These Airbus A330 flights are operated by Finnair cockpit crew, but the cabin crew is outsourced from local partners in Bangkok and Singapore. Qantas will dry lease these two aircraft for two and a half years from 2025, which will see them operated by Qantas crew.

Finnair has and is currently operating flights on behalf of British Airways, Lufthansa/Eurowings, and Qatar Airways.

The airline’s long-haul strategy of connecting Asia with Europe through connections in Helsinki collapsed due to Russia’s war against Ukraine which has prevented Finnair from flying over Russia.

This has resulted in significantly longer flight times that don’t allow Finnair to use its aircraft efficiently (it previously preferred long-haul routes that allowed rotation within 24 hours), making these destinations less profitable.

Finnair’s Press Release:

Finnair to lease two A330 aircraft to oneworld partner Qantas

Finnair and Qantas have entered into a long-term agreement, in which Finnair first leases two A330 aircraft with crew (wet lease) to Qantas for a period of two years, and after the wet lease period, dry leases (aircraft lease with no crew) two of its A330s to Qantas for a period of 2.5 years, starting in 2025. The wet lease of the first aircraft will start in October 2023, and the wet lease of the second aircraft will start in early 2024.

The agreement with Qantas is a part of Finnair’s determined efforts to ensure the optimal use of its A330 fleet, which is range-limited in its deployment in Finnair’s own long-haul operations due to the closure of Russian airspace. The agreement with Qantas concludes the optimisation of Finnair’s fleet following the Russian airspace closure.

During the wet lease period, the aircraft will be deployed in Qantas’ network on routes from Sydney and Singapore as well as Sydney and Bangkok. Finnair pilots will fly scheduled Finnair flights from Helsinki to Singapore and from Helsinki to Bangkok; then, they will continue flying scheduled Qantas flights between Singapore, Bangkok and Sydney before returning to their home base in Helsinki. The cabin crew are provided by Finnair partners based in Singapore and Bangkok, and the aircraft maintenance is performed by Finnair partners at the Qantas destinations. Finnair has secured sufficient pilot resources to match its fleet size, including the aircraft leased to Qantas. The Qantas agreement does not impact the number of cabin crew at Finnair, as they are fully deployed in other operations.

The collaboration supports the efficient and profitable deployment of Finnair’s A330 fleet. Since the closure of the Russian airspace, Finnair has built a geographically more balanced network, as avoiding the Russian airspace lengthened the flight times between Finnair’s Helsinki hub and its Asian destinations. The Qantas agreement is yet another example of Finnair strengthening ties with its oneworld partners as a part of its new strategy.

“We are delighted to expand our collaboration with our oneworld partner Qantas. This agreement enables us to fully deploy our A330 fleet in profitable operations”, says Antti Tolvanen, Senior Vice President, Network and revenue management at Finnair.

A wet lease is a leasing arrangement between two airlines, where one airline provides the other an aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance. In a dry lease arrangement, only the aircraft is provided.

Relevant Part Of Qantas Update:

The additional capacity will be made possible through a combination of more Qantas aircraft returning to service, new aircraft joining the fleet and an arrangement with oneworld partner Finnair to operate two Airbus A330 aircraft on two Qantas routes.

“While airlines globally are working to restore capacity to meet demand, there is still a mismatch between supply and demand for international flying. But with more of our aircraft back in the air, new 787s joining our fleet and our contract with Finnair, we’ve got more seats for our customers and more opportunity for Qantas crew as we increase our own flying.

“While airlines globally are working to restore capacity to meet demand, there is still a mismatch between supply and demand for international flying. But with more of our aircraft back in the air, new 787s joining our fleet and our contract with Finnair, we’ve got more seats for our customers and more opportunity for Qantas crew as we increase our own flying.

The Finnair A330 aircraft will operate selected Qantas flights between Sydney and Singapore from late October and all flights between Sydney and Bangkok from late March 2024, freeing up Qantas aircraft and crew to boost flying elsewhere. For the first two-and-a-half years of this agreement, flights will be operated by Finnair pilots and cabin crew, with customers continuing to receive Qantas’ inflight food and beverage service, amenities, inflight entertainment and baggage allowance. From late 2025, two Finnair A330s will be dry leased, operating for up to three years with Qantas pilots and cabin crew, creating new jobs and further promotional opportunities within Qantas.

