Finnair Reduces Qantas Wet-Lease Flights Amid Pilot Dispute

Finnair has scaled back its wet-lease agreement with Qantas, citing ongoing industrial action by its pilots’ union. The airline is now operating only one A330-300 on behalf of Qantas instead of the originally agreed two, due to a lack of resolution with the Finnair Pilots’ Union.

As a result, Finnair will furlough 36 pilots, with furloughs starting by the end of September 2025 and expected to continue until at least May 2026. COO Jaakko Schildt said the decision was regrettable but necessary. “The pilots’ industrial actions have impacted our ability to maintain reliable wet-lease operations, leading to changes in our partnership and the unfortunate need to furlough staff,” he said.

The dispute began in December 2024 over pilot dissatisfaction with standby obligations tied to ACMI operations. Despite multiple rounds of negotiations, no agreement has been reached.

The wet-lease deal, announced in 2023, involved Finnair providing aircraft and crew for Qantas on flights from Sydney to Singapore and Bangkok. These flights extended Finnair’s own routes from Helsinki and allowed seamless crew transitions. However, Flightradar24 data shows Finnair has already ceased operations on the Sydney–Singapore route, with Qantas now using its A330-200s. Finnair continues to operate the Sydney–Bangkok route.

Financially, the dispute has hit Finnair hard. The airline reported EUR31 million (USD35.3 million) in lost revenue due to the labor action, with a EUR22 million (USD25 million) impact on its operating result. An additional EUR10 million (USD11.4 million) revenue loss is expected in April 2025.

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Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, ch-aviation.com