Eurowings Discover To Lease Finnair Airbus A330s This Summer
Finnair will be making a surprise appearance in Florida and Nevada this summer, as it operates a series of flights for German leisure carrier Eurowings Discover. Flights from Frankfurt to Tampa and Las Vegas, and from Munich to Las Vegas, will be flown by Finnair’s Airbus A330-300 aircraft on a wet lease basis.
The agreement is still subject to approval from the US Department of Transport. However, the first Finnair-operated services are expected to begin on May 15th. Being a wet lease means that the aircraft, pilots, and cabin crew will all be provided by Finnair.
This arrangement could prove to be beneficial for both Eurowings Discover and Finnair, for different reasons. Let’s take a closer look…
Finnair – thinking outside the box
Finnair currently has a surplus of aircraft. Its primary market is Europe to Asia, but with China and Japan still shut to inbound tourism, and Russia’s airspace closed, the airline finds itself in an unfortunate situation. While it will continue to operate to many of its Asian destinations this summer, albeit with much-reduced frequencies, the airline has had to explore alternative revenue-generating opportunities.
It recently launched flights from Helsinki to Dallas Fort Worth and Seattle, providing connectivity with oneworld alliance partners American Airlines and Alaska Airlines respectively. The carrier also commenced long-haul flying from Stockholm Arlanda to a number of destinations including New York JFK and Los Angeles.
When it comes to the airline’s plans to operate flights for Eurowings Discover, flying on behalf of another airline is an excellent way for Finnair to keep generating revenue with aircraft that would otherwise be idle. It also keeps its aircraft and crew active, which is beneficial in terms of both maintenance and training.
Eurowings Discover – wet leasing to support rapid expansion
Since commencing operations in July 2021, Eurowings Discover has grown its long-haul fleet to nine Airbus A330 aircraft, with two more on order. However, it seems that even this is not enough to keep up with the significantly increased demand for travel this summer, coming particularly from the leisure segment.
In addition to its existing network that stretches from Mauritius to Salt Lake City, the German leisure carrier is keen to capitalize on the recovering market, and has been expanding rapidly.
Eurowings Discover recently launched Europe's first-ever service to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, via Windhoek, Namibia. Later this year the airline will begin flights to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport in South Africa, also via Windhoek. Further new destinations for the airline expected to begin this summer include Anchorage, Calgary, and Kilimanjaro.
