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Finnair has warned of potential staff reductions that could impact its wet-lease arrangement with Qantas amid a continuing pilots’ strike.
The Nordic carrier is set to begin negotiations on 12 February with the Finnish Transport Pilots’ Association (SLL) to discuss a “reduction or furlough” of up to 90 pilots, as well as the introduction of standby into pilots’ employment contracts.
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The industrial action, including a stand-by ban, covers both the flights Finnair operates for Qantas from Sydney to Singapore and Bangkok, as well as flights used by pilots to transfer to those flights.
The Qantas wet lease has allowed Finnair to continue to use the two A330s and around 90 pilots while Russian airspace has been closed due to the Ukraine war, as their limited range has precluded them from Finnair’s Asian network.
“It is sad that the pilot union’s prolonged industrial action has led to a situation where we have to start change negotiations. Today is a tough day for all of us at Finnair,” Finnair chief people officer Kaisa Aalto-Luoto said.
“In our 101 years of history, we have never needed to reduce pilot positions due to operational reasons.
“Even when the Russian airspace closed and fundamentally changed our operating environment, we succeeded in securing employment for our pilots with collaboration arrangements.”
According to Aalto-Luoto, the pilots’ union has “refused to agree on stand-by duties collectively and proposed that stand-by should always be voluntary”.
“Stand-by is an established practice in the industry and I believe that every Finnair pilot recognises it as part of their job,” she said.
“As the union has declined to agree on this, we are now preparing to include stand-by duty in the employment contracts of all pilots in order to secure regular and reliable flight operations.”
Qantas says there has as yet been no impact on its flights from the industrial action, and it is in regular discussion with Finnair, with mitigation plans in place if it is advised of disruptions.
The deal has seen Finnair’s own pilots and cabin crew operate Qantas-booked flights for the first two-and-a-half years of the agreement, with customers receiving the Flying Kangaroo’s own food and beverage service, amenities, inflight entertainment and baggage allowance.
From October 2025, the aircraft will be fully “dry leased” for up to three years, meaning Qantas pilots and cabin crew will switch to operating the services.