Conclusion

Finnair has had trouble with its Airbus A330 fleet, which cannot operate many long-haul routes due to longer flight times, as flying over Russia is not currently an option.

This wet lease/dry lease deal allows the airline to find a new home for two of its older Airbus long-haul planes for four/five years.

These Sydney flights from Singapore and Bangkok will be staffed by Thai and Singaporean cabin crew. There are quite a few long-haul Finnair flights with no Finnish or Swedish (two official languages of Finland) speaking cabin crew members.

After both traffic and earnings collapsed during the pandemic, SIA has posted record profits recently, and this will reflect in the annual bonus for the employees who reportedly receive eight months’ bonification.

Has Emirates kicked off a trend that is going to reform the aviation industry when it came to employee profit-sharing when they announced last week that they pay out almost six months of base salary?

Such amounts were unheard of previously, and industry employees could be happy if they received two months’ bonus.

As Bloomberg reports, SIA will pay out the bonus to eligible employees in two components of profit-sharing & ex-gratia bonus.

Singapore Airlines Ltd. will pay staff a bonus of around eight months’ salary after posting a record annual profit.

Eligible staff will be paid a profit-sharing bonus equivalent to 6.65 months’ pay, and a maximum of 1.5 months’ salary of ex-gratia bonus in recognition of their hard work and sacrifices during the pandemic, a spokesperson for the airline said. Senior management won’t receive that additional ex-gratia bonus.

It was previously reported in the Straits Times that SIA’s revenues and profit have soared post-pandemic, which is in line with what Emirates has posted as well.

… On Tuesday, the airline unveiled record revenue and profit numbers for the current financial year, buoyed by record passenger loads.

Net profit came in at $2.16 billion for the full year ended March 31, rebounding from a loss of $962 million a year earlier.

Operating profit soared to $2.69 billion, erasing a loss of $610 million a year earlier. This came on the back of record revenue of $17.78 billion, a 133 per cent surge from 2022’s $7.62 billion.

Mr Goh said that as early as 2020, when the pandemic was in full swing and borders were shuttered and SIA had to ground most of its fleet, the airline was already planning for a recovery when the crisis passed.

Key measures included shoring up finances, including raising $15 billion via mandatory convertible bonds (MCBs) as early as March 2020. The group has managed to raise some $23.58 billion in liquidity since April 2020. …

The group’s passenger load factor (PLF) jumped 55.3 percentage points to 85.4 per cent, the highest in its history. PLF represents the percentage of available seats on a flight that are filled by passengers. …

Whoever has looked at the SIA fares recently isn’t surprised about the profits. Fares have been crazy ever since the country reopened. For example, in the past, I regularly booked round-trip tickets between Bangkok and Singapore for $200-300, but now it’s double that amount. The same goes for long-haul routes.

I’m more surprised about the load factors on these flights. Where do all these passengers come from? One could argue that there were some airlines in the region (such as Malaysia Airlines and THAI) that shrunk significantly, and maybe SIA was able to poach these passengers.

In any case, it’s good that the employees of Singapore Airlines will be able to profit from the success of the company.

Let’s see if there will be more airlines to reward their employees on this large scale. If you want to read up on the Emirates case, here is our article from last week:

Emirates Pays Employees SIX MONTHS Worth Of Salary Bonus After Posting $2.9B Record Profit

Has EK opened Pandora’s box here, and now other carriers are under pressure to replicate what they have done, either to attract staff and not fall behind in recruitment efforts or for reputational purposes!?

Conclusion

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has announced a record profit for this year and is rewarding its employees with an 8-month salary bonus which amounts to pretty much 2/3 of their annual compensation. This is two months more than Emirates announced they’d be paying out and that already set a very high precedent. Of course, employees in Singapore have to pay taxes unlike in Dubai so there’s that.

I still can’t see North American or European carriers following this framework. It will put them under more pressure from unions though so the customers of these airlines might be in for even more strikes and worse service as their staff looks with jealousy to the bonus of their EK/SQ colleagues.

