The wet lease of the inaugural aircraft is set to start in October 2023, with the second aircraft's wet lease kicking off in early 2024.
This collaboration with Qantas aligns with Finnair’s strategic endeavor to optimize the usage of its A330 fleet, an effort challenged by the closure of Russian airspace. With this agreement in place, the airline believes it has effectively optimized its fleet utilization following the closure of Russian airspace.
During the wet lease tenure, the aircraft will be operational in Qantas' network, facilitating routes from Sydney to Singapore and Sydney to Bangkok. Finnair pilots, having completed Finnair's scheduled flights from Helsinki to Singapore and Helsinki to Bangkok, will proceed to fly scheduled Qantas flights among Singapore, Bangkok, and Sydney before heading back to their base in Helsinki. Finnair's Singapore and Bangkok-based partners will provide cabin crew, and aircraft maintenance will be carried out by Finnair's partners at the Qantas destinations. Finnair has confirmed having adequate pilot resources to meet the demands of its fleet size, inclusive of the aircraft leased to Qantas. The Qantas agreement will not affect Finnair's cabin crew numbers as they are fully engaged in other operations.
The Qantas partnership underlines the effective and profitable employment of Finnair’s A330 fleet. Since the closure of Russian airspace, Finnair has developed a more geographically balanced network, considering the increased flight times between Finnair’s Helsinki hub and its Asian destinations due to the airspace restrictions. This Qantas agreement is another instance of Finnair bolstering its ties with oneworld partners as part of its revamped strategy.
Senior Vice President of Network and Revenue Management at Finnair, Antti Tolvanen, expressed enthusiasm over the enhanced collaboration with oneworld partner, Qantas. He said, "This agreement enables us to fully deploy our A330 fleet in profitable operations."
