Finnair launches scheduled route from Helsinki to Melbourne
On Sunday, 25 October 2026, Finnish carrier Finnair launched scheduled service between its Helsinki hub and Melbourne, Australia, operated daily by an Airbus A350-900 with a stopover in Bangkok, Thailand. According to Melbourne Airport, it is the only route to Australia operated by a European Union carrier.
The new route fits into the Finnish carrier's broader expansion of its long-haul network from Helsinki – according to Helsinki Airport operator Finavia, Melbourne is the fourteenth new destination Finnair is launching in 2026, and its very first in Australia. For this year, the carrier plans to fly to 93 destinations in Europe, 11 in Asia, seven in North America including the newly launched Toronto, and two in the Middle East.
RUS Tourism News described the route launch, shortly before it began, as a milestone from which Finnair's Helsinki hub now covers Europe, Asia, North America, the Middle East and Australia. The same source also reported that, due to the geopolitical situation, the carrier has dropped Dubai from its entire 2026/27 winter schedule.
The stopover in Bangkok is necessary on this route because the distance between Helsinki and Melbourne exceeds the range of the standard Airbus A350-900 version, which according to Simple Flying has a range of roughly 8,500 nautical miles (15,740 km).
Flight AY145 departs Helsinki shortly after midnight, makes a stopover in Bangkok around 4:30pm local time, and arrives in Melbourne the following morning at around 7:15am. The return flight departs Melbourne at 15:40 local time, arrives in Bangkok at 20:50, and reaches Helsinki early the next morning. Total flight time in both directions ranges between 22 and 24 hours.
- Launch date
- 25 October 2026
- Route
- Helsinki–Bangkok–Melbourne
- Aircraft
- Airbus A350-900
- Flight number
- AY145
- Frequency
- daily, both directions
- Flight time
- 22–24 hours
The carrier offers tickets both for the full Helsinki–Melbourne journey and separately for the Bangkok sector alone, bookable from either end airport.
Luis Wilhelmi, who heads network planning at Finnair, explained the choice of Melbourne by citing growing tourism between Australia and Europe as well as the city's large European community. He said the carrier had originally been looking for a year-round long-haul destination, which proved difficult, as many options only worked in summer or only in winter. The team initially saw flying to Melbourne as a bold move given the great distance between Finland and Australia, but in the end the destination's potential won out.
Because of the flight's length, more pilots than usual are on board – instead of the usual two, three to four pilots accompany the Melbourne flight so they can take turns resting.
Mikko Välisalo from Finnair's flight operations department said that rest during the flight and after arrival is key to maintaining alertness and managing fatigue. He noted that sleep patterns during time zone changes are highly individual – some crew members sleep whenever they feel drowsy, others stick to Finnish night-time rhythms, and others split their rest into shorter naps.
Those interested can track the new route as well as other long-haul routes operated by Finnair (AY) and Airbus A350-900 aircraft on the map.flights flight map.