Aeroplan members can, under this offer, buy miles at up to a 110% bonus.

You can access this offer on Air Canada’s website here.

Air Canada Aeroplan members can buy up to 1 million miles in a calendar year before any possible bonuses.

Bonus Table:

Price at a 110% bonus:

The price of a mile (USD) under this offer is 1.23 US cents each when you buy them at a maximum discount. The price under the 100% bonus was 1.3 US cents each.

Conclusion

Air Canada allows you to buy a significant number of miles at once. The price in USD per mile is very reasonable, considering the breadth of partners and availability to book all of them online without having to call.

The airline has many partners outside Star Alliance, including Emirates, Etihad, Gulf Air, Oman Air, and Air Mauritius. You can mix and match partner airlines for awards that also allow stopovers for a modest fee.

This is the best price to buy Aeroplan miles. If you have planned to buy some, now it would be the right time.

Here are the terms and conditions of this sale:

The following Terms and Conditions apply to the Buy and/or Gift Points May 2023 Offer open to Aeroplan® Members (the “Offer”) and will take place from May 18, 2023, at 12:01:01 AM ET to May 23, 2023 at 2:59:59 AM ET (the “Offer Period”):

1. This Offer to buy and/or gift Aeroplan points today and earn bonus Aeroplan points is open to Aeroplan Members in good standing that log into their Aeroplan account on after May 18, 2023 at 12:01:01 AM ET (the “Eligible Participants”). An Aeroplan Member who is logged in to their Aeroplan account prior to May 18, 2023 at 12:01:01 AM ET will not be considered as an Eligible Participant under this Offer – to be considered an Eligible Participant under this Offer, please make sure to click or push the “refresh page” button of your web/mobile browser after this time. Not an Aeroplan Member yet? Sign up here.

2. “Eligible Aeroplan points” means Aeroplan points bought and/or gifted by an Eligible Participant during the Offer Period pursuant to the Buy/Gift Points Program, part of the Aeroplan Program. Please visit the following link for information and terms and conditions applicable to the Buy/Gift Points Program.

All Aeroplan points purchased and/or gifted prior to the start of the Offer Period or purchased and/or gifted with a login time before May 18, 2023 at 12:01:01 AM ET or after May 23, 2023 at 2:59:59 AM ET, are not considered as Eligible Aeroplan points pursuant to this Offer.

3. Eligible Aeroplan points purchased and/or gifted pursuant to this Offer are non-refundable.

4. Through this Offer and during the Offer Period, Eligible Participants will be able to bonus Aeroplan points which are calculated based on the Eligible Aeroplan points bought by an Eligible Participant during the Offer Period as per the following conditions:

(a) Earn 60% bonus Aeroplan points when a minimum of 4,000 Eligible Aeroplan points and up to a maximum of 29,000 Eligible Aeroplan points are bought and/or gifted (no bonus Aeroplan points will be issued if less than 4,000 Aeroplan points are bought and/or gifted).
(b) Earn 75% bonus Aeroplan points when a minimum of 30,000 Eligible Aeroplan points and up to a maximum of 55,000 Eligible Aeroplan points are bought and/or gifted.
(c) Earn 110% bonus Aeroplan points when buying and/or gifting 60,000 or more Eligible Aeroplan points.

In the case of gifting Eligible Aeroplan points by an Aeroplan Member (the gifter) to another Aeroplan Member (the recipient), it is the recipient that will earn the bonus Aeroplan points, which will be deposited into the recipient’s Aeroplan account (subject to Section 6 below).

5. Specific Conditions to buying and/or gifting Eligible Aeroplan points pursuant to this Offer:

(a) Buying Eligible Aeroplan points: During the Offer Period and only for the purpose of this Offer, Eligible Participants can buy a minimum of 4,000 Aeroplan points and up to 500,000 Aeroplan points per transaction; up to a maximum total of 1,000,000 Eligible Aeroplan points per calendar year:

• Bonus Aeroplan points awarded through this Offer do not count towards the transactional limit of Aeroplan points that can be bought per Aeroplan account;
• Eligible Aeroplan points do count towards the transactional limit of Aeroplan points that can be bought per Aeroplan account, which is increased from 250,000 Aeroplan points to 500,000 Aeroplan points solely for the purpose of this Offer;
• Bonus Aeroplan points awarded through this Offer do not count towards the calendar year annual limit of Aeroplan points that can be bought per Aeroplan account;
• Eligible Aeroplan points do count towards the calendar year annual limit of Aeroplan points that can be bought per Aeroplan account, which is 1,000,000 Aeroplan points.

