Has Finnair lost the plot with its new ‘Business Light’ tickets?

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• Peter Hodson says:

  26 Jun26 June 05:15

  Would be good to know is oneworld status gets the benefits back. Checkin luggage will be key to this, and a BA no bag ticket does not reinstate

  • Andrew says:

    26 Jun26 June 07:37

    Finnair economy short haul HBO fares always used to add back in a bag for OW elites so I would imagine that would continue with these fares. Finnair always seems to treat OW elites well – member plus guest get a free drink (including mini bottles of champagne) from the buy-on-board selection when flying short-haul economy (as policy, not at the whim of the CSD like on BA)

    • Alastair says:

      26 Jun26 June 12:45

      Yes this is true. It doesn’t show properly at online check in too but it will be accepted by check in staff (sometimes with a bit of a faff though)
      BA silver got me more value with Finnair than BA to be honest.

• TimM says:

  26 Jun26 June 05:27

  I agree with the main thrust of the article. The reason why all-inclusive hotels are a good business model is that they remove several layers of staffing and management required to operate charging, billing and accounting for each individual item or service every guest consumes or uses. Start unbundling and those layers need to added back in and the total cost is much more than before.

  Start unbundling business class and you will reveal Ryanair underneath whose total fare for a business class-like experience would be far higher, if you were mad enough to try.

  • BuildBackBetter says:

    26 Jun26 June 09:06

    Hotels are a different case. All inclusive hotels get fixed revenue and the focus turns to cutting costs. Difficult to maintain good service levels when you know you won’t get any additional revenue.

    • The Savage Squirrel says:

      26 Jun26 June 09:16

      That’s not really the model for all-inclusive though; (at least if the business is wise enough to be planning for the longer term rather than the end of month financial statement only – which I’ll admit many are not). Better facilities, services and guest experience will increase the price that can be charged while still achieving good occupancy by generating demand via positive WOM, positive reviews and repeat visits.

• BJ says:

  26 Jun26 June 06:13

  “It would actually be easier to tell you what is included – ie your seat. That’s about it.”

  Ha, the big question is … is it? I am not sure about recent practice but some years ago Finnair were very sneaky with their fares. They sold something that had all the appearances of being a business class ticket but was actually the front row of economy cabin with the business services bundle in. In effect almost a reversal of what is being reported here with unbundling. Thanks for this article, if BA is going to be seasonal to BKK going forward I may need an alternative revenue option. Frankly, I’d be very afraid with these Light fares because in addition to the shortcomings reported here, I imagine I’d be first in line for any downgrades going, or close on heals of award pax. Despite travelling HBO for more than a decade and having PP my inclination would still be to shun these Light fares.

  • BuildBackBetter says:

    26 Jun26 June 09:07

    Rob missed one. A 3 course meal. Next step would be to remove that and lower the price by £10.

    • DeB20 says:

      26 Jun26 June 13:53

      Also, passengers to bring their own crockery and cutlery, plus clear up everything after the meal, to reduce interaction with the cabin crew in these viral times. Another £10 gone from cost base, but not necessarily passed on to the passengers as a price decrease.

      Sent this as a suggestion to Finnair on Twitter. Met with stony silence. 😬

• Mike79 says:

  26 Jun26 June 06:32

  How does this effect reward flights? Will these translate to ‘classic’ or are they going to be a ‘light’ fare where you need to pay to add stuff to them? If it’s the latter could this now be start of airlines making a case for using a larger number of points to discount a ‘classic’ type of fare whilst if you want a traditional reward ticket you only get a ‘light’ ticket.

• LEWIS says:

  26 Jun26 June 06:36

  I’ve never got fuss about priority boarding. I’d rather show up towards the end of boarding when que is gone. If I’m on a flight for multiple hours I do not want to add an extra half an hour on the ground if I can afford it.
  What am I missing because I seem to be in a minority.

  • Chrisasaurus says:

    26 Jun26 June 06:56

    Overhead locker space

    • LEWIS says:

      26 Jun26 June 07:06

      Never found that to be an issue in a long haul buisness class flight.

  • mark2 says:

    26 Jun26 June 07:05

    I agree with you. I am a very infrequent flyer, preferably in BA F on points and would prefer to wait until all of the other passengers have boarded. This particularly applies on the return where limited air bridges can meet that everyone on the lower deck boards through F e.g. Vancouver.

  • Andrew says:

    26 Jun26 June 07:44

    I like to get on board, get settled in my seat and enjoy a leisurely glass or two of champagne before takeoff – after the stress of the airport and its hordes, it’s the time to finally relax in tranquility and let the journey begin. I particularly like boarding with F when flying long-haul J as a Gold member.

    • John says:

      26 Jun26 June 07:58

      How is the airport stressful when you have lounge access and fast track everything?

      I don’t find the boarding period tranquil at all. On many airlines if you just spend 30 minutes watching all the economy passengers walking past looking jealous / confused (which also blocks the cabin crew from getting your champagne to you efficiently). Even where boarding is via two doors, all the other J passengers make lots of noise and keep walking up and down and have no sense of their surroundings.

