Finnair has just announced plans to launch regularly scheduled flights to Australia, which wasn’t exactly on my new airline route bingo card!
In this post:
Finnair launching flights to Melbourne, Australia
As of October 26, 2026, Finnair plans to launch daily, year-round flights to Australia. Specifically, the airline plans to fly from Helsinki (HEL) to Melbourne (MEL) via Bangkok (BKK). The schedule will be as follows:
AY145 Helsinki to Bangkok departing 12:10AM arriving 4:30PM
AY145 Bangkok to Melbourne departing 6:15PM arriving 7:15AM (+1 day)
AY146 Melbourne to Bangkok departing 3:35PM arriving 8:45PM
AY146 Bangkok to Helsinki departing 10:30PM arriving 6:05AM (+1 day)
The segment between Helsinki and Bangkok covers a distance of 4,916 miles, and is blocked at 11hr20min eastbound and 12hr35min westbound. Meanwhile the Australia segment covers a distance of 4,546 miles, and is blocked at 9hr to Australia and 9hr10min to Thailand.
Finnair intends to use an Airbus A350-900 for the route, featuring 278 seats. This includes 43 business class seats, 24 premium economy seats, and 211 economy seats.
Each of the segments can be booked individually, meaning that Finnair has fifth freedom rights between Bangkok and Melbourne. Finnair already flies between Helsinki and Bangkok, so this route represents a capacity boost between those two markets (since we’re seeing an extra frequency added), plus an all-new route.
Here’s how Christine Rovelli, Finnair’s Chief Revenue Officer, describes the new route:
“We are very excited to introduce service to a new continent. By connecting Helsinki and Melbourne, two cities on opposite sides of the world, we can offer a truly unique bridge between the northern and southern hemispheres. We expect that this new route will appeal to travellers from Europe heading to Australia, as well as Australians exploring northern Europe and beyond.”
My take on Finnair launching flights to Australia
I’m a but surprised to see Finnair launching flights to Australia in this way. The market between Europe and Australia is super competitive:
- Qantas flies nonstop between Australia and Europe, in addition to fifth freedom flights via Singapore
- Virtually all of the Middle Eastern and Asian carriers compete in carrying passengers between Europe and Australia, with similar efficiencies and flight time to these “direct” flights
- The only European carrier offering such a flight to Australia is British Airways, which flies via Singapore; Turkish Airlines also flies to Australia via Asia, and is sort of a European carrier
Anyway, I suppose that Finnair has decided that this is the best way that it can allocate an aircraft, though I also can’t help but think that the yields for this route won’t be great, and the airline will be forced to just compete on price. Finnair doesn’t really have much of a competitive advantage here, and if anything, is gong up against some really high quality and established airlines.
It’s not that planes in these markets can’t be filled, but I just imagine fares will have to be very low to compete, and that’s not exactly an ideal situation for a flight of this length.
It’s worth acknowledging that Finnair is in the oneworld alliance, so will have some connectivity with Qantas in Australia. However, it’s not like the two airlines have a joint venture, and they’ll be acting as competitors.
Bottom line
As of late October 2026, Finnair will launch a route from Helsinki to Bangkok to Melbourne, using an Airbus A350. This will add more capacity between Helsinki and Bangkok, and it will also add a new fifth freedom service between Asia and Australia. I’m curious to see how this route performs…
What do you make of Finnair’s new Melbourne route?
Great for Melbournians traveling to Europe, eh?
This is mostly about the BKK-MEL-BKK service. Finnair is a relatively big European in Thailand, BKK will be served 18x weekly next winter, plus HKT and KBV. The passengers from MEL continuening to HEL will be a nice bonus.
I remember reading a few years ago probably before Covid that Australia was the airlines biggest market for a country they didn't fly too and they didn't fly here or anywhere where their aircraft spent more than 24 hours away from Helsinki for a return trip.
I have flown Finnair a few times in the past and always enjoyed my flights so happy to see them come here and hope they succeed and add more Australian cities in the future.
As another contributor noted, Finnair has a loyal following in Australia because of its previously lower business class fare to Europe. Despite using Cathay or Qantas to connect in Asia, the Finnair fares were usually $1,500–$2,500 cheaper than flying Cathay or Qantas through to Europe.
But… you get what you pay for… from Oz to Europe on AY requires two stops minimum, likely BKK and HEL, then onward; whereas SQ, EK, CX and others may get you there in 1-stop, until project sunrise, etc. when QF goes nonstop SYD-LHR/CDG/NYC, etc. (that’ll be wild).
Finnair operates a “dry lease” on both the BKK SYD and SIN SYD routes for QANTAS and operated a previous “wet lease” on these routes - these flights were and are usually operating high loads so Finnair may see the value in operating its own service
Given the high fares between Europe and Australia, I dont think the market is competitive enough. I still don't think the prices have come anywhere near to what we saw prior to COVID. Airlines are still charging like a wounded bull for business class.
Ironic given Finland’s Asian racism row right now
Matt at LALF had a post on that. I mean, the slanty-eyes thing is inappropriate, as would be any other stereotype, but, certainly not the worst that’s going on in the world today…
Finnair currently wet lease SYD to BKK for Qantas. Curious to know if this makes the route more economical given they have aircraft movements through BKK both directions already?
