Flybe Finland to fly as a oneworld affiliate on Finnair routes

26 October 2012

Flybe Finland is to fly as an affiliate member of oneworld®, the leading quality global airline alliance, on routes it operates on behalf of alliance member Finnair.

The arrangement takes effect from Sunday (28 October), when Finnair is transferring its 12 Embraer 190 regional jets to Flybe Finland to operate on behalf of Finnair on select routes at select times, to destinations in Europe including Budapest, Manchester, Munich and Warsaw.

Flybe Finland already operates a number of domestic and Baltic routes on behalf of Finnair, including between its Helsinki hub and Joensuu, Ivalo, Kittilä, Kuopio, Kuusamo, Rovaniemi, Oulu, Tallinn, Tampere, Turku and Vaasa.

All these flights carry the regular Finnair AY flight code, with products and services to match those offered on regular Finnair flights.  Pilots will be from Finnair and Flybe while flight attendants will be employed by Flybe only, and wear the Flybe uniform.  Other than that, customers should not notice any difference from regular Finnair services.

The transfer of these operations has been made as part of Finnair's overall restructuring plans to return the group to profitability.

Finnair Vice-President Alliances Paavo Virkkunen said: "Extending oneworld affiliation to these contract flights operated by Flybe Finland on behalf of Finnair is in line with our strategy to ensure that customers flying on these routes enjoy a seamless Finnair brand experience.  The good news is that they will continue to enjoy all oneworld services and benefits, including earning and redeeming frequent flyer rewards and earning tier status points."

The affiliation covers the full range of oneworld services and benefits - including, for members of any oneworld member airlines' frequent flyer programme, the ability to earn mileage rewards and tier status points, redeem mileage rewards on all Finnair flights operated by Flybe Finland, and, for top tier cardholders, lounge access when flying these routes.    At the same time, its flights will be featured in all oneworld fares.

Only these "contract" flights operated by Flybe Finland with flight numbers in the AY2000 or AY3000 series will be covered by oneworld services and benefits.   Flybe Finland's oneworld affiliation does not extend to flights it operates in its own right, even those also carrying Finnair code under the two airlines' code-sharing arrangements, nor does it extend to other parts of the Flybe group.

Flybe Finland is wholly owned by Flybe Nordic, a joint venture between Finnair and Flybe, Europe's leading regional airline.  Finnair owns 40 per cent of Flybe Nordic, and Flybe 60 per cent. 

Besides its 11 full member airlines, oneworld also includes some 20 affiliate members.  These are generally regional airlines with strong links with oneworld full member airlines.  They include:

  • airberlin's Austria-based affiliate NIKI.
  • American Airlines' regional affiliates American Eagle and AmericanConnection.
  • British Airways subsidiary BA CityFlyer and franchisees Comair of South Africa and Sunair of Denmark.
  • Cathay Pacific's Dragonair
  • Iberia Regional Air Nostrum and Iberia Express.
  • JAL Express, J-AIR and Japan Transocean Air.
  • LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru.
  • QantasLink and its operators Airlink (National Jet Systems), Eastern Australian Airlines, Sunstate Airlines and Jetconnect.
  • S7's Globus.

About oneworld

oneworld aims to be the first choice airline alliance for the world's frequent international travellers.   It brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business - airberlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Qantas, Royal Jordanian and S7 Airlines, and around 20 affiliates including Austria's NIKI, American Eagle, Dragonair, LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru.  Malaysia Airlines is on track to join at around the turn of the year, with SriLankan Airlines in 2013 followed by Qatar Airways. 

Between them, oneworld's active member airlines and members elect:

  • Serve some 860 airports in almost 160 countries, with more than 9,300 daily departures.
  • Offer some 550 airport lounges for premium customers.
  • Carry almost a million passengers a day on a combined fleet of more than 2,500 aircraft.
  • Generate nearly US$ 120 billion annual revenues in total.

oneworld enables its members to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own.  These include a broader route network, opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles and points across the combined oneworld network and more airport lounges.   oneworld also offers one of the most extensive ranges of alliance fares. 

oneworld is current holder of three leading international awards for airline alliances - named the Best Airline Alliance by Global Traveler in its GT Tested Reader Survey 2011 Awards for the second year running, the World's Leading Airline Alliance in the 2011 World Travel Awards, for the ninth consecutive year, and the Best Airline Alliance 2011 in Australian Business Traveller's debut awards.