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Finnair is currently offering some pretty good Business Class deals for travel between Budapest and a number of cities in Asia. The fares are available for travel starting almost immediately and can be booked for travel into 2020.
Headline Fare Rules
The fare rules for all the routes you’ll find mentioned here appear to be similar and there isn’t a published end date for these deals – the fares may be around for some time or they could disappear at any moment.
- Minimum stay 3 nights
- No maximum stay restriction
- Unlimited free stopovers allowed
- Accompanied children/infants (2 – 11) with their own seat cost 75% of the adult fare
- Accompanied infants (<2 years old) without their own seat cost 10% of the adult fare
The Deals
All the deals involve travel via Finnair’s Helsinki home but, with careful search parameters, you can make sure that you’re not left with any unnecessarily long layovers or overnight stops.
Budapest – Bangkok From ~$1,836 Roundtrip
Example Routing:
Example Availability (based on no long layovers):
British Airways is currently offering a cheaper fare to Bangkok out of Amsterdam
Fare Priced Up On Google Flights:
Budapest – Seoul From ~$1,873 Roundtrip
Example Routing:
Example Availability (based on no long layovers):
Fare Priced Up On Google Flights:
Budapest – Beijing From ~$1,741 Roundtrip
Example Routing:
Example Availability (based on no long layovers):
Fare Priced Up On Google Flights:
Budapest – Shanghai From ~$1,731 Roundtrip
Example Routing:
Example Availability (based on no long layovers):
Fare Priced Up On Google Flights:
Finding The Fares
I used the Matrix ITA Airfare Search to find this deal – here’s an example set of parameters I used:
If you wish to find more availability (and are prepared for longer layovers or overnight stops) simply avoid using the “maxdur” commands you see in the image above.
Booking The Fare
You can’t book the fares via the Matrix search so, once you’ve found dates that work for you, you should book via the route which is most beneficial to you.
By this I mean….
- If you’re using a credit card that gives you a bonus for booking directly with an airline you should make sure you book via British Airways.
- If you’re using a credit card that gives you a bonus for all travel bookings you should be safe booking through most online travel agents or the airline directly.
I’ve already provided examples of all of the routes priced up on Google Flights but they’re just as easy to price up on Finnair.com.
Where To Credit The Flights
I suspect that most readers will be crediting these flights to the British Airways Executive Club (where you’ll earn at least 360 Tier points from just one trip) or to the American Airlines AAdvantage program where you’ll earn Elite Qualifying Miles & Dollars as well as Redeemable Miles based on the distance travelled (booking these fares via Finnair can be a very nice way to boost your progress to AAdvantage elite status).
The longest itinerary here is the one to Bangkok which, at a little under 11,700 miles in length will earn approximately 23,400 Elite Qualifying Miles and approximately 2,900 Elite Qualifying Dollars when credited to the American Airlines AAdvantage Program.
If you’re not sure where to credit you flights you should take a look at the wheretocredit site which will give you all the information you need.
Bottom Line
All of these routes can be booked with the long-haul sector operated by Finnair’s excellent Airbus A350 so these fares come at a good price and offer travel in a very comfortable Business Class Cabin.
Be aware that the Finnair A330 also operates a number of these routes and, although the Business Class experience onboard is ok, it’s not as good as what you’ll find on the A350 – pick your flights carefully.
