Yesterday I shared how my late-arriving Finnair flight from Amsterdam doomed my connecting flight to Los Angeles, handing me a dilemma in Helsinki. I decided to take a pragmatic approach to rebooking.
Flight Rebooking Dilemma in Helsinki: Get Home Or Free Mini-Vacation?
When I embark on review trips, like the current one to Hong Kong, I make every effort to keep them short and sweet. As much as I would have enjoyed a couple of days in Atlanta to visit relatives, a couple of days in Seoul, a few days in Hong Kong, a couple of days in Amsterdam, and a couple of days in Helsinki, I’m not a single man…I have a wife and kids who depend on me. I also have work obligations that, while remote, require me to work during US business hours each day.
So, extending review trips are not ideal in this season of my life.
Recall yesterday, I sprinted to the AY001 gate for Los Angeles and the plane was still there, but I was told I was a few minutes too late. I ran back to the lounge, where an agent redirected me to the customer service line for rebooking.
Even before reaching the front of the line, I had a couple of options. First would be to take AY001 three days later…since it does not operate every day. Finnair would have had to put me up at a hotel and pay for meals. I also would have received €600 in delay compensation as well.
But I just could not do that…not with a family waiting for me at home. Not with a meeting the following morning that required my in-person presence.
While running from the LAX gate, I passed by the JFK gate…there was a 5:00 pm flight to JFK.
The trouble was it was now 4:25 pm and the customer service line was quite long.
I knew I would not make it to the front of the line in time to be rebooked on the Finnair flight. A supervising agent walked by and I stopped her and explained my predicament. She suggested I immediately go to the JFK gate and see about rebooking.
I did…and the agents were lovely. They immediately rebooked me onto the JFK flight with a connection to Los Angeles on American Airlines, both in business class.
By 4:35 pm I was onboard.
The sad thing, though, is that the JFK flight was operated by an A330 jet, which I have previously reviewed and which is not as spacious as an A350 (the A330 cabin is narrower and yet has the same 1-2-1 seating, with the seats feeling slightly smaller).
But that’s the nature of tight connections and review trips…you don’t always wind up with what you set out to review, though at least here I have a positive story and very positive customer service interaction.
Folishly, I left in my AA number and even though both flights were booked into J (versus U), AA still saw the ticket as an award flight…I bet I would have scored a lot of tier points had I put in my British Airways number instead.
Anyway, I’ll share more about the flight to New York (and another hilarious transcontinental flight on American Airlines) over the next couple of days. A mini-vacation in Helsinki would have been lovely and I still want to take AY001, but this was not the time…
Helsinki in winter is no joy . . . even for free.
The couple who got arrested and featured in today’s Live and Let’s Fly should have copied Matthew’s behavior instead of fighting.
You can probably retro-claim to some other OW program and get miles — I have done this successfully with *A.
I tried the same trick – entered my QF number on a rebooked AA award ticket on QF metal in J class (instead of U) – (originally booked in U class on AA but had IRROPS). Did not get points unfortunately. Maybe a more obscure oneworld partner would of worked.
Interesting datapoint. Thanks, Charles.
Not only did Matthew make the right call re his family, it also let him experience and report on how Finnair’s customer service stepped up in this situation. Call me weird, but as much as I enjoy words and pictures about premium products, what actually matters to me more is knowing which airlines will help me when things go sideways. Thanks, Matthew, and I’m glad it worked out.
At least you got to do a mini review of the A350 on the Amsterdam leg.
Indeed. I wish I had taken more pictures on that flight, though.
I wholeheartedly agree, Matt. It’s time for you to stay home and raise the kids and Heidi fly around the world for blogging.
Hahaha.
She’d rather perform the nastiest nursing roles than have to write and take picures of airplanes seats and meals!
Sounds similar to my wife.
“I’ve booked you into the new ANA business class using points”
“Um great”
Yes! And add another to the wives don’t care club;)
But you could have squeezed in 15 seconds at the sauna at the Platinum Wing. Pity you didn’t.
I have to be honest, I think if I still had my oneworld emerald status, I would have stayed a night at least!
