Finnair now flies to Sydney (on behalf of Qantas)
Finnair will fly to Sydney, but it is not a direct route that has entered the Finnish carrier's network; rather it will operate in wet [...]
Qantas
Finnair
Oneworld
Finnair will fly to Sydney, but it is not a direct route that has entered the Finnish carrier's network; rather, it will operate under wet lease on behalf of the Australian airline Qantas.
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We have already talked on TFC about how wet lease works and why some airlines adopt this type of "charter" to operate some flights.
The most recent case is that of German Airways and Ita Airways on London City-Milan Linate, or Air Baltic, which has made its new A220/300 aircraft and crews available to Lufthansa, Swiss, and Sas.
How wet lease works
In short, then, wet lease is a turnkey product that an operator offers to other carriers, usually scheduled carriers, to make up for a lack of machines/equipment, cope with traffic peaks, or more simply take over particular routes that would otherwise be impossible to handle with the aircraft in the company's fleet.
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The lessee provides aircraft, crews, maintenance, and any other services related to the operation of a flight, renters need do no more than pay an hourly charge and/or a fixed charge for the service.
The Finnair-Qantas Agreement
A few days ago, therefore, Finnair and Qantas reached a wet lease agreement under which Finnair will operate flights Singapore-Sydney From the end of October 2023 and all flights Bangkok- Sydney from the end of March 2024 on behalf of the Australian carrier.
The flights, operated with the Airbus A330, will see Finnair pilots in the cockpit, while cabin crew will be outsourced to a number of local partners with a presence in Bangkok and Singapore.
The agreement will then transform from wet to dry lease in 2025, when Qantas will lease the two aircraft for two and a half years and fly them with its crew on board.
Finnair's change of strategy
Over the past year, Finnair has had to change his strategy because of the conflict in Ukraine which does not allow European (and other) airlines to fly over Russian airspace.
The decision taken by Moscow was in retaliation to the sanctions and flight and overflight ban that almost all of Europe has imposed on the Russia. Before the conflict, in fact, Finnair had focused on developing the Long-haul routes between Europe and Asia from its base in Helsinki.
The ban on overflights over Russia has made life more complicated for the Finnish company with much longer flight times, the inability to make rotations within 24 hours and a consequent increase in costs.
The agreement with Qantas, therefore, allows Finnair to "place" two aircraft without keeping them on the ground, a choice that would have a significant cost for the airline, for at least 4-5 years. In addition to Qantas, at this time Finnair also operates wet leases for other airlines: British Airways, Lufthansa, Eurowings and Qatar Airways.
Finnair and Qantas statements.
The Finnish carrier's press note reiterated the concept expressed earlier. "Since the closure of Russian airspace, Finnair has built a more geographically balanced network, as avoiding Russian airspace has lengthened flight times between Finnair's Helsinki hub and its Asian destinations. The Qantas agreement is yet another example of Finnair's strengthening ties with its alliance partners oneworld under the new strategy," the airline's statement claims.
For Qantas, however, "while airlines globally are working to restore capacity to meet demand, there is still a mismatch between supply and demand for international flights. But with more planes in the air - the New 787s joining our fleet - and through the agreement with Finnair, we have more seats for our customers and more opportunities for Qantas aircraft and crew to fly to additional destinations."
