Use Avios on travel class upgrade | Finnair United Kingdom

Use Avios on travel class upgrade

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Use your Avios to make your trip even more comfortable. When you upgrade your travel class with Avios, you can pay for Economy Class tickets but travel in Premium Economy or Business Class, or pay for Premium Economy tickets but travel in Business Class.

Travel class upgrades are available on scheduled Finnair flights (AY code on the ticket and the flight is operated by Finnair or Norra). The original ticket must be issued before you can request an upgrade. 

Upgrade your travel class

Upgrade to Business Class

When you upgrade your travel class to Business Class, you’ll enjoy the following benefits: 

  • Priority check-in desks
  • One extra piece of checked baggage
  • Priority security
  • Finnair Lounge access
  • The luxurious comfort of Finnair Business Class on board. 

Upgrade to Premium Economy 

When you upgrade your travel class to Premium Economy, you’ll enjoy the following benefits: 

  • Premium Economy meals
  • Premium Economy seat
  • Larger in-flight entertainment screen compared to Economy Class 
  • Memory foam cushions 
  • Learn more about Finnair Premium Economy
Upgrade your travel class

Travel class upgrades with upgrade benefits

You can pay your travel class upgrade with upgrade benefits, in addition to paying with money or Avios.

Starting from 9 March 2024 we will grant Finnair Plus Gold, Platinum and Platinum Lumo members one type of upgrade benefit instead of separate long-haul European upgrade benefits. The required number of upgrade benefits will vary between long-haul and short-haul flights and the travel class. Not to worry – you can still use your long-haul and European upgrade benefits as before until they expire.

Learn more about upgrading your travel class

Upgrade benefit charges from 9 March 2024

These are the upgrade benefit charges for upgrading your travel class from 9 March 2024.

ZoneFrom Economy Class to Premium EconomyFrom Premium Economy to Business Class From Economy Class to Business Class 
Finland and Northern Europe* --1 upgrade benefit / 1 European upgrade benefit
Central Europe** --1 upgrade benefit / 1 European upgrade benefit
Western and Southern Europe*** --1 upgrade benefit / 1 European upgrade benefit
Canary Islands, Madeira, Eilat and Tel Aviv****--1 upgrade benefit / 1 European upgrade benefit 
Doha, Dubai and India***** 2 upgrade benefits / 2 European upgrade benefits3 upgrade benefits / 3 European upgrade benefits4 upgrade benefits / 1 long-haul upgrade benefit
Most of Asia and North America****** 2 upgrade benefits / 2 European upgrade benefits3 upgrade benefits / 3 European upgrade benefits4 upgrade benefits / 1 long-haul upgrade benefit
Japan, Singapore and Los Angeles******* 2 upgrade benefits / 2 European upgrade benefits3 upgrade benefits / 3 European upgrade benefits4 upgrade benefits / 1 long-haul upgrade benefit

Prices are for flights in one direction; double prices for round trips.

*Zone 1: Bodø, Copenhagen, Gdansk, Gothenburg, Oslo, Riga, Stockholm, Tallinn, Trondheim, Vilnius, Visby, Warsaw and all flights within Finland

**Zone 2: Amsterdam, Bergen, Berlin, Billund, Brussels, Budapest, Düsseldorf, Edinburg, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Innsbruck, Krakow, Ljubljana, London, Manchester, Munich, Prague, Salzburg, Tromsø, Wroclaw, Zagreb, Zurich, Vienna

***Zone 3: Alanya, Alicante, Antalya, Barcelona, Bologna, Chania, Dublin, Dubrovnik, Faro, Geneva, Heraklion, Larnaca, Lisbon, Madrid, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Milan, Naples, Nice, Paris, Reykjavik, Rhodes, Rome, Santorini, Split, Venice, Verona

****Zone 4: Gran Canaria, Eilat, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Madeira, Tel Aviv, Tenerife

*****Zone 5: Delhi, Doha, Dubai, Mumbai

******Zone 6: Bangkok, Chicago, Dallas, Guangzhou, Hongkong, Phuket, Miami, New York, Seattle, Seoul, Shanghai

*******Zone 7: Los Angeles, Nagoya, Osaka, Singapore, Tokyo

Avios charges for upgrading your travel class from 9 March 2024

The prices in the table below are for travel class upgrades in one direction. Please note that the Avios will be charged separately for each flight.

Please note that if you purchase your travel class upgrade from Economy Class to Premium Economy or Business Class through our customer service, there is an extra charge of 1,000 Avios per direction.  

