Finnair and Qantas reached an agreement to wet lease two of Finnair’s Airbus A330s to operate on behalf of Qantas. Here is what we know so far.
Finnair Will Operate Select Qantas’ Asia Routes
Finnair and Qantas have entered into a long-term agreement, in which Finnair first wet leases two Airbus A330 aircraft with crew to Qantas for a period of two years, and upon the expiration of the wet lease period, it will dry lease the A330s for a period of another 2.5 years, starting in 2025.
This is an interesting development as the Finnish airline is currently operating flights on behalf of British Airways, Lufthansa and Qatar Airways.
While the official schedule has not been released, Finnair will be operating on behalf of Qantas for the following routes:
- Bangkok(BKK) – Sydney(SYD) starting late March 2024
- Singapore(SIN) – Sydney(SYD) starting late October 2023
Finnair cockpit crew will fly scheduled Finnair flights from Helsinki to Singapore and Bangkok respectively and then, they will continue flying scheduled Qantas flights between Singapore, Bangkok and Sydney before returning to their home base in Helsinki.
In the case of the cabin crew, Finnair partners based in Singapore and Bangkok will be providing. which will be staffed by Thai and Singaporean nationalities.
Why Is Finnair Flying On Behalf Of Multiple Carriers
Based on geographic restrictions, the current Russo-Ukraine war prevents Finnair to use the Russian airspace where all of its long-haul flights from Helsinki to Asia are generally used. The closed airspace is causing flight time to increase significantly and loss of profit.
Moreover, the airline’s fleet of Airbus A330s is range-limited in its deployment in its own long-haul operations due to the closure of Russian airspace, which cannot be utilized efficiently. So the agreement with Qantas concludes the optimization of Finnair’s fleet following the Russian airspace closure.
Summary
Finnair and Qantas reached an agreement to wet and dry lease two of its Airbus A330s to operate on behalf of Qantas on Bangkok to Sydney and Singapore to Sydney routes.
The Finnish carrier is currently having difficulties operating the A330s to long-haul routes as it has a limited range. Since using Russian airspace is not a wise option right now, it is a good deal between the two airlines to utilize these aircraft.
