Have you heard? Finnair is starting flights to Melbourne, Australia!

Well, this is unexpected news! Finnair is starting flights to Australia, heading for the city of Melbourne from next year. This will mean there will be two European carriers serving the country, rather than just one.

Australia is quite challenging for European airlines from an operational standpoint. It takes almost 24 hours from end to end with one stop, tying up aircraft and crew. That means additional cost and most carriers have pulled out, apart from British Airways.

When are Finnair starting flights?

Everything is on sale from today, and services commence on 25 October 2026. Flights depart from Helsinki as AY145 at 00:10, landing in Melbourne at 07:15 the following morning. Along the way there is a stop in Bangkok.

The return AY146 departs MEL at 15:35, arriving at 06:05 the following morning in HEL. These timings are very good for connections on both sides, and I’ve already scoped out the options from Dublin.

The Finnair A350

It’s good to see Finnair is starting flights with their Airbus A350. These feature business class, premium economy and economy seating. Having flown in the non-reclining AirLounge business class seats, I can say they are very comfortable.

Helsinki is also a fantastic airport, which is very simple to navigate for transfers. Finnair also plays a decent lounge game there, with a decent international business class lounge. In addition, they also have the highly regarded Platinum Wing, which also happens to feature a sauna!

Overall Thoughts

Finnair starting flights to Australis is a good thing, especially for oneworld frequent flyers. It provides another option to get from Europe down under and who doesn’t like a little variety?

Lets hope the flights are popular. I’m sure Australians heading from Melbourne to Bangkok will also use the service as the more premium option available to them. I mean, who chooses to fly Jetstar if it can be avoided?

What do you think of this news? Will you be taking the new services? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image by Anna Zvereva via Wikimedia Commons.