Upgrades from Premium Economy to Business Class are currently available only via our customer service. We recommend our easy-to-use chat service on Finnair.com or Finnair mobile app. You will not need to pay the 1,000 Avios extra charge for those. 

ZoneFrom Economy class to Premium Economy classFrom Premium Economy class to Business classFrom Economy class to Business class
Finland and Northern Europe*--6,500 Avios
Central Europe** --9,000 Avios 
Western and Southern Europe*** -10,000 Avios
Canary Islands, Madeira, Eilat and Tel Aviv****--11,000 Avios
Doha, Dubai and India*****15,000 Avios20,000 Avios35,000 Avios
Most of Asia and North America******17,000 Avios23,000 Avios40,000 Avios
Japan, Singapore and Los Angeles*******17,000 Avios23,000 Avios40,000 Avios

*Zone 1: Bodø, Copenhagen, Gdansk, Gothenburg, Oslo, Riga, Stockholm, Tallinn, Trondheim, Vilnius, Visby, Warsaw and all flights within Finland

**Zone 2: Amsterdam, Bergen, Berlin, Billund, Brussels, Budapest, Düsseldorf, Edinburg, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Innsbruck, Krakow, Ljubljana, London, Manchester, Munich, Prague, Salzburg, Tromsø, Wroclaw, Zagreb, Zurich, Vienna

***Zone 3: Alanya, Alicante, Antalya, Barcelona, Bologna, Chania, Dublin, Dubrovnik, Faro, Geneva, Heraklion, Larnaca, Lisbon, Madrid, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Milan, Naples, Nice, Paris, Reykjavik, Rhodes, Rome, Santorini, Split, Venice, Verona

****Zone 4: Gran Canaria, Eilat, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Madeira, Tel Aviv, Tenerife

*****Zone 5: Delhi, Doha, Dubai, Mumbai

******Zone 6: Bangkok, Chicago, Dallas, Guangzhou, Hongkong, Phuket, Miami, New York, Seattle, Seoul, Shanghai

*******Zone 7: Los Angeles, Nagoya, Osaka, Singapore, Tokyo

  • Travel class upgrades are only available for scheduled Finnair flights (AY code on the ticket and the flight is operated by Finnair).
  • If your ticket number starts with 105, you can upgrade your travel class on our website or through the mobile application latest 36 hours before your departure.
  • Travel class upgrades with Avios are not available for Finnair Plus award flights or Money+Avios offers.
  • The corresponding number of Avios or upgrade benefits will be debited from the memeber's account when requesting the upgrade.
  • Travel class upgrades can only be done after the original reservation has been confirmed and the flight ticket has been issued.
  • Upgrades may not be confirmed until 37 hours before the flight, depending on the availability of seats on the aircraft. If we cannot confirm the upgrade 37 hours before the flight, your place on the waitlist will be cancelled and your Avios/upgrade benefits will be automatically refunded within 1–4 business days. Please note that the upgrade benefits’ expiration date will stay the same after the refund and the upgrade benefits will not be refunded if the expiration date has passed.
  • A travel class upgrade has no effect on the rules of the original ticket.
  • In case of rerouting, you will travel in the original travel class.
  • Avios are always collected according to the original travel class and booking class of the ticket. 
  • Only a limited number of seats are available for booking classes that are available for travel class upgrades.
  • Travel class upgrades are not available at specified times or on certain routes.
  • When cancelling reservation for which a travel class upgrade has been confirmed, the expiration date of the upgrade benefits will remain the same after the refund, and the upgrade benefits will not be refunded if the expiration date has already passed.

If you cancel a travel class upgrade requested before 9 March 2024 or your travel class upgrade won’t be confirmed, we will refund the purchase to your account in Avios. The conversion rate from award points to Avios is 3:2 – 3 award points equal 2 Avios.

Example:
You requested travel class upgrade from Economy to Business class for a Helsinki-London flight for summer 2024. You requested the upgrade in autumn 2023 with 15,000 award points and wish to cancel your upgrade in April 2024 when Finnair Plus uses Avios as a loyalty currency. We will refund your account 10,001 Avios.

How to upgrade your travel class

Upgrades to Business Class 

You can request an upgrade from Economy Class to Business Class conveniently in our online upgrade service after you have booked your flight. 

If you want to request an upgrade from Premium Economy to Business Class, please contact our customer service after you have booked your flight.

Upgrade to Business Class

Upgrades to Premium Economy 

You can request an upgrade from Economy Class to Premium Economy conveniently in our online upgrade service after you have booked your flight.

Upgrade to Premium Economy
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