Next month, Finnair will start a rather exciting new long-haul route. As of October 25, the Finnish flag carrier and oneworld member will fly daily from its main hub at Helsinki Vantaa Airport (HEL) to Melbourne (MEL) in Australia via Bangkok (BKK), Thailand. These direct flights retain the same plane (in this case, the Airbus A350-900) and flight number for both legs, and Finnair has fifth-freedom rights between Thailand and Australia.

The route will take almost 24 hours end to end. This duration is long enough in itself, but, given Finnair’s strong alliance links with its fellow oneworld member and Australian flag carrier Qantas, passengers may even extend their journeys by adding a connecting domestic flight once on the ground in Australia. Let’s take a look at the ins and outs of this new route, and another similar one that is launching soon.

One Month To Go

Credit: Great Circle Map

This route is a long time in the making, having first been announced back in December 2025. According to the current scheduling data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, Finnair flight AY145 will leave Helsinki at 1:15 AM local time, reaching Bangkok at 4:35 PM local time. It will then continue onwards at 6:25 PM, eventually touching down in Melbourne at 7:20 AM local time the next day.

As for the return leg, Finnair flight AY146 will be an afternoon departure, leaving Melbourne at 3:30 PM and reaching Bangkok at 8:40 PM. Thereafter, it will take off from the capital city of Thailand at 10:25 PM local time, with its arrival back in Helsinki following at 6:00 AM the next day, making it perfect for onward connections deeper into Europe. Christine Rovelli, the Chief Revenue Officer of Finnair, said that:

“We expect that this new route will appeal to travellers from Europe heading to Australia, as well as Australians exploring northern Europe and beyond.”

What’s It Like On Board?

Credit: Ilia_Semenov | Shutterstock

As noted above, Finnair will operate these flights daily using the Airbus A350-900. According to ch-aviation, the carrier currently has 18 of these modern widebody twinjets in its fleet at an average age of 8.6 years old, as well as one more on order. While all of them are fitted with three classes of travel, data from aeroLOPA shows that there are two different configurations in terms of the spread of the seats.

Cirium’s scheduling data shows that both layouts are set to be used on the new Finnair route from Helsinki Vantaa Airport to Melbourne via Bangkok. The most premium-heavy of the pair has space for a grand total of 278 guests on board, with 43 seated in four-abreast (1-2-1) business class pods. There are also 24 premium economy recliners (eight abreast) and 211 economy class seats (nine abreast) on board.

For higher-demand services with less of a premium angle, Finnair also has a 321-seat layout on board some of its examples of the Airbus A350-900. Of these seats, 265 (82.5%) can be found in the economy class sections in the middle and rear of the jet. Further forward, there are 26 premium economy recliners and 30 business class pods, with these cabins retaining the same seat models as the other layout.

Another One-Stop Hop From Europe To Melbourne Will Soon Follow

Credit: Great Circle Map

As it happens, Melbourne is set to see quite the renaissance in one-stop direct flights to Europe over the coming months. Indeed, Finnair is not the only oneworld member to be adding the Victoria city to its network this winter. As of January 11, British Airways is also set to fly there on a daily basis from its main hub at London Heathrow Airport (LHR) via Kuala Lumpur (KUL) using Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

This will mark the first time that British Airways has flown to Melbourne in some 21 years. As detailed in the table above, it also already flies to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) in the Australian state of New South Wales via Changi Airport (SIN) in Singapore. Tickets for the new route went on sale in March of this year, with return fares starting from AUD $1,960, which is equivalent to US $1,397.23 today.