(b) Gifting Eligible Aeroplan points: During the Offer Period and only for the purpose of this Offer, Eligible Participants can gift a minimum of 4,000 Aeroplan points and up to 500,000 Aeroplan points per transaction; up to a maximum total of 500,000 Eligible Aeroplan points pear calendar year:

• Bonus Aeroplan points awarded through this Offer do not count toward the transactional limit of Aeroplan points that can be gifted per Aeroplan account;
• Eligible Aeroplan points do count towards the transactional limit of Aeroplan points that can be gifted per Aeroplan account, which is increased from 250,000 Aeroplan points to 500,000 Aeroplan points solely for the purpose of this Offer;
• Bonus Aeroplan points awarded through this Offer do not count towards the calendar year annual limit of Aeroplan points that can be gifted per Aeroplan account;
• Eligible Aeroplan points do count towards the calendar year annual limit of Aeroplan points that can be gifted per Aeroplan account, which is 500,000 Aeroplan points.

6. Purchased and gifted Eligible Aeroplan points and bonus Aeroplan points will generally be posted within 72 hours in a member’s Aeroplan account.

7. This Offer is subject to change at Aeroplan’s sole discretion without notice. This Offer cannot be combined with any other offer or promotion.

8. Aeroplan reserve the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any individual from this Offer and to ban the individual from any future offers that it finds or believes to be tampering with the process or the operation of this Offer, to be acting in violation of these Terms and Conditions, the Aeroplan General Terms and Conditions or in a disruptive manner, or with bad faith. Any attempt by a member or any other person to deliberately damage any website or undermine the legitimate operation of this Offer is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Aeroplan reserve the right to seek damages from any such person.

9. By entering this Offer, each Eligible Participant acknowledges and agrees that Aeroplan: (i) shall have no liability of any kind whatsoever with respect to this Offer; (ii) make no warranty, guaranty or representation of any kind concerning the award; (iii) disclaim any implied warranty; and (iv) are not liable for injury, loss or damage of any kind resulting from an Eligible Participant’s acceptance or use of the award or otherwise from such Eligible Participant’s participation in this Offer. Aeroplan is not responsible for typographical or other errors in this Offer or administration of this Offer, including, but not limited to, errors in advertising and in the official Terms and Conditions. Aeroplan is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunctions of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems or servers, computer software problems or traffic congestion on the internet.

10. If this Offer is not capable of running as planned for any reason, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, pandemic or any other causes beyond the reasonable control of Aeroplan which corrupt or affect the administration, security or proper conduct of this Offer, Aeroplan reserves the right at its sole discretion to, without advance notice, terminate or suspend the Offer, in whole or in part, or modify it in any way.

11. This Offer is governed by all applicable federal, provincial and municipal laws and regulations applicable in the province of Quebec.

12. In the event of any discrepancies between the English language Terms and Conditions and the French language Terms and Conditions for this Offer, the English version shall prevail.

13. The following applies to this Offer, but in the event of conflict, these Terms and Conditions shall govern:
•Aeroplan Buy & Gift Points Program General Information and Terms and Conditions
•Aeroplan’s Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy :

There was some confusion surrounding the Gold and Diamond benefits at these hotels because of a page on Hilton’s website that was incorrect (read more here). Hilton has now amended it with the correct Gold and Diamond benefits.

You can access Hilton’s Maldives benefits page here.