Interesting move. I wonder if these flights would be timed to connect with BA’s BKK service from/to LGW to help with loads? BA only flies to SYD via SIN.
They are (at least if the BA schedule stays as it is now). 2-3 hours connection at BKK.
Pre-Covid and pre- Ukraine invasion Finnair used to be the best deal from Australia to Europe in biz. Codeshare on QF up to SIN, HKG, NRT, BKK and then onwards to HEL, free stopover if you wanted it and you could pick up the JAL NRT-HEL flight if you wanted as well.
Particularly good if you were going to eastern, central or Northern Europe.
Judging by the passengers they did well out of the cruising and escorted tours market.
BA is also "sort of" a European carrier :)
Good one!
I also found that comment on TK in the article funny. Unlike BA, TK's only hub is located in continental Europe so one could argue TK is more European!
Samo, while geographically accurate, no, Turkey is far less 'European' than the UK.
back in the day Finnair had 5th freedom BKK-SIN.
It was the cheapest ticket to SIN one could buy from one of the Khao San Road agents
SIN-HEL sounds like something they talk about in the Bible...
Very generous comment re Qantas’ current services - they don’t offer any direct flights from Melbourne (Australia’s 2nd biggest city - over 5 mil pop) to any destination in Europe after axing the MEL-PER leg of the onward non stop flights to London Heathrow.
Melbourne has been long neglected by the flag carrier, currently not even offering a mainline service to Bangkok, so good luck to Finnair - I hope they do well.
Qantas has long been heavily Sydney-centric, but it's not as though Melbourne suffers from lack of airline service. TG have run a twice-daily A350 up to Bangkok for many years, and having Finnair join the party will be one more very valid reason not to bother with Qantas & their annoying terminal transfer in Sydney.
We constantly hear these kind of arguments in the UK also - 'BA should be named London Airways' etc - as they only fly internationally from London and have abandoned Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh.
Melbourne still has good international connections.
But who can blame a BUSINESS (which Qantas is) for operating routes that are most profitable and dropping ones that are not.
Aircraft are expensive resources - airlines are always going to put them where they...
We constantly hear these kind of arguments in the UK also - 'BA should be named London Airways' etc - as they only fly internationally from London and have abandoned Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh.
Melbourne still has good international connections.
But who can blame a BUSINESS (which Qantas is) for operating routes that are most profitable and dropping ones that are not.
Aircraft are expensive resources - airlines are always going to put them where they make the most $$$$$
Qantas fly one stop from sydney to Europe, perth or Singapore. Same as melbourne.
Qantas direct from melbourne- Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Queenstown, LAX, Dallas, HKG, SIN, Tokyo, Jakarta, Bali, Delhi,
12 destinations, hardly neglected, perhaps they are running a business and put flights on routes that are profitable
Color me skeptical on this routing. Of all European countries, Finland is the most disadvantaged by the loss of Russian (and Belorussian) airspace. And that's true of this route as well. Not only is it a bit of an odd route to begin with, but there are quicker and better ways to get from HEL to MEL using other carriers.
Not here to bash Finnair, whom I respect, but this one is a head shaker to me.
Bash away. When things go wrong with Finnair, you get stuck in HEL.
(And if you book from outside the EU to outside the EU on a single ticket... EU261 doesn't apply.)
Ask me how I know....
Is that true? I believe EU261 applies for all EU carriers irrespective of the route. So a non-EU origin and destination is covered if flying a EU airline.
So actually an advantage over most other services.
Ok, sorry I was wrong!
But Non-EU to EU is covered with a EU carrier.
So if you fly with Finnair from Australia to Europe EU261 applies whereas if you take Qantas EU261 would not apply. So there can still be an advantage.
Felix, the airlines have tried their best to get out of paying, even with robust consumer-friendly laws like EU261; unfortunately, in 2022, there was a case (C-451/20, Airhelp v. Austrian) that many airlines, including AY, will cite, attempting to get out of compensation requirements with itineraries that merely stop-over in Europe. So, say you booked DFW-HEL-SIN, but, there was mechanical issue (under the control of the airline), and your second segment is cancelled by Finnair....
Felix, the airlines have tried their best to get out of paying, even with robust consumer-friendly laws like EU261; unfortunately, in 2022, there was a case (C-451/20, Airhelp v. Austrian) that many airlines, including AY, will cite, attempting to get out of compensation requirements with itineraries that merely stop-over in Europe. So, say you booked DFW-HEL-SIN, but, there was mechanical issue (under the control of the airline), and your second segment is cancelled by Finnair. Had you booked separate itinaries (DFW-HEL; HEL-SIN), you'd be covered by EU26; yet, because you booked Dallas-Singapore, AY will pretend you were never in Helsinki, and therefore, will deny you. You can appeal; you can go to regulators; you can sue. Won't matter. You lose. I happen to think that loophole is wrong, and changes should be made.