      I prefer leaving the lounge 30 minutes before takeoff (walk times dependent), swanning up to the gate, bypassing the 20 or so economy stragglers and going directly to my seat. There’s always still time for champagne which usually comes just after I’ve put my hand luggage away.

      • Andrew says:

        26 Jun26 June 08:11

        I suppose the luxury is being able to have the choice – you and I have quite different takes on the same experience, so having the choice about what works best for the individual is nice.

        • Babyg says:

          26 Jun26 June 12:06

          agreed, having the choice/being able to board whenever you want unimpeded is totally underrated. When i am flying first (sadly not very often) I will always board earlier than if i am flying any other cabin, i do feel like the holiday/trip only truly “starts” when youre fully decamped in first with a glass bubbles

        • Bagoly says:

          26 Jun26 June 13:11

          Yes, “board without queueing” or “board when you want” is the point.
          In an ideal world “Last to board” has its appeal, but that means either cutting it fine on arriving at gate, which I find stressful, or having to wait at the gate.
          The way to reduce the stress is to have “Board from lounge” as Emirate did/do at LHR T3.

      • Pangolin says:

        27 Jun27 June 16:03

        I concur. Aegean boards J pax last (group 4) and I like this.

  • The Savage Squirrel says:

    26 Jun26 June 10:16

    You are correct, outside slightly strange aviation geeks. Priority Boarding makes no sense. Last-one-on boarding would be a better feature!
    Premium Cabins are to make the experience of sitting in a constrained plasticky space within an enclosed metal tube less bad. Nothing more. Unless you are in The Residence or similar uber-uber-premium offerings, the experience (and catering no matter what the cost) will still be considerably less nice than even a very modest local restaurant – or a £29 Travelodge if sleeping – due to the inherent limitations of what you can do on a space and weight constrained plane. I sometimes wonder if people who rave about premium plane food have ever had a non-reheated meal. Maybe not if they eat in chain hotel on-site restaurants the rest of the time :D.

    I have no idea why people would choose to extend their time in this environment (while sitting on the runway so it’s not the experience of flying), but each to their own.

    • Babyg says:

      26 Jun26 June 12:11

      the problem is there are no modest local restaurants in airports.. so being cocooned away in first, or a qatar qsuite with the family is usually the best place to be given all the available options… IMHO getting settled in means you can relax earlier… but as you say, each to their own

• J says:

  26 Jun26 June 07:10

  I was playing around with some dummy bookings the other day, and was quite surprised how often Classic came out cheaper than Light…

  I wonder whether airlines shouldn’t be taking a slightly different approach, especially given corporate travel policies, as the article says. E.g. keep the full fare, but then offer rebates, perhaps in the form of airmiles (to lock in loyalty), to the actual passenger if they are willing to accept a reduction in service or a degree of inconvenience, e.g. by forgoing the lounge or fast track etc. But I suppose it’s all about wanting to be able to advertise the lowest possible fares. Not sure competing on cost is ultimately sustainable (both financially and environmentally) – race to the bottom etc.

  Has there been any market research into the viability of (or recent attempts at) competing on quality rather than cost? The old ‘reassuringly expensive’ / “yes we’re more expensive, but we’re demonstrably better” tack. I guess the vast majority of travellers just want the cheapest fares even if that means poor quality – but maybe not so much in the premium cabins?

  • Memesweeper says:

    26 Jun26 June 09:28

    +1

    Rebates, or extra miles, for hand luggage only business travellers would seem smart, and would probably equate to a real saving in fuel. Maybe allow folks to forgo the lounge for some sort of extra bonus at busy times. Discounting and gutting the main business product may well drive the business traveller into the arms of your competitors…

    • Alex Sm says:

      26 Jun26 June 15:08

      It’s like hotels which give you additional “green” loyalty points for not cleaning your room too much

• The other John says:

  26 Jun26 June 07:20

  IMO, WeWork is a terrible example when it comes to bundling/unbundling.
  From a company perspective, it is about the “asset-light” approach. That is, it is about running a business without needing to have physical office space. So it isn’t about bundling at all. It is about doing FEWER things in-house, in the hope of doing these things better.

  So WeWork has nothing to do with bundling/unbundling. You work in an office essentially the same as before. It’s just that you do not “produce” the office yourself and put it on your balance sheet. Instead, you are purchasing it through a market transaction.

  • Rob says:

    26 Jun26 June 10:50

    No, for someone like HFP it is bundling. Regus, for example, historically charged extra for what WW includes.

• Goldflyer40 says:

  26 Jun26 June 07:35

  Interestingly it is now the second Oneworld airline which has introduced a Business Light ticket with no lounge access, if I’m not mistaken. Qatar Airways being the first. Is there a trend emerging?

  • AJA says:

    26 Jun26 June 07:55

    I agree. I thought Qatar also removed lounge access with its “R” class fares. I don’t think it went as far as removing luggage allowances.

    I cannot see the point of doing this unbundling, The lounge and the extra baggage allowance is one of the reasons for paying the premium over economy class. I wonder how many people will actually be foolish enough to take this up?

    The only reason to take this up is if your OW status benefits (lounge and baggage) still apply. It would be a trade off for lower miles and slightly lower cost.

    Will it be a case of this is what you’re offered as a last minute upgrade at the airport?

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