Re: She’d rather perform the nastiest nursing roles than …”: I believe the correct expression is “rather gouge my own (or his or her) eyeballs out with a red hot fire poker than …”
As in “I’d rather gouge my own eyeballs out with a red hot fire poker than do any manufactured spend that involves Walmart Customer Service” :-).
Hypocrisy?
“But I just could not do that…not with a family waiting for me at home. ”
Didn’t think about that when you’re going to Ukraine didn’t you.
I have no idea what you mean.
My trip to Ukraine was booked for six days and I was home in six days.
You left your young kids to a war zone.
If your family was really in your mind, you probably wouldn’t be a hundred miles near the Ukrainian border. You went straight into war zone Kyiev (sic). You can argue all you want about not being the front lines but bombs don’t fly over LA or Helsinki either.
Ask your self this, would you bring your kids with you on that trip?
I have a feeling you’re not a fan of Ukraine hence the fastidiousness over the spelling of Kyiv. (or was that picking on Matt’s infamous issues with spelling?).
For the record, Ukraine has been a war zone since 2014 when Russia covertly invaded (at the time). Matt goes to many places that have managable security issues and, heck, many cities nowadays are risky places to visit.
There will always be idiotic comments about the spelling and making it political from either sides. Hence the ‘sic’ to satisfy and piss off both sides. You’re welcome.
Do you have to pick sides calling Germany instead of Deutschland, Firenze or Florence, Peking or Beijing, Bombay or Mumbai, Czech or Czechia, maybe Gulf of Mexico? Or is it Mejico.
LOL, shouldn’t you be PolskaKnight?
For the record, Matt is a grown man. He can go wherever he wants, war zone or In&Out.
PolskaKnight on the other hand is missing the point completely. It’s not about Matt going places, but rather using family as a reason when it’s convenient for him. Heck, he even admitted if he had status he would have spent the night.
@Eskimo: If you actually read the Ukraine report, you’d see just how “normal” life is in Kyiv during war. I saw Russian aggression for myself and my wife and I agreed the risk-benefit analysis of this trip weighed in favor of going. And all the naysayers scolding me for going to a war zone have clearly never traveled to one. It’s like lidl JD lecturing Zelinskyy about his country when he has never been there (and he turned nasty when called out on it by Z).
Matt I’m not trying to make this political. So what those people did with their meeting is irrelevant.
I’m sure you got a green light from your wife since you do portray as a family man. But that doesn’t make it less dangerous.
Nor do I consider how “normal” life is as a benchmark. Using that standard then no one should care about Ukraine and should focus on Gaza instead? Because life there is “normal”?
Does going to a war zone stroke your masculinity? Makes you feel superior?
People who are in the front line can say the same to you.
And like my reply to PolskaKnight, you’re a grown man. Do whatever you want. But I doubt you’re putting your family first on that trip. Your children aren’t even teenagers yet.
BTW, does Jerusalem count? That location is a conflict zone for millenias.
How do you measure danger? What makes walking through Kyiv more dangerous than driving with all the crazies on Los Angeles freeways?
I’m trying to quibble, but I think your very premise of this discussion is flawed.
I took my wife and son to Jerusalem and so many thought I was crazy. But the facts on the ground did not match up with the hysteria. It was one of the best trips we ever had. And Israel was safe and remains safe.
And yes, I did cut the HEL trip short for the sake of my family… that doesn’t make me a “good” person; it was a simple cost-benefit analysis.
And for the record, I did enjoy your trip reports; essays.
But maybe, leave the more dangerous contents to someone else and have more fun and clicks poking political issues and flying pets.
And by the way, seems only the blogger who cried wolf on an island has picked this up recently, but your beloved Oman Air and a few more BKK lounges are leaving Priority Pass due to allegedly political conflicts of interest?
Each to their own on how to measure danger.
The question you should ask yourself, would you take your kids there.
You and probably most of LA take their kids on the freeway.
But how many would take their young kids to Ukraine in 2023?
I would have…I’d take them to Syria today if I had the time.
Since the delay was caused by weather / ATC you would not have gotten any EU261 compensation.
I figure that will be the case but since I did ultimately arrive home 7 hours late, I’ll submit a claim just in case.