Finnair is Finland’s flag-carrier. Its main hub of operation is the Helsinki Airport in Helsinki, the capital and most populous city of Finland in northern Europe. It operates both domestic and long-haul, international flights. It serves more than 80 destinations across Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa. It is a member of the OneWorld Alliance group.
The airline is almost a century old and is owned by the government of Finland which owns the majority of its shares. Finnair has three travel sections/classes — Business, Premium Economy, and Economy.
Fliers vouch for the following onboard services — friendly cabin crew; timely departures and arrivals; excellent legroom; comfortable, sleek, and chic upholstery; neat seat configurations; comfortable seating; good value for money; and five-star ratings on cleanliness, food and beverage quality, travel safety factor, and overall customer service.
Additionally, the new business-class seats on A350 are reportedly excellent. They have constantly strived to serve better through upgraded products and services. It is a reasonably-priced airline.
On a different note, the experience of lost or missing luggage could be extremely disappointing and frustrating for travelers. However, this is a global crisis that most carriers are facing in the present-day world that has opened to an unimaginable flier-rush post the pandemic. Staff layoff during this time has resulted in a severe shortage of manning personnel, which is aggravating matters and ending in complete chaos and fiascos at the airports with increasing numbers of lost or misplaced luggage. Horror stories abound of permanently missing baggage of numerous passengers across various airlines.
Like most other airlines, Finnair too has a dedicated system in place that helps them to reunite lost luggage with their owners. In the following section, we tell you what to do (God forbid) must you ever experience such an ordeal.
1) Visit the Arrival Service Desk
The sooner you realize and report a missing bag complaint, the higher the chances of retrieval. Hence, keep a lookout for all your bags as they turn up at the conveyor belt. Once you realize that your bag hasn’t traveled with you, walk up immediately to the Arrival Desk at the arrival hall where the staff on duty will enter details when you submit a delayed baggage report.
Please be mindful of all the details and be as accurate as you can about your missing luggage. If you have retained your bag tags, they will prove handy. Additionally, leave your full name, contact number, email id, flight details, and a full description of your bag (like its make/model/brand name, size, color, or any other distinctive mark that can set it apart from the other passenger bags) and its contents. Once the report is created, you will be given a reference number that you can use later to trace the status online through the WorldTracer. This will also be required during any follow-ups with the Finnair staff on the phone or via email regarding the luggage status.
If you are not comfortable waiting in a queue at the airport, you can access their baggage tracing form online and enter all relevant details on the page.
2) Dial the Airline Customer Support
With the claim/reference number (PIR) and a copy of the missing baggage report, you can even approach the Finnair executives at Customer Support. A disclaimer though — Customer Support services are hard to reach because of a high volume of calls. Here are numbers of important regions to note — +358 300 871 160 (Finland), 0330 8081188 (UK), +1 929 474 6049 (US – New York), 1800 102 1233 (India) and +86 218 036 0406 (China).
Alternatively, you can avail of their chat options on the Finnair website; customer service agents provide live chat services. The English language support is available round-the-clock, Monday to Sunday. For other countries, you can check the chat support hours specific to your region on their web page. The Customer Care contact numbers can be accessed from the following page. Please be mindful of their hours of operation.
3) Share Your Experience on Social Media
The tech plays a very powerful and useful role in preventing lost baggage. Please note that you need not wait for days and weeks for the Lost Property officials to revert to you to post your concerns on social media. Things can happen simultaneously. In fact, the more proactive you are and the sooner you act, the brighter your chances of getting your belongings back. Please do not sit on the matter till time runs out and your bag gets permanently lost in some foreign destination.
The best way is to speed along on social media platforms. When you raise an alarm on Facebook or Twitter, two things happen. The concerned authorities sit up, take notice, and swing into action; two, your property could be spotted by the Good Samaritans who will be eager to turn your things in asap with the Finnair authorities.
