Finnair has expanded its codeshare agreement with fellow oneworld carrier Cathay Pacific, adding Finnair flight numbers to six Cathay-operated routes out of Hong Kong: Adelaide, Colombo, Jakarta, Penang, Phuket and Surabaya. The new codeshares, filed on 10 November 2025 and effective immediately, complement Finnair’s own Helsinki–Hong Kong service and give passengers seamless ticketing, baggage transfer and frequent-flyer accrual to secondary Asia-Pacific markets without back-tracking through European or Middle-Eastern hubs.
For multinational companies basing assignees in Finland, the broadened network shortens total journey times to emerging markets in Southeast Asia and Australia by three to six hours compared with itineraries routed via Doha, Dubai or Frankfurt. It also provides redundancy amid industry-wide capacity constraints: Finnair customers can now rebook on Cathay Pacific metal during operational disruptions such as the A321 seat-cover groundings that plagued the airline in October.
![Finnair deepens Cathay Pacific partnership, opening six new Asia-Pacific connections for Finnish travellers]()
Finnair CFO Jaakko Schildt said the move is part of the carrier’s “Asia-rebuild” strategy, designed to regain feed lost when Russian airspace closed in 2022. By leveraging Hong Kong’s sixth-freedom traffic rights, Finnair can serve Australia and South-Asia markets that are otherwise unreachable with current flight-time limits. The partnership also aligns with Cathay Pacific’s efforts to strengthen its European footprint without committing scarce long-haul aircraft to Helsinki.
Travel-management companies (TMCs) welcomed the development. “Finland-headquartered corporates with manufacturing sites in Indonesia and Sri Lanka have been forced to make two stops. The new codeshares cut connections to one,” said Sini Rask, Director of Global Mobility at HRG Finland. She added that corporate fares filed under the JV are 12–18 % cheaper than equivalent itineraries via Singapore or Bangkok.
Operationally, the codeshare relies on synchronized minimum-connection-times at Hong Kong International Airport, where both airlines use Terminal 1 and share lounge access. Finnair expects the additional feed to lift Helsinki–Hong Kong load-factors by 4 percentage points over the northern-winter schedule. If targets are met, the two carriers plan a second phase that would extend codeshares to Brisbane and Ho Chi Minh City in mid-2026.
For multinational companies basing assignees in Finland, the broadened network shortens total journey times to emerging markets in Southeast Asia and Australia by three to six hours compared with itineraries routed via Doha, Dubai or Frankfurt. It also provides redundancy amid industry-wide capacity constraints: Finnair customers can now rebook on Cathay Pacific metal during operational disruptions such as the A321 seat-cover groundings that plagued the airline in October.
Finnair CFO Jaakko Schildt said the move is part of the carrier’s “Asia-rebuild” strategy, designed to regain feed lost when Russian airspace closed in 2022. By leveraging Hong Kong’s sixth-freedom traffic rights, Finnair can serve Australia and South-Asia markets that are otherwise unreachable with current flight-time limits. The partnership also aligns with Cathay Pacific’s efforts to strengthen its European footprint without committing scarce long-haul aircraft to Helsinki.
Travel-management companies (TMCs) welcomed the development. “Finland-headquartered corporates with manufacturing sites in Indonesia and Sri Lanka have been forced to make two stops. The new codeshares cut connections to one,” said Sini Rask, Director of Global Mobility at HRG Finland. She added that corporate fares filed under the JV are 12–18 % cheaper than equivalent itineraries via Singapore or Bangkok.
Operationally, the codeshare relies on synchronized minimum-connection-times at Hong Kong International Airport, where both airlines use Terminal 1 and share lounge access. Finnair expects the additional feed to lift Helsinki–Hong Kong load-factors by 