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Finnair has touched down in Melbourne with its first service from Helsinki via Bangkok.
The Finnish carrier’s flight AY145 landed in Melbourne at 7:14am on Monday aboard the A350-900 OH-LWO, making Melbourne the only airport in Australia currently served by a European Union airline. Finnair will fly daily, bringing an estimated $190 million a year to the Victorian economy.
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“Finnair is one of the world’s oldest and most well-respected airlines, so we are thrilled to welcome them to the Melbourne Airport family,” said Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus.
“Finnair has today joined a long list of the world’s top airlines in making Melbourne its Australian gateway, and we’re proud to see the blue and white tail on our tarmac.
“Thanks to fifth-freedom rights, passengers can book with Finnair to access Bangkok or a well-earned break on Thailand’s renowned beaches. Alternatively, people can make the most of this new service to see Finland’s stunning northern lights or visit Europe’s cultural capitals.
“The airline’s award-winning Helsinki hub is recognised as one of Europe’s most convenient transit points, with onward connections available to around 90 destinations on the continent.”
While Finnair has been leasing some of its aircraft to Qantas, this is the first time it has flown its own services to Australia, said the airline’s chief revenue officer, Christine Rovelli.
“This is an important milestone for us, bringing Finnair’s own flights to Australia for the first time and creating a new daily connection between Melbourne, Finland and the rest of Europe,” she said.
“We are very excited to welcome Australian customers on board and equally excited to bring more European travellers to Melbourne and Victoria.”
Two Finnair A330-300s have been operating flights for Qantas to Singapore and Bangkok under a wet-lease agreement since late 2023, with the deal converted to a dry lease in October last year.
Finnair’s own pilots and cabin crew operated Qantas-booked flights for the first two-and-a-half years of the agreement, with customers receiving the Flying Kangaroo’s own food and beverage service, amenities, inflight entertainment and baggage allowance.
No other mainland European airlines currently fly to Australia using their own aircraft, though Turkish Airlines operates across both Sydney and Melbourne, and British Airways flies to Sydney with plans to restart Melbourne flights next year.
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