Finnair now flies to Doha, Qatar
Helsinki-based Finnair has now special flight routs to Doha, Qatar starting from Q4 of 2023, or just before the start of this years FIFA which takes place in Doha, Qatar. Finnair used to operate flights to Asia and due to non-profitable issues the airlines had to rework in it’s business model multiple times recently. Finnair has now recently reviled it’s new strategy. Here are some update and schedule for these flights that have just been published.
Finnair & Qatar Airways launch strategic partnership
Finnair and Qatar Airways have announced a long-term strategic cooperation, which will see Finnair operating several daily flights from Nordic capitals to Doha. Specifically, as of late 2022, Finnair will operate the following routes daily:
Both, Finnair and Qatar Airways have announced a long-term strategic cooperation, which will see Finnair operation several daily flights from the Nordic capitals to Doha. Specifically, as of late 2022, Finnair will operate the following routes daily:
- Copenhagen (CPH) to Doha (DOH)
- Helsinki (HEL) to Doha (DOH)
- Stockholm (ARN) to Doha (DOH)
It’s stated that the airline is “exploring opening services also between another European destination and Doha.” My guess would be Oslo (OSL), but maybe another city is at play?
Finnair will operate all of these flights with A330s featuring the carrier’s new long haul cabins, including the new no-recline business class.
Finnair and Qatar Airways will codeshare on these routes, and the airlines will share passenger and cargo capacity between the services. In Doha, passengers will have access to around 100 destinations across Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Africa, and more.
Schedules for Finnair’s new flights to Doha
The schedules for these new Finnair flights have been released. These flights are obviously all about connectivity in Doha, so the aircraft utilization is pretty lousy.
As of November 1, 2022, Finnair will launch daily Copenhagen to Doha flights, with the following schedule:
AY1985 Copenhagen to Doha departing 3:15PM arriving 11:30PM
AY1986 Doha to Copenhagen departing 8:15AM arriving 1:10PM
As of November 1, 2022, Finnair will launch daily Stockholm to Doha flights, with the following schedule:
AY1983 Stockholm to Doha departing 3:10PM arriving 11:50PM
AY1984 Doha to Stockholm departing 8:10AM arriving 1:25PM
As of December 16, 2022, Finnair will launch daily Helsinki to Doha flights, with the following schedule:
AY1981 Helsinki to Doha departing 4:00PM arriving 11:45PM
AY1982 Doha to Helsinki departing 8:00AM arriving 2:15PM
It’s interesting to me that these planes will each be spending more than eight hours overnight in Doha with each trip. Essentially each of these routes is designed so that an Airbus A330 could operate them continuously. These planes seem to essentially be based in Doha.
I wonder where the crews will be based, given all the outsourcing that Finnair does of cabin crews. If they were based in Europe, that would mean that Finnair crews would have two night layovers in Doha, which is quite a bit of time for fairly few flight hours. Or maybe they’re actually based in Doha.
Presumably this schedule is based around maximizing connectivity in each direction, but then again, Qatar Airways also has a late night flight bank at 1–2AM, so presumably the flights could also depart around that time.
I almost wonder if this might have more to do with it being cheaper to park these planes in Doha for eight hours than to park them in Oslo or Stockholm for that amount of time.
Bottom line
Finnair and Qatar Airways have a new strategic partnership, whereby Qatar Airways will operate daily flights from Nordic capitals to Doha. The two airlines will codeshare on these routes, as this is intended to give people in Northern Europe one-stop service to many points around the globe.
With this development, Finnair will also be ditching its long haul flights from Stockholm to the United States and Thailand, which were first launched in late 2021. Clearly the airline sees more potential with this arrangement.
