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Qantas has deployed its own A330s to fill in for wet-leased Finnair planes on flights from Sydney to Singapore as the Nordic carrier prepares to furlough staff.
Finnair will stand down 36 pilots from September 2025 to at least May next year, it confirmed in a statement, amid ongoing industrial action by its pilots’ union that has thus far been unable to reach a resolution.
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“Unfortunately, the pilots’ industrial actions have affected our ability to operate our wet-lease operations with the reliability that is needed, resulting in changes in our collaboration and consequently, the need to furlough some of our pilots. The situation is unfortunate for all parties,” chief operating officer Jaakko Schildt said.
Qantas says it is using spare A330s this month on the Sydney–Singapore route, with Finnair continuing to operate services between Sydney and Bangkok, and no other impact on the Qantas network.
The Qantas wet lease has allowed Finnair to continue to use the two A330-300s 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.
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.
The deal was slammed by Captain Tony Lucas, then president of the Australian and International Pilots Association, when it was announced in 2023, as “bitterly disappointing”.
“It beggars belief that Qantas is outsourcing the Spirit of Australia while simultaneously converting two of our own A330 passenger aircraft into freighters,” Lucas said.
“Not only is it disappointing for our hardworking and dedicated pilots, but it is also disappointing for loyal Qantas passengers.
“Using the words of Qantas, stepping onto one of its aircraft is supposed to ‘feel like home’. Sadly, this won’t be the case for passengers on these flights.
“Getting another carrier to operate our routes is also significantly more expensive than operating the services within Qantas. This is a sad day for our great airline.”
