The latest Qantas business class doesn’t even belong to Australia’s flag carrier at all. In fact, the business class that Qantas passengers will soon have access to, on flights from Sydney to Singapore and between Sydney and Bangkok, belongs to Finnair.
As per a newly announced six-year leasing agreement between Qantas and Finnair, the two Oneworld partners have agreed that the Flying Kangaroo will operate these two Qantas routes using Airbus A330 jets on loan from Finland’s highly regarded flag carrier.
The flights will even be staffed by Finnair pilots and cabin crew but the experience will be a blend of offerings from both Qantas and the Helsinki-based airline.
Qantas will provide the soft product, so those A330 flights will present the airline’s inflight catering, amenities and entertainment. While the hard product, which includes both premium economy and business, will be all Finnair.
And, as reported by Executive Traveller, this means that business class passengers stepping on board these two specific routes will be presented with Finnair’s very unique pointy-end product.
In case you aren’t familiar, Finnair has gone rather rogue with its business class product. Instead of seats that have a recline mechanism, Finnair’s latest premium seat is wrapped in a fixed contoured shell called the AirLounge.
In an attempt to create more of a residential feel, the large shell-like seats are fashioned like an oversized sofa, cocooning around you for privacy and allowing you to take up several different positions that conventional business class seats don’t allow for.
Right now, it’s the most forward-thinking business class seat in the game, complemented by both an ottoman and a leg rest to create a fully-flat bed without the recline mechanism.
This will be the Australian debut of Finnair’s inventive business class product, while also presenting the airline’s economy and premium economy. The latter, a 21-seat cabin, has seats with a 38-inch pitch and an 8-inch recline with memory foam cushions, individual AC and USB-A ports, and a 13-inch display.
The leasing agreement comes as the demand for international flights runs into a bit of a supply issue. Qantas has confirmed that it will be getting just two Finnair A330s for the next six years in order to free up other aircraft and crew to boost capacity on other routes.
And while the flights will operate as a hybrid between Qantas and Finnair, they will fall under Qantas flight numbers, meaning you’ll still earn Qantas points and status credits. And you’ll be able to book or upgrade as per usual.
The Qantas-Finnair flights have been assigned new QF flight numbers as per the following:
- Sydney-Singapore: QF292 (from October 29, 2023)
- Singapore-Sydney: QF292 (from October 29, 2023)
- Sydney-Bangkok: QF295 (from March 31, 2024)
- Bangkok-Sydney: QF296 (from March 31, 2024)
Pay attention to the flight numbers when booking, particularly for the Sydney-Singapore service. While the Bangkok flights will operate daily under the new leasing agreement, the Singapore flights will alternate between the Finnair A330s and the usual QF81/QF82 flights on Qantas’ own A330s.
