previous checked baggage policy of two bags weighing 32kg each, you can see why frequent flyers are being caught out at the airport and being slugged with excess baggage fees.
Of course, travellers booking Finnair’s ‘unbundled’ Business Light fare are not entitled to any checked luggage at all.
Fees for additional checked luggage above that permitted by your Finnair business class ticket range from €29 for flights within Europe and €75 for flights to/from Asia if prepaid online – but if you leave it until you get to the airport check-in counter, each extra bag can cost you €60 for flights within Europe and €120 for flights to/from Asia.
Fortunately, top-tier frequent flyers enjoy one extra piece of checked luggage (to the same 23kg limit) as a complimentary status perk: this includes Finnair Plus Gold and Platinum members, along with their Oneworld Sapphire and Emerald equivalents (such as Qantas Gold, Platinum and Platinum One card-holders).
Tighter cabin bag restrictions, too
Even if you prefer to travel light, you’ll want to check the scales: all Finnair business class fares are now restricted to one standard carry-on bag (previously two) and one smaller ‘personal’ bag with a total weight of 10kg – and remember, it’s not uncommon for even an empty cabin bag to tip the scales around 2kg on its own.
This is almost no different to the 1+1 bag policy in the economy cabin, expect that economy ticket-holders face a combined limit of 8kg – while a new Superlight economy fare permits only one very small bag that must be placed under the seat in front.
Finnair says its cabin baggage clamp-down is designed to deliver “smoother boarding, on-time departures, and travel comfort onboard our flights for everyone.”
Airline crew at check-in and gate areas will be more active in monitoring baggage allowances; “excess carry-on baggage, including excessively large carry-on bags, will be moved to the cargo hold at a cost,” promises Valtteri Helve, Head of Product Offering at Finnair.
More details on the new baggage allowances and charges can be found at the Finnair website.
For the many positive things to be said about Finnair – which will soon be flying its latest business class between Sydney and Singapore – these changes to baggage allowances are set to be a disincentive to many business travellers and holiday-makers.
As a quick references, and without even taking frequent flyer status into account, Qantas permits 40kg of checked baggage on an internaitonal business class ticket without any limit as to the number of bags; British Airways and Cathay Pacific each allow two checked bags of 32kg, while Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways all permit 40kg of checked luggage.
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