Finnair abruptly suspended staff travel privileges in late January (read more here), claiming this was necessary due to Pilot Union work-to-rule and overtime ban action, resulting in 10 to 15 canceled flights daily.
The ban didn’t only affect Finnair employees but also those working for other airlines who use staff and ID90 rates to commute from their home to work (it is very usual for airline employees to live far from their base).
You can access Finnair here.
Finnair has decided to reinstate these benefits starting next week so they won’t jeopardize agreements with other airlines regarding staff travel privileges.
During the ban, Finnair staff could use their travel privileges on other airlines, but employees on other airlines could not travel on Finnair unless on paid tickets.
Conclusion
All airline employees know that flying on staff and other kinds of stand-by tickets is a lottery, and if and when flights are full, you are better off buying a paid ticket to ensure a smooth journey.
However, I feel that Finnair’s staff travel suspension was a nudge to its pilot union rather than something the airline needed to institute.
