Finnair has opened a daily service between Helsinki Airport (HEL) and Melbourne Airport (MEL) via Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, bringing Australia into the carrier's own scheduled network for the first time. First flight AY145 departed Helsinki at 01:15 local time on October 25 on an Airbus A350-900 registered OH-LWO, scheduled to arrive in Melbourne at 07:20 local time on October 26 after a journey of 22 hours and five minutes.
The year-round service stops in Bangkok for just under two hours, with passengers remaining on the same aircraft for the whole journey but required to leave the cabin during the stop; each sector can also be booked separately, including Bangkok–Melbourne. Finnair said Melbourne was chosen as a long-haul destination with demand through the year, citing its mix of leisure and business travel, large European community and international students and expatriate workers, and said business class uses its AirLounge seats. In cargo, Finnair Cargo will not initially accept pharmaceuticals, perishables or other temperature-controlled goods for the full Helsinki–Melbourne journey, although individual sectors can be accepted under applicable rules. In Bangkok, Finnair has stocked 18,000 litres of its signature blueberry juice, enough for about three months, and economy passengers flying from Melbourne to Bangkok receive a Tim Tam biscuit with their meal.