Geographically, the advantage is not there anymore, true. But Finnair can still make it work because of their heavily banked flights. If connection times are short enough, and still reliable, AY might be your smoothest choice from Central Europe to Melbourne.
All flights on one airline is also a bonus. When something goes wrong, the airline can't blame anyone else.
This comes barely two months after both Finnair A330-300s that were operating SYD–SIN/BKK for Qantas have been moved to the Australian registry (re-registered VH-QPK/QPL) and repainted in the QF livery. An interesting move this, given that TG has the MEL–BKK market all to itself otherwise, aside from Jetstar.
Will only be interested in this if they scrap their lousy bus class seats. Shockingly bad product with coffin-like footwell. Run-for-the-hills design as far as I’m concerned.
Ugh, I'd much prefer regular lie-flat than those awful Collins "no-recline" AirLounge seats. Yeah, 'innovative' doesn't always been 'better.'
Qantas flying non-stop between Australia and Europe while technically true feels like overselling it. For anyone not from Perth (pretty much all of Australia) it's still a one-stop flight to London and only London. The Asian and middle eastern carriers are a much bigger competitive force.
I too am surprised but I'm guessing Finnair needs to do something with its planes given how much its loss of access to Russian airspace must be hurting.
...Qantas flying non-stop between Australia and Europe while technically true feels like overselling it. For anyone not from Perth (pretty much all of Australia) it's still a one-stop flight to London and only London. The Asian and middle eastern carriers are a much bigger competitive force.
I too am surprised but I'm guessing Finnair needs to do something with its planes given how much its loss of access to Russian airspace must be hurting.
The crew will be all Thai I imagine and Qantas doesn't serve the mel-bkk route.
"it's still a one-stop flight to London and only London."
This is incorrect. From here in Perth, you can currently fly to London and Paris direct. There's also a seasonal direct route to Rome which has run for several years. There are rumours that Qantas are looking to add a Frankfurt direct flight too.
I wonder if we'll ever see Lufthansa or Air France back down under. Are there any links between France, Germany and Australia/New Zealand or historical ties at least?
No significant historic ties to France or Germany that I’m aware of (happy to be corrected)… but there is a large Italian and Greek diaspora, particularly in Melbourne
Luke is indeed correct about all the Greeks in Melbourne, the world's largest Greek-speaking population outside Greece/Cyprus, supposedly. US, Canada have a lot, too. Not going to include the UK, because... Elgin Marbles *cough*
Did Air France ever fly to Australia? It was UTA that served the Pacific, and I thought the Australia flight did not survive the merger. Air Austral had a short-lived (and very cool) Paris-Réunion-Sydney flight.
After the merger in 1992 flights to Sydney continued, under the Air France brand. But eventually AF withdrew at the end of 1995.
The demand between Europe and Australia has been growing and growing. Prices are extremely high even via the Middle East.
Finnair have done their homework flying for QF the last few years and see that there’s money to be made on the route.
Finnair will do extremely well on this route. There is massive demand from Australia to Europe, and Finnair has achieved incredible offline sales in recent years. To now have their own metal providing one stop service to HEL and beyond will fully realise the enormous potential they have achieved offline. Good luck to AY.
Given Finnair already operates flights from BKK to SYD for Qantas, this route is hardly a surprise...
I wonder if there is high value (and light) cargo that will help with profitability. Don't have to fill all the seats if the belly is full of expensive exports.
Not a great use for those no-recline business seats that are very uncomfortable for day flights.
I found it perfectly cozy but did made use of the pillows to make it better.
Well said, Mary. Those Collins "no-recline" AirLounge seats are just awful. Other airlines should take note and not attempt them anywhere else. Yucko.
I think this route will go well, there is huge demand year round of Australians going to/from Europe. Most flights have high load factors look at QF always in the high 90's%. With the price QF and EK regularly charge in J over 9-12k+ Finnair should be able to take some market share
Yeah, Finnair is often 'cheaper,' but, as they say, 'you get what you pay for.' QF and EK are more reliable, better seats, and less silli. Personally, I'd go with QF, if it's within reach.
Better seats - definitely not on the EK rotation operated by a 777! ;)
I actually find the Finnair non-reclining seat super comfortable and would take AY even over EK 388… but not over QR’s Q-suites.
Q-suite, ANA 773, JAL a35K are the three top business class suites out there.
EK a380 1-2-1 is far better than EK 773 2-3-2; I’d still pick EK’s a380 over AY.
It’s a great addition as it offers premium economy which Thai doesn’t and even Qantas to Sydney does not seem to offer. Hope the pricing is indeed competitive in premium eco and business class.
Peter, by 'premium economy' are we talking 'recliners,' or, just extra-legroom 'MCE-equivalent'?
Real premium economy. MCE is a US/north American concept, not used by Euro or Asian carriers
Now we're talkin'... recliners!
I am not sure if it represents an extra frequency between Helsinki and Bangkok.
In peak season (at least November to March) Finnair usually has two daily flights to Bangkok.
Actually it decreases effective capacity between Helsinki and Bangkok by the people flying to Melbourne.
Oh my gosh! Just checked the whole schedule.
Finnair actually then goes from two to three daily flights between HEL and BKK in peak season.