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Finnair has always been an interesting airline as far as its long-haul operations are concerned, with the Finnish flag carrier and 
oneworld member having historically leveraged its geographical location to position itself as one of Europe’s leading operators for flights to and from Asia. In recent years, airspace closures amid the ongoing Ukraine War have complicated these matters, but, now, demand for Asia-Pacific flights is on the up.
Such sentiments were echoed this morning at a Finnair press event, where the airline noted that it is looking towards markets that are actively seeking it out. Amid a softening in US demand, which has been a cause for concern for many major European flag carriers of late, these are increasingly being found to the south and east. Specifically, the Asia-Pacific market is emerging as a strategic priority, despite Finnair’s inability to overfly Russia en route.
Contrasting Fortunes In The Transatlantic & Asian Markets
In recent months, demand for international air travel to and from the US has hit something of a bump in the road, with increasing geopolitical tensions in and around the country prompting many foreign passengers to rethink their travel plans. This has been most pronounced in Canada, where airlines are reducing capacity in favor of other international destinations, but, further afield, European carriers’ transatlantic bookings have also dropped.
However, due to the nature of Finnair’s long-haul network, which has historically prioritized Asian destinations rather than those in the US and Canada, this trend will not hit the airline so hard. Elsewhere, Asia continues to see growth, with Christine Rovelli, Finnair’s Chief Revenue Officer, explaining that the airline is “still the largest European carrier to Japan, [with] 20 weekly frequencies in the summer.” Commenting on the US, Rovelli said that:
“We’ve also put some capacity, as it’s been widely noted in the press, toward the North Atlantic market, although it’s still less than double digits of our capacity. It’s around 9%, something like that.”
Australian Ambitions
As detailed in the video embedded below, one of the most exciting announcements concerning Finnair’s long-haul network in recent times came last December, when the carrier shared its plans to serve Melbourne (MEL) directly from Helsinki (HEL). These daily flights will commence in late October using the Airbus A350-900, featuring a technical stop in Bangkok (BKK). Finnair will have fifth-freedom rights between Bangkok and Melbourne.
According to Turka Kuusisto, Finnair’s CEO, corporate demand from Australian travelers played a big role in the route’s launch, with Australians being among the airline’s top ten nationalities on this front even before it shared its plans for this corridor with the world. This will be a key factor in filling the lucrative premium seats on these flights, but, as Kuusisto notes, Finnair is also well placed to serve Australian tourists looking for a European trip.
Indeed, he explains that “it’s not about random preferences: we actually heard quite a lot of positive feedback that people from Australia want to visit Nordics and Finland.” As such, while launching the new route with a frequency as high as daily raised eyebrows, Finnair is confident that it can make it work.
Big Surprise! This Airline’s Stunning New 24-Hour Australia Flights
In a surprising twist, this European airport will get daily flights Down Under.
Finnair Won’t Leave The US Market
Of course, despite the US being a lower priority for Finnair at present due to geopolitical tensions and shifting trends in long-haul demand, that isn’t to say that, unlike carriers such as Air Transat, it will leave the American market altogether. On this front, Kuusisto says that “there’s some [uncertainty about] how the market will develop, but we, of course, [will] stay there in the long term,” highlighting its oneworld partnership with American Airlines.
The key connective tissue between Finnair’s lower emphasis on US routes and its increased connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region is demand asymmetry: while it sees strong interest from the European side flying to the US, this is softer than from the US to Europe. Contrastingly, as noted, Australian business and leisure travelers are seeking out Finnair’s European routes, so doubling down where demand is coming from makes sense.
