Finnair - What
 

I will soon be flying Finnair from New York (JFK) to St. Petersburg Russia, with a stopover in Helsinki. The time difference between connecting flights is 1 hour (that's how Finnair set it up). If the first flight (JFK - Helsinki) is more than an hour late and, consequently, we miss our flight to St. Petersburg, what kind of compensation should I demand?<BR><BR>P.S. Our friends were in the same position a few years ago and did in fact miss the connecting morning flight. They had to wait for the next available flight (some 9-10 hours later). Finnair "compensated" them by giving them a free hotel room at the airport and paying for their 4-hour tour of Helsinki. Sounds kind of inadequate...

Eugene,<BR><BR>Sorry to burst your bubble, but the great compensation offers you read about are for people who were denied boarding ("bumped") for a flight they would have been able to take had the airline not overbooked, not those who missed their connection... The offer that Finnair made to your friends was actually quite generous, doubt you'll get anything else, perhaps you won't even be so lucky with the airlines hurting financially these days!<BR><BR>Hope you'll make that connection<BR>Andre

That's true. If weather is the culprit,the airline is a even obligated to put you up for the night. But a decent airline will.<BR><BR>Missed connections occur all the time at the major European hubs. The airline will get you on another flight usually within hours. There is normally no compensation.

Andre and Vic,<BR><BR>Thanks for your brutally honest responses :-) I guess I will have to make sure that Finnair gets to Helsinki on time :-)<BR><BR>

Nest time fly Aeroflot and compare compensations :o)

Eugene, Let us not forget that the Finns and Finnair are very efficient, not to mention gracious!!! Several years ago when Finnair still had the nonstop SFO-Helsinki routing we were delayed due to a mechanical problem for eight hours in SFO. We were fed, offered a hotel, and bumped to First Class on our return!! We love Finnair. ..

Faina,<BR>I did try to book Aeroflot; their direct JFK-St. Petersburg flight was cheap and convenient, but was discontinued a few years ago. Aeroflot's fare to St. Peterburg through Moscow was not competitive (roundtrip on Finnair cost me $465+tax while Aeroflot was charging around $800 with less convenient scheduling).<BR><BR>Michael,<BR>Thanks for the info. This is my first trip on Finnair. Is it true that they actually serve silverware on their flights?

Silverware? You bet and in coach no less!!, or at least they did. . .we are going in July via Stockholm, then Helsinki and back via St. Petersburg. Enjoy and let me know if you need help/