READ MORE: Hilton Honors Rate & Bonus Points Offers

Maldives Hilton Honors Gold & Diamond Benefits:

Conrad Maldives Rangali Island benefits:

• Daily full buffet breakfast, or a la carte breakfast

• One bottle of wine* upon arrival

• Chocolate and fruit basket upon arrival

• Daily Happy Hour* at selected outlet for you and sharing guest in same villa from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi benefits:

• Complimentary breakfast

• In-villa VIP welcome amenities

• Complimentary late check-out (subject to availability)

• Complimentary selection of beverages crafted by mixologist and sommelier from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm at Peacock Alley

• 50% special offer on selected refreshments at Peacock Alley from 10:00 pm to 11:30 pm

SAii Lagoon Maldives, Curio Collection by Hilton benefits:

• Complimentary room upgrade to the next category up to Beach Villa (subject to availability)

• One bottle of sparkling wine, dried fruits, and Thai rice crackers as the arrival amenities

• Late check-out upon request (subject to availability)

• Complimentary breakfast throughout the stay

Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa benefits:

• Breakfast in our all-day dining restaurant, Habitat

• In-villa VIP welcome bottle of wine and fruit basket

• Complimentary daily afternoon indulgence with a fine selection of beverages crafted by our sommelier from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm at SIP

Hilton Honors DIAMOND MEMBERS:

Conrad Maldives Rangali Island benefits:

• Daily full buffet breakfast, or a la carte breakfast

• One bottle of sparkling wine* upon arrival

• Chocolate and fruit basket upon arrival

• Daily Happy Hour* at selected outlet for you and sharing guest in same villa from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi benefits:

• Complimentary breakfast

• In-villa VIP welcome amenities

• Complimentary late check-out (subject to availability)

• Complimentary mixology and sommelier selection of crafted beverages from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm at Peacock Alley

• 50% special offer on selected refreshments at Peacock Alley from 10:00 pm to 11:30 pm

• With a selected 60-minute massage, enjoy a complimentary additional 30-minute back and shoulder massage at Waldorf Astoria Spa

SAii Lagoon Maldives, Curio Collection by Hilton benefits:

• Complimentary room upgrade to the next category up to Beach Villa (subject to availability)

• Complimentary drinks from the All-Inclusive Beverage Menu at Miss Olive Oyl Pool Bar from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm

• One bottle of sparkling wine, dried fruits, and Thai rice crackers as the arrival amenities

• Late check-out upon request (subject to availability)

• Complimentary breakfast throughout the stay

Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa benefits:

• Breakfast in our all-day dining restaurant, Habitat

• In-villa VIP welcome bottle of wine and fruit basket

• With a selected 60-minute massage, enjoy an additional 30-minutes at Amingiri Spa

• Complimentary daily afternoon indulgence with a fine selection of beverages crafted by our sommelier from 3:00pm to 4:00pm at SIP

Conclusion

It is crucial that Hilton has the correct information on its website, and I am glad they fixed the omissions after we contacted them.

These hotels are unique compared to their usual land-based counterparts, and I have been to three of them.

There will be a sticker shock when it comes to the Food and Beverage prices on your first trip to the Maldives. This is because you are a captive guest at the property, and you absolutely cannot bring alcohol to the country (confiscated at the airport, and you can get them back when leaving), and everything is priced as such.

Award prices are increased by 20% to 33% (long-haul economy stays the same), and fuel surcharges are introduced to all award flights (effective miles increase is significantly higher). There are also changes to luggage allowance for elite members.

You can access Finnair’s page for these changes here.

Luggage Allowance Changes From June 1, 2023:

Complimentary carry-on bag

Finnair Plus Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum Lumo members can take one complimentary carry-on bag (55cm x 44cm x 23cm) on short-haul flights when travelling with an Economy Superlight ticket that otherwise would only include a small bag. This applies to bookings made on or after 1 June 2023.

What is Economy Superlight?

We are introducing a new Superlight ticket type that replaces the Economy Light on short-haul flights (flights within Europe) for tickets purchased on or after 1 June. Superlight includes one small bag that is placed under the seat (40cm x 30cm x 15cm) and nothing extra. Read more about Superlight.

50% discount on extra bag for Silver members

As of 1 June 2023, Finnair Plus Silver members no longer have an extra checked bag of 23kg as a tier benefit but can purchase it with a 50% discount. The discount applies to all bookings regardless of the booking date.

The discount only applies to purchases made through Finnair digital channels or customer service for Finnair operated and marketed flights. The discount is not available for purchases at the airport.

