Finnair Plus Changes Affecting Travel To/From Dubai (Effective Immediately)

Finnair Plus has changed its classification of Dubai in “Rest of Europe” to lumping it with other long-haul destinations, effective September 1, 2022.

This results in a much higher number of Finnair Plus points earned for paid fares to/from Dubai, but also, the number of points required for award tickets has skyrocketed. Tel Aviv, also in the Middle East, is still considered part of the “Rest of Europe.”

You can access Finnair Plus here.

Earning Points

Finnair Plus members now earn significantly more points on flights to/from Dubai.

Using Points

The number of points required for economy and business class awards has tripled.

Upgrading

You now need to use 50,000 points instead of 10,000 to upgrade using points to/from Dubai.

Conclusion

You could say that this change was inevitable, as the reason why Tel Aviv and Dubai were lumped with Europe was more to do with the equipment used there (short-haul) than the actual distance. Also, Finnair has used widebodies on its flights to Dubai.

It also would have been inconceivable that Helsinki – Dubai flights could have been considered short-haul when flights from Helsinki, Copenhagen, and Stockholm to Doha (new routes – not yet in the award charts) would have been long-haul.

Nevertheless, advance notice of this change to Finnair Plus members would have been great.