TravelingForMiles.com may receive commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on TravelingForMiles.com are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. TravelingForMiles.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers.
Thanks to the demise of the British Airways Executive club, Finnair Plus has become one of the go-to loyalty programs for a lot of the BA exiles looking to stay within the oneworld alliance and as such, it is becoming a considerably more important program in the miles and points world than it was a couple of years ago.
I’m one of those exiles, and as I continue to get to grips with how my new chosen frequent flyer program works and the rules that the program’s airline uses, I sometimes find myself being a little surprised by what I discover because Finnair does things a little differently to the other airlines I usually fly.
Some of the more surprising discoveries that I’ve made within the Finnair rules are the rules surrounding baggage allowances, so I thought I’d share four of the rules that, to me, make Finnair stand out from a number of other oneworld airlines.
Finnair short-haul “Superlight” Economy Class
Like a lot of the world’s airlines Finnair offers hand baggage only fares, and on the airline’s short-haul routes, these fares are called “Superlight” fares.
Where, however, airlines like British Airways and American Airlines allow all passengers who book a short-haul “hand baggage only” fare to board with a personal item (which fits under the seat ahead of them) and a carry-on bag (that can go in an overhead compartment), Finnair Superlight fares only come with a “personal item” allowance.
If you book a Finnair Superlight fare a want to bring along a standard rollaboard, you will need to pay extra.
Note: Finnair’s long-haul hand baggage only fare is called a “Light” fare and gives passengers a standard rollaboard and a personal item as part of their booking.
All Finnair & oneworld elites get an extra allowance on short-haul hand baggage only fares
As mentioned above, Finnair’s Superlight short-haul fares only come with a very basic baggage allowance, but if you have Finnair or oneworld elite status, life looks a lot better.
All Finnair Plus elites (Platinum Lumo, Platinum, Gold, and Silver elites) as well as all other oneworld Emerald, oneworld Sapphire, and oneworld Gold elites can also board with a complimentary carry-on bag (55 cm x 44 cm x 23 cm) as well as with a smaller personal item (40 cm x 30 cm x 15 cm).
In the FAQs on the Finnair website, oneworld elites from other airlines are not mentioned in relation to this benefit, but I have it confirmed by the Finnair Platinum Whatsapp chat team that this benefit is not limited to Finnair’s own elites only.
Some Finnair & oneworld elites get an extra allowance on long-haul hand baggage only fares
As standard, a Finnair long-haul “Light” fare only allows passengers to travel with a small personal item and with a standard rollaboard and their combined weight must not exceed 8kg (~17.6lbs).
Irrespective of the fare booked, however, Finnair Plus Platinum Lumo elites, Platinum elites, and Gold elites as well as all other oneworld Emerald and oneworld Sapphire elites can always take at least one checked bag weighing up to 23 kg (~50.7lbs) and this rule extends to long-haul Light fares.
Finnair Silver elites can purchase a checked bag at a 50% discount, but this benefit is not extended to oneworld Ruby elites.
Upgrading your Finnair flight usually does not improve your baggage allowance
This is the policy that surprised me most.
Like most airlines, Finnair allows passengers to upgrade their bookings in a variety of different ways, but unlike all other airlines on which I’ve upgraded my trips, Finnair often does not give you a better baggage allowance when you upgrade.
You’re usually stuck with whatever baggage allowance your original fare (+ elite status) gives you (this policy had been in place since June 2025).
If you upgrade an Economy Superlight ticket to a Business Class ticket, you get to bring a standard carry-on onboard as well as a personal item. You do not get a checked-baggage allowance (link).
In all other upgrade scenarios, the baggage allowance granted to you by your original booking will be the one that is enforced even if you upgrade to a higher cabin.
Bottom line
As a Finnair/oneworld elite, Finnair seems to look after me pretty well, but I was a little surprised to see the airline using the same harsh policy on its short-haul basic fares as we see the likes of Air France/KLM and United Airlines using because that’s not really in keeping with the policies used by some of Finnair’s closest partners (e.g. BA and American Airlines).
What surprised me most, however, was finding out that if you upgrade a Finnair fare, the baggage that came with your original booking is what matters as with the exception of a Superlight to Business Class booking, a Finnair upgrade does not improve your baggage allowance.
The moral of all this is that if you’ve recently moved over to the Finnair Plus program or if you’re flying Finnair for the first time, you should make sure you’re across the main rules that Finnair and Finnair Plus follow as they may be different to the rules you’re expecting the airline and its frequent flyer program to be using.
