Finnair (AY, Helsinki Vantaa) has entered into a strategic partnership with Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad International), which will include the launch of routes from three Nordic capitals to Doha Hamad International by the end of 2022.
The Finnish carrier will launch daily services to Qatar from Helsinki Vantaa, Stockholm Arlanda, and Copenhagen Kastrup, all of them operated with its A330-300s. The airline said flights will launch in November and December 2022 but has yet to file detailed schedules. The two Oneworld partners will also establish a "comprehensive" code-sharing partnership covering passenger and cargo services.
The flights will be Finnair's first service from Copenhagen to a destination other than Helsinki. The carrier already has a small long-haul base at Arlanda, operating from the Swedish capital to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Phuket, Miami International, Los Angeles International, and New York JFK. Finnair and Qatar Airways said they would explore opportunities to add more services from Doha to European destinations.
The Finnish airline is currently in the process of adjusting its network strategy in light of the closure of Russian airspace. Finnair heavily relied on Asian routes, benefitting from Helsinki's geographical location. But with the trans-Siberian corridors now inaccessible and forcing long detours, combined with the ongoing closure of China to most international travel, Finnair's previous business model is now obsolete. Finnair has placed a part of its widebody fleet on ACMI contracts and added new routes to the United States but its proposed new strategy is still a work in progress.
