Finnair to go very long-haul with Melbourne starting in Autumn 2026

Under “routes I didn’t expect to see”, this is high amongst them, with Finnair striking out to Australia, with plans to serve Melbourne.

The route will launch next autumn in 2026. This route will be operated daily from Helsinki Vantaa Airport to Melbourne Tullamarine Airport via Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport and will utilise an Airbus A350-900, configured with their Business Class AirLounge bed/seats, Premium Economy and Economy Class Cabins.

The flight is scheduled to depart from Helsinki shortly after midnight, arriving in Bangkok in the afternoon, and continuing to Melbourne after a brief stop, reaching Melbourne the following morning. On the return, flights leave from Melbourne in the afternoon, with a stop in Bangkok in the evening, and land in Helsinki early the next day, aligning with Finnair’s first morning departures across Europe.

Besides smooth connections for customers, this structure ensures high operational efficiency and good utilisation of Finnair’s A350 fleet.

The Melbourne route marks a completely new destination for Finnair and connects Australia directly to Finnair’s network via Finnair’s Helsinki hub.

In Quotes

Christine Rovelli, Chief Revenue Officer at Finnair, said:

“We are very excited to introduce service to a new continent. By connecting Helsinki and Melbourne, two cities on opposite sides of the world, we can offer a truly unique bridge between the northern and southern hemispheres,” says 

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

Bookable today

The Melbourne flights will be available for booking on Finnair.com as of 18 December, and the first flight is expected to be on 25 October 2026, subject to government approval.

In addition to Melbourne, Finnair’s network for 2026 comprises a total of 93 European destinations, 11 Asian destinations, seven North American destinations, including Toronto, which opens in summer 2026, and two destinations in the Middle East.

Unexpected, but a new option

Australia hasn’t been hot on the European carriers’ radars for some time, with British Airways operating a one-stop service via Singapore (the traditional Kangaroo route), and letting Emirates, Qatar Airways, Eithad Airways (over the Falcon route), ceding to Qantas (with its non-stop and Kangaroo routes), as well as other one-stop options in Asia.

Clearly, Finnair has been doing some modelling to see if the demand is there (be it in direct or connecting traffic) and is willing to take the plunge, especially with a daily service planned.

It’ll be interesting to see if Finnair can make this route stick.

And what is the AirLounge like?

One of the better business class sets in the air. Take a look at my two trip report segments (between Helsinki and Hong Kong and Bangkok and Helsinki) when I flew with them last year.

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