Two award seats from London to TokyoBA/JAL with Avios, ANA via Virgin Points, Finnair via Helsinki

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What we'd do first: open ba.com's Reward Flight Finder and Finnair's award search in two tabs, set both to 2 passengers, and look at a whole month in your cabin. Note the dates where both seats show, with the Avios, the cash and the time you checked.

Why you must search for two, not one

A reward seat shown for one person doesn't mean a second seat exists on the same flight. Airlines release a limited number of reward seats per cabin, and the search only shows what's free for the number of passengers you enter. Search for one and book "the same again" and you may find the second seat has gone, or was never there.

The published minimums show how tight it can be:

• British Airways guarantees, on its Heathrow and Gatwick flights, "at least" eight economy, two premium economy and four business reward seats (BA Reward Flights, checked 13 Nov 2026). Two is the floor in premium economy, so a couple may need the whole allocation.
• Finnair guarantees, on long-haul flights between Europe and Asia, at least four economy, two premium economy and two business award seats, and opens award seats "360 days prior to departure" (Finnair: award flights, checked 13 Nov 2026).

These are minimums at release, not promises that two seats will be free on your date.

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Option 1: British Airways or JAL with Avios (ba.com)

BA flies direct from Heathrow to Tokyo, and its Tokyo page puts Haneda closest to the city centre (BA: flights to Tokyo, checked 13 Nov 2026). Japan Airlines also flies Haneda–London non-stop (JAL: Haneda–London, checked 13 Nov 2026), and JAL is a oneworld partner you can book with Avios on ba.com.

BA's "Search and book" tool checks "all availability and prices, including partners", and its Reward Flight Finder lets you "search by date range" (BA: reward availability). When you search, BA shows its own flights first, then partners. For partner flights BA says the Avios "may vary from British Airways, depending on route and distance travelled", and the cash for taxes and charges is "variable rather than fixed". BA doesn't publish a partner price chart on the pages we checked, so read the price on screen.

Getting the Avios: Amex UK transfers Membership Rewards to BA 1:1, instantly (see where Amex Membership Rewards points transfer in the UK).

Option 2: ANA with Virgin Points (by phone)

Virgin's partner page lists ANA reward prices one way, "excluding passenger taxes, duties, fee, charges and surcharges". For Japan to Europe: 32,500 points in economy, 60,000 in business and 85,000 in first (Virgin Atlantic: All Nippon Airways, checked 13 Nov 2026). No premium economy price is listed.

Three rules matter for two people:

• You can't book ANA rewards online: "get in touch with our Flying Club team who will be able to help book your trip."
• "Redemptions can only be made on All Nippon Airways operated flights", and "Blackout dates may apply".
• The taxes and surcharges aren't on the page. We couldn't verify them, so the figures below are hypothetical.

Amex UK transfers to Virgin 1:1, instantly. Because you book by phone, ask the agent to confirm both seats on the same flights before any points move. Our Virgin Points Upper Class guide covers Virgin's own flights.

Option 3: Finnair via Helsinki (Avios)

Finnair publishes fixed Avios prices by zone, one way, the same "no matter when you fly". London is in Zone 2 and Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya are all in Zone 7. Finnair charges Avios "separately for each flight" when a booking connects outside Zone 1, so London–Helsinki–Tokyo is two prices added together:

• Business: 18,000 (London–Helsinki) + 62,500 (Helsinki–Tokyo) = 80,500 Avios one way.
• Premium economy: offered on the long-haul flight only (43,500), so check how the Helsinki leg is priced before you book.
• Surcharges: €15 (Zone 2) + €120 (Zone 7, business) = €135, plus taxes and passenger fees, which Finnair doesn't list and we couldn't verify.

Two Finnair rules change your tactics. If you mix cabins on one award, "the cost of that award will be calculated based on the highest travel class", so economy to Helsinki and business onward still costs business. And booking through customer service adds 500 Avios one way. Avios move from BA to Finnair Plus once linked; see lower fees on Avios redemptions through Iberia, Qatar or Aer Lingus for the linking rules and the account-age check.

Where Finnair's own rules conflict: the same page says both "No stopovers are permitted" and "One stopover is permitted on round trip long-haul flights". If you want to stop in Helsinki, check with Finnair before you transfer Avios.

How to search for two, step by step

1. Set the party size first. Enter 2 adults on every engine before you look at dates.
2. Use the calendar. On ba.com, the Reward Flight Finder searches a date range; on Virgin's site, the reward seat checker shows a month at a glance. Finnair's prices don't change by date, so you're only looking for seats.
3. Check each partner's own engine. JAL seats appear on ba.com. Finnair seats show on finnair.com's Award flights tab. For ANA, Virgin books by phone; independent guides say ANA reward space can be seen on other Star Alliance sites first, but that's not an official Virgin instruction, so treat it as a lead and confirm with Virgin.
4. Search one way in each direction. All three programmes price one way, so a seat for two outbound and a seat for two back can come from different programmes.
5. Try a multi-leg search if the outbound and return don't match. If the engine offers it, a multi-city search lets you fly into Tokyo and home from Osaka. Finnair puts both cities in the same zone.
6. Write it down. Flights, Avios or points, cash, and the date and time you checked.
7. Transfer and book at once. Move points only when both seats show, then book straight away.

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What two seats cost: a worked example

Two people, business, return. Finnair's and Virgin's Avios and points come from their published charts. Every cash figure below except Finnair's €135 surcharge is hypothetical, and the BA/JAL Avios figure is invented, because BA publishes no partner chart. One-number totals use an assumed 1p per Avios or point, a Credit Club working figure, not an airline value.

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The ranking depends on the charges you actually see, so treat the table as a method. Don't use these figures as quotes. Our guide to when cash beats Avios shows how to compare the result with a cash fare.

When two seats won't show together

Change one thing at a time:

• Move the date. A day either side often changes availability. BA prices peak and off-peak dates differently, and you can mix them.
• Change the Japanese airport. Try both Haneda and Narita if the engine offers them. On Finnair, Osaka and Nagoya cost the same Avios as Tokyo.
• Split the cabin by direction. Business one way, premium economy the other, if the engine prices them separately. On Finnair a mixed-cabin award is priced at the highest class, so this saves nothing there.
• Split the programmes by direction. For example, ANA out on Virgin Points and Finnair home on Avios. Each direction is its own booking.
• Try the other partner. JAL on ba.com if BA is full; ANA via Virgin if both are full.
• Book at release. BA lets you book "up to 355 days ahead of the departure date" (BA help); Finnair opens award seats at 360 days. Virgin doesn't state its window on the pages we checked; independent sources report 331 days, so check Virgin's calendar.
• Don't count on a waitlist. We found no official waitlist for reward seats on any of the three programmes, and no officially documented pattern for seats released later. If seats appear later, that's luck, not a rule.

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Booking two seats in two transactions

Sometimes one seat shows and the second doesn't, and it's tempting to book one now and hope. Spell out the risks first:

• The second seat may never appear. You'd then have to cancel the first, and pay the fees.
• Two bookings aren't linked. A schedule change or cancellation on one isn't applied to the other, and you'd have to rebook each separately.
• Fees are per person. Cancelling a BA reward costs £35 per person, with the Avios returned (avios.com help centre). Virgin charges £70 per person for each change to UK-originating reward bookings. Finnair says "No compensation or refund will be paid for unused award tickets", so check its change rules before you book.
• Seating isn't guaranteed. You may not sit together.

If you do it, book the harder leg first, ideally the one you can cancel more cheaply, and set a date by which you'll cancel if the second seat hasn't appeared.

Tokyo on points: FAQs