If you have booked your flight before 1 June 2023 and you are a Silver member at the time of travel, you are still entitled to one extra bag free of charge.

No complimentary sports equipment for Gold members

Finnair Plus Gold members no longer have complimentary sports equipment, such as skis or a golf bag, included in their tier benefits when flying on or after 1 June 2023. However, you can always purchase all special baggage as a travel extra.

You can purchase bags and other travel extras when booking your tickets or later in Manage booking or Finnair mobile app.

Heavy bag charge for Platinum and Platinum Lumo members

Finnair Plus Platinum and Platinum Lumo members can no longer take heavy or oversized bags with them free of charge. If your bag weighs 23–32kg or exceeds the standard size of 90cm x 75cm x 45cm, you will need to pay a heavy or oversized bag charge. This change applies to bookings made on or after 1 June 2023.

If you have booked your flight before 1 June 2023 and you are a Platinum or Platinum Lumo member at the time of travel, you are still entitled to take heavy or oversized bags with you free of charge.

It is unclear if the checked luggage allowance is removed for Gold, Platinum, and Lumo members on these Economy Superlight tickets and what the allowance is for Oneworld Emerald members, who are eligible for one additional bag on alliance flights.

We have received the following clarification from Finnair regarding the checked luggage allowance (the bolded is the tier benefit):

Finnair Plus:

• Silver: small bag, carry-on bag
• Gold: small bag, carry-on bag, checked bag 23kg
• Platinum: small bag, carry-on bag, checked bag 23kg + sport equipment (e.g. skis or golf bag)
• Platinum Lumo: small bag, carry-on bag, checked bag 23kg + sport equipment (e.g. skis or golf bag)

Oneworld Elite Benefits:

• Oneworld Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald members can also take one complimentary carry-on bag on flights when travelling with Economy Superlight ticket.

Total allowance when travelling with Economy Superlight:

• oneworld Ruby: small bag, carry-on bag
• oneworld Sapphire: small bag, carry-on bag, checked bag 23 kg
• oneworld Emerald: small bag, carry-on bag, checked bag 23 kg

The page refers removal of the allowance of Silver members that will be eligible for a 50% discount on extra bag charges from June 1.

The complimentary special baggage allowance (ski, golf & snowboard) is removed for Gold members but is still in place for Platinum and Platinum Lumo.

Platinum and Platinum Lumo members are losing their heavy bag charge waiver (23 to 32 kilos).

Upgrade Pricing Changes

The number of Finnair Plus points required for travel class upgrades changes on June 15, 2023.

Upgrade Pricing Until June 14, 2023

Upgrade Pricing From June 15, 2023

Award Pricing Change + Fuel Surcharge Introductions June 15, 2023

Finnair will change the number of points required for award flights on June 15, 2023, and introduces fuel surcharges (double whammy).

Note that Northern Europe includes: Bergen, Copenhagen, Gdansk, Gothenburg, Krakow, Oslo, Reykjavik, Riga, Stockholm, Tallinn, Tromsø, Vilnius, Visby, Warsaw, and all flights within Finland.

The Rest of Europe also includes Tel Aviv.

Award Pricing Until June 14, 2023

Award Pricing From June 15, 2023

Fuel Surcharge Per Segment:

These fuel surcharges are per flight segment. Finnair Plus award in business from Europe to Asia and back suddenly costs 270 euros in junk fees in addition to the higher point requirement.

UPDATE: Finnair’s Email To Members About Program Changes:

Conclusion

We have been in touch with Finnair to get clarification on Finnair Plus Gold, Platinum, Platinum Lumo, and Oneworld Emerald member luggage allowance on these Economy Superlight flights, and we will update the piece when we hear back. We received clarification from Finnair and have updated the piece.

The increase in Finnair Plus points for award flights is not awful, but combining this with a significant additional cash outlay on awards effectively becomes a 30% to 40% devaluation.

You have to keep in mind that Finnair Plus points are in kilometers and not miles. One mile is 1.609 kilometers (to get an idea between point and miles requirements among different programs).

Finnair Plus points are not useful for partner awards but have been good value for flights on their own metal, which has now been significantly devalued.