[philuk]

I was trying to take advantage of that, but the flight was not available and showed an error when I tried to make a payment. I called the Finnair helpline and they confirmed that even though I can see availability of the BA flight online, I can’t actually buy it.

[philuk]

Man of Kent wrote:

I’m currently looking at spending a few days in Doha next March and wanted to get peoples thoughts on arrival times. I have a 241 to use so am currently looking at BA flights which arrive either at 23.10 or 05.30. Rather than arrive at 05.30 and have to wait for a hotel room I’m wondering about arriving at 23.10 and staying at the airport for a night to then move on to our preferred hotel the next day. We’ve transited Doha in early morning and the middle of the night previously which were fine but just wanted to get peoples experiences when staying there for a few days. Thanks.

Before planning your trip, make sure that Ramadan in Qatar will not affect your travel plans. It will be observed from 17 Feb to 18 Mar next year. There is a great thread on flyertalk explaining what you can expect.

[philuk]

Have you watched Matts Planet YouTube videos about Finnair and Qatar loyalty schemes? I highly recommend it before making a decision!

[philuk]

Such a great read! Thanks so much. We might have possibly crossed paths as we were in that area in February as well!

[philuk]

@scamfly Yes, you need a moment to pass through the security questions. The agent might refuse to wait if you’re too early. There might also be longer wait when booking flights in peak season. If you fail to connect on time, be prepared to try booking the flights online. The US number I used using Skype was +1 800 247 9297.

[philuk]

@scamfly last Monday US line answered in less than 5 mins

[philuk]

For me the easiest way is to search for the day before exactly at midnight, and then click the next day availability.

[philuk]

@Metty that sums it up perfectly, thanks a lot!

[philuk]

@Metty It does sound like 3A and 4A would be better than 2A and 3A. One last question, I promise! Is there actually more space in terms of legroom / foot cubby space in 2A, or you can’t see the difference?

@GG thanks for your insight too!

[philuk]

Great, thank you!

[philuk]

@Metty Great to hear! Do you have any preferred seats on AY?
I was thinking 2A and 3A, as the bulkhead might have a bit more space, but I’m not sure if it’s too close to the galley.

[philuk]

@Hbommie
https://www.headforpoints.com/2024/07/08/great-avios-hotel-deals-in-scandinavia/

[philuk]

Just a quick update – I managed to book Finnair flights 361 days ahead via BA call centre at midnight – AY from HEL was unbeatable 62k Avios + £28.8 pp to SE Asia in business! I’m going to stay overnight in HEL, and will try to use the Finnair voucher for the Scandic hotel at the airport. I’m quite confused by the 6 months validity though, so I’ll hold it for now.

[philuk]

Great insight, it definitely helped to make our minds up. Thank you all for your input. Now I just need to hope that all of my preferred options will be available in the next few weeks.

[philuk]

Changing in DOH might not be ideal on night flights, but on the other hand, moving onto A321 in HEL after a long journey from Asia is not ideal either (some Asian flight times don’t work with A359 on HEL-LHR).

[philuk]

Aston100 wrote:

The real Swiss Tony wrote:

If you’re booking that far out, do keep an eye open to see if QR have the BKK-DOH-LHR/BHX/LGW option with the first leg in F. It used to price the same as J.

They seem to have fixed that.

I think it still works for some airports eg BHX – I might definitely consider it, as the train connection to London is quite good! Do you have access to Al Safwa lounge if you arrive in F and your connecting flight is in J?

I haven’t mentioned Cathay / Malaysia due to higher cost and lower availability at the moment

[philuk]

John wrote:

For a self-connection I would want to have most of a day in HEL if not overnight. Another option is to book a >24 hour connection on the same ticket, which avoids APD. You’d likely have to do this on the phone (incurring extra fees)

In very generalised terms, Qatar has many more options for food and drink, Finnair food tends to be Nordic and the Asian option is usually not great, Finnair of course has blueberry juice. (I don’t drink alcohol on planes.)

Personally I’m more concerned about finding avios availability and taking what I can get than thinking about EU/UK261 protection. If both QR and an EU airline are available at similar prices then it would of course be a consideration.

Nobody is going to forcibly drag you sightseeing in Hong Kong – but you do have to travel into the city (which could perhaps be considered “overwhelming”) unless you are happy with the Airport Hotel.

The availability seems good at the moment and we are quite flexible, but the point about short connections in HEL is valid, thank you.
About Hong Kong – we would like to find a good hotel in a relatively safe, peaceful neighbourhood with good restaurant options around and were wondering how it compares to Singapore or Bangkok. Will do some more research on it.

[philuk]

I’m very happy with my NatWest Travel Rewards VISA CC. No FX fees, 1% on travel and ability to exchange £10 of cashback rewards to 900 Avios if needed.

[philuk]

You can still use part points at the end of the booking process. Some properties seem to be more expensive than they were for the last couple of weeks. It looks very similar to the website, but I don’t think it’s user friendly. It is definitely more difficult to search using 20% vouchers now.

[philuk]

Used and highly recommend both Cicar and Autoreissen.

[philuk]

I’ve got the same problem with my flight to FNC in April. Return was moved from 11.50 to 18.50. I’m waiting to accept the changes in case they add another service in the future…

[philuk]

In addition to what JDB said, you can often choose blocked seats T-72

[philuk]

I had the exact same situation – correct tier points for the upgraded cabin, 0 Avios + revenue based Avios in a separate line, but only for the cost of AUP. I needed to contact BAEC to sort it out. Took a few weeks, had to chase it once or twice, but it’s now sorted. Apparently AUP messes up distance based Avios calculation for BAH.

[philuk]

NatWest VISA Travel Rewards CC has no FX fees. 1% cashback on travel spend and 0.1% on everything else. You can exchange cashback for Avios as well. Ratio is £10 to 900 Avios.

[philuk]

Same issue here!