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Hey everyone, welcome back to Smart With Points! I'm Jack, and if you've ever dreamed of flying business class to Australia without emptying your entire Avios account, well, today's episode might just be the Christmas miracle you've been waiting for. We're talking about what could genuinely be one of the most significant pricing errors we've seen in the miles and points world – and trust me, you'll want to stick around for this one.
So, Finnair has just announced something pretty exciting – their very first Australian route. Starting on the twenty-sixth of October, two thousand and twenty-six, they'll be flying daily from Helsinki to Melbourne via Bangkok. Now, that's already interesting news because it makes Finnair only the second European airline, and the first Western European carrier, to serve Melbourne after Turkish Airlines. But here's where things get really interesting, and by interesting, I mean potentially bonkers.
Finnair appears to have priced this new route in the same zone as Bangkok. Let me say that again – they're charging the same number of Avios to fly to Melbourne as they do to fly to Bangkok. That's despite the fact that Melbourne is an additional nine hours of flying beyond Bangkok. Yes, you're getting essentially a free nine-hour business class flight tacked onto your Bangkok trip. If this isn't a pricing error, I'll eat my frequent flyer card.
Let me break down the numbers for you, because this is where your jaw might actually drop. Finnair uses a zone-based award chart for its own flights, and Bangkok currently sits in Zone six. For a one-way business class ticket from Helsinki to Bangkok, you're looking at sixty-two thousand five hundred Avios plus a hundred and fifty-two pounds in surcharges. Premium economy comes in at forty-three thousand five hundred Avios plus ninety-seven pounds, and economy is thirty thousand Avios plus seventy-seven pounds.
Now, Melbourne is currently showing at exactly the same Zone six pricing. So business class to Melbourne? Sixty-two thousand five hundred Avios plus a hundred and fifty-two pounds. The same as Bangkok, despite being dramatically further.
Just for context here, let me tell you what British Airways charges for their own flights to Sydney – we're talking around a hundred and seventy thousand Avios or more for peak business class. Even at off-peak rates, you're paying significantly more than what Finnair is currently asking. So if this pricing sticks, we're looking at potentially half the Avios cost of a typical BA redemption to Australia.
If you're flying from London, you'll need to add a connecting flight to Helsinki, which sits in Zone two on Finnair's chart. That adds roughly an additional twelve thousand five hundred Avios for business class. So we're talking about approximately seventy-five thousand Avios total from London to Melbourne in business class. That's genuinely exceptional value – if it holds.
Let me tell you a bit about the route itself. The new service operates daily using Finnair's flagship A-three-fifty aircraft. The outbound flight, which is A-Y one-four-five, departs Helsinki at ten past midnight, arriving in Bangkok at half past four in the afternoon local time. It then continues on to Melbourne, arriving at quarter past seven the following morning.
The return flight, A-Y one-four-six, leaves Melbourne at twenty to four in the afternoon, gets into Bangkok at ten to nine in the evening, and then continues to Helsinki, arriving at five past six the following morning.
What's quite clever about this routing is that it actually revives the historic kangaroo route that British Airways and Qantas used until two thousand and twelve, before they consolidated operations through Singapore instead. It's a nice bit of aviation nostalgia coming back to life.
For those of us in the UK, this is actually quite convenient. Finnair offers four daily connections from London Heathrow to Helsinki, so timing your connection shouldn't be difficult at all. Even better, one of these services operates with the A-three-fifty, which means you get a lie-flat business class seat even on that short-haul segment from London to Helsinki – a nice little bonus for starting your journey to Australia.
Now, let's talk about the Finnair business class experience itself. Their A-three-fifty features what they call the AirLounge seat, which is quite unique. It's a non-reclining, cocooning design, which I know sounds a bit odd at first. You might be thinking, wait, a business class seat that doesn't recline? But hear me out – it's actually received really strong reviews. The lack of moving parts means you get a genuinely flat sleeping surface without any awkward angles, and many travelers find it surprisingly comfortable for long-haul flights. It's definitely worth checking out if you haven't experienced it before.
