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Finnair is offering excellent Business Class award space in a state-of-the-art bed next year from New York and Miami to Helsinki and beyond in Europe.
Since Finnair is a member of the oneworld alliance, you can book the business class award space for 50,000 American Airlines miles each way or 100,000 US Airways miles each way.
Finnair space is searchable on aa.com.
- What is the Finnair Business class product?
- What is the award space picture for Spring and Summer 2015?
- How can you book awards with Finnair flights?
- How can you get the miles to book Finnair flights?
Finnair Business Class
Finnair has a similar Business Class product to Austrian Airways, which I reviewed here. Each row contains 4-5 seats and your legs go into a little cubby beneath the arm rest of the seat in front of you.
Finnair advertises a two meter (6’6″) fully flat bed that looks very comfortable.
Full details on the Finnair Business Class experience.
Finnair Award Space
- Finnair flies from New York-JFK to Helsinki daily.
- Finnair will begin to fly to Miami from December 19, 2014.
New York
I searched award space from New York to Helsinki for 2015 for one passenger in business class. You can book up to 11 months out with American Airlines miles, so you can currently book flights through early July 2015.
Below are the calendars of award space. Light blue days have at least on award seat from New York to Helsinki in business class.
The calendars are in reverse chronological order. As you can see on the top calendars–June, May, and April 2015–award space is widely available on about half the days.
In February and March 2015, almost every day has award space.
The return from Helsinki to New York shows a different pattern. There is basically no award space after May 5, 2015.
Until May 5, 2015, there is award space basically every day.
Miami
The Miami route has award space three days per week over the winter, but the space abruptly dries up April 21, 2015.
Booking the Award
To book Finnair award space, you can book directly on aa.com with your American Airlines miles. American Airlines charges 50,000 miles each way in business class and $42.80 in taxes for a roundtrip. American Airlines doesn’t allow stopovers on awards anymore.
Alternatively you can search aa.com to find the award space and call US Airways at 800-622-1015 to feed the agent, the date, flight number, and cabin of the award space you found. US Airways charges 100,000 miles each way for a roundtrip in business class. In addition to the $42.80 in taxes, you’d have to pay a $50 award processing fee. US Airways allows one stopover or open jaw on roundtrip awards.
Booking with either miles, you can add flights in domestic first class from your home airport to New York or Miami and in business class from Helsinki to anywhere else you’d rather visit in Europe for zero extra miles. Finnair flies all over Europe from Helsinki:
Getting the Miles
Most of us got the US Airways® Premier World MasterCard® for its 40,000 bonus miles with no minimum spending requirement. Check out all the places you can go with just that sign up bonus.
- Earn 40,000 bonus miles after your first purchase and payment of the $89 annual fee*
- First checked bag FREE on eligible bags for you and up to four companions on domestic US Airways operated flights
- One companion certificate good for up to 2 guests to travel with you on a US Airways operated flight at $99 each, plus taxes and fees
- Priority boarding Zone 2 on US Airways operated flights
- Redeem miles for award travel on US Airways and American Airlines booked through usairways.com or US Airways Reservations
- Earn miles on every purchase with 2 miles for every $1 you spend on US Airways purchases and 1 mile for every $1 on purchases everywhere else
- Please see terms and conditions for complete details
Application Link: The US Airways® Premier World MasterCard®
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I’m thinking about taking my wife to BKK. Will AA rules allow me to route JFK-HEL-BKK?
This will break into two awards JFK-HEL + HEL-BKK. AA doesn’t allow a routing to East Asia via Europe on a single award.
I find the timing of FinnAir connecting flights to be awful. Especially to/from VIE… it’s like they don’t want the transatlantic passengers.
How’s space for two people?
What do you mean by “you can add flights in domestic first class from your home airport to New York or Miami and in business class from Helsinki to anywhere else you’d rather visit in Europe for zero extra miles”?
When do we add these flights? You said “and”. Does this mean two free flights?
I mean, as with all region-to-region award chart, that you don’t need to live in New York or want to go to Helsinki to pay these prices.
Chicago to New York to Helsinki to Frankfurt costs the same 50k one way or 100k r/t with AA or US miles.