Finnair (AY, Helsinki Vantaa) will redeploy the A330-300 capacity it currently deploys on flights between Helsinki Vantaa and Stockholm Arlanda, Copenhagen Kastrup, and Doha Hamad International when its agreement with Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad International) comes to an end on January 15, 2025. The airline said in its 2024 interim report that it will continue to offer codeshare flights to the Qatari carrier.
Finnair's widebody fleet comprises eight A330-300s and seventeen A350-900s, according to the ch-aviation fleets module. ch-aviation research shows six of the A330s are used to service the routes in question, with no specific aircraft dedicated to the partnership. The other two are wet-leased to Qantas (QF, Sydney Kingsford Smith).
Finnair CEO Turkka Kuusisto said during an earnings call on October 29 that the two aircraft would be allocated to Finnair's own traffic, adding: "One could spot those planes, for instance, flying to Miami International and/or Dubai International." The airline recently announced it would be adding flights to Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Seattle Tacoma International and Los Angeles International, as well as to Nagoya Chubu and Osaka Itami in Japan and Shanghai Pudong in China for the 2025 summer season.
Finnair and Qatar Airways inked the cooperation agreement in August 2022, with flights launching from the three Nordic capitals in November and December of that year. The Finnish airline was at the time adjusting its network strategy following the closure of Russian airspace. It had relied heavily on Asian routes, benefitting from Helsinki's geographical location.
Finnair subsequently wet-leased aircraft to other operators such as EW Discover (Frankfurt International) and Qantas. The Australian flag carrier currently operates the Finnair A330-300s on its Sydney-Singapore Changi and Sydney-Bangkok Suvarnabhumi routes. The agreement with Qantas runs until 2029.