The aircraft also offers twenty-four premium economy seats in a two-four-two configuration, which is a solid step up from economy with extra legroom and upgraded service.
So, how do you actually book this? You've got two main options.
First, you can book directly through Finnair Plus. Awards are released three hundred and sixty days in advance, though Melbourne flights are currently only showing availability until early December two thousand and twenty-six. That's likely just a system glitch as they're still loading the new route into their booking system.
Your second option is to book through British Airways Executive Club. Since Avios transfer one-to-one between programmes, you can use your BA Avios to book these Finnair flights. However, I'd recommend checking prices on both programmes because taxes and surcharges can vary between them. You might find one option slightly cheaper than the other.
If you need to top up your Avios balance to make this happen, make sure to check out our Avios Balance Boost Calculator on the Smart With Points website. It'll help you find the best value option between buying directly from British Airways, Qatar Airways, or Finnair.
One really nice advantage of booking Finnair awards is their guaranteed minimum availability policy. On long-haul flights, Finnair guarantees at least four economy seats, two premium economy seats, and two business class seats per flight as award inventory. This makes planning ahead much more reliable than trying to hunt for British Airways award space to Australia, which as anyone who's tried it knows, can be like finding a needle in a haystack during peak seasons.
Now, let's address the elephant in the room. Is this really a pricing error? In my view, almost certainly yes. Finnair is a well-run airline with generally sensible award pricing, but loading a brand new destination into their award system is exactly when these kinds of errors occur. Someone probably set Melbourne to Zone six as a placeholder or simply made a mistake with the zone assignment.
The real question isn't whether it's a mistake – it almost certainly is – but whether they'll honour bookings made at this price. And that's the million-pound question.
My suggestion? If you have any Australia travel plans for late two thousand and twenty-six or beyond, I would seriously consider booking now while this pricing exists. At worst, you'll get refunded if they cancel mispriced bookings and decide not to honor them. At best, you've locked in one of the best Avios redemptions to Australia we've ever seen.
Let me put this in perspective with a full round-trip example. A return business class redemption at the current likely error pricing would cost around a hundred and twenty-five thousand Avios plus approximately a hundred and eighty pounds in taxes from Helsinki. Add the London to Helsinki legs for both directions, and you're looking at roughly a hundred and fifty thousand Avios return for business class to Australia. Compare that to what you'd typically pay on British Airways – often three hundred thousand Avios or more for a return in business class – and you can see why this is such exceptional value.
Finding award space to Australia has always been challenging. Anyone who's tried to book British Airways to Sydney during peak season will tell you it's an exercise in frustration. This new Finnair route opens up a genuine alternative, and if the pricing sticks, or even if it's just honoured for early bookers before they correct it, it could become one of the absolute best Avios sweet spots available.
Let me quickly recap the key points you need to know. Finnair is launching Helsinki to Melbourne via Bangkok on the twenty-sixth of October, two thousand and twenty-six. It's currently priced at Zone six rates, the same as Bangkok, which is very likely an error. Business class is sixty-two thousand five hundred Avios one-way from Helsinki. You can book through either Finnair Plus or British Airways Executive Club since Avios transfer one-to-one between programmes. And most importantly, you should act quickly because this pricing could be corrected at any time.
Honestly, if I had Australia travel plans, I'd be on this immediately. These kinds of pricing errors don't come around often, and when they do, they typically don't last long. The worst case scenario is they fix it and you get your Avios back. The best case? You've secured business class to Australia for less than what most people pay to get to Asia.
That's it for today's episode. Thank you so much for listening! If you found this information valuable, please hit that subscribe button. You can find Smart With Points on all major podcast platforms, or head over to our website at smartwithpoints.co.uk for even more tips, tools, and strategies for maximizing your miles and points.
And before I let you go, here's a quick message about a tool that can really help with your award booking searches.
Looking for the best award flights? Use AwardTravelFinder.com to search availability across Qatar Airways, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and more. Try it for free with our link in the shownotes.
Safe travels, everyone, and happy booking!