Finnair Is Opening Its First Door to Australia, via Bangkok

Finnair is due to begin daily flights from Helsinki to Melbourne, with a stop in Bangkok, on October 25. It will be the Finnish carrier’s first service to Australia. When the schedule was announced, the start date was still subject to government approval, so passengers should confirm their flight before travelling.

The route uses Airbus A350 aircraft with all three cabin classes. Outbound, the flight leaves Helsinki shortly after midnight, makes a brief stop in Bangkok and reaches Melbourne the next morning. The return departs Melbourne in the afternoon, calls at Bangkok in the evening and lands in Helsinki early the following day.

Finnair chief revenue officer Christine Rovelli said the airline was “very excited” to introduce service to a new continent. For travellers in northern Europe and the Nordics, the route gives a one-stop option to Victoria’s capital that does not run through a Gulf hub, and it adds a daily Bangkok link for passengers heading to Southeast Asia.

The launch lands in a busy week for long-haul additions. Aviation Week’s tally of new October routes also lists Lufthansa’s Frankfurt to Kuala Lumpur and Air Canada’s Toronto to Tenerife starting on October 25, as airlines add capacity for the northern winter season.

Sources: Business Travel News Europe, Aviation Week