8 kg for cabin baggage, 23 kg for hold baggage. Drastic baggage restrictions for Finnair business class passengers will have lasted just over six months. The airline has just announced that it has changed the rules again, with immediate effect. The decision to limit the number of bags for business class passengers had been rather poorly received by passengers. This strategy is all the more surprising given that the Finnish airline's on-board service had always been considered the best in Northern Europe. With the suspension of Russian overflight rightsFinnair's decision seemed like a headlong rush. Helsinki-Asia flights that had been extended by two to three hours, combined with service restrictions, could only have had a repulsive effect on passengers, particularly high-dollar passengers.
A step backwards. A few months ago, Finnair already had to revise its cabin baggage policy once, raising the total weight to 12 kg. As of 11 December, the old hold baggage allowances are once again permitted.. This means 2 suitcases weighing 32 kg in Business Class (3 baggage items even for Japan); the only exception to the new allowances is the Business Class Light fare, which only allows one hand baggage item.
On the other hand, the carrier retains its 23 kg baggage allowance for European flights in business class. Just like the fact thatnor has it revised baggage limits for Economy Premium flights long-haul flights.
Asia traffic picks up
In a completely different field, Finnair finally seems to have cushioned the "Russian airspace ban" effect. Over the first 11 months of 2023, air traffic to Asia generated 1.18 million passengers, an increase of 83.9% compared with 2022. The load factor jumped by more than 16 points to 77.4%. Asian traffic accounted for almost 12% of the total number of passengers over the first 11 months of 2023.
However, this percentage is still lower than it was before Covid and the Russia/Ukraine war.. From January to November 2019, Finnair carried 2.35 million passengers on the Helsinki-Asia route out of a total of 13.5 million passengers, with a load factor of 83.4%. Passenger volumes to Asia were equivalent to a market share of close to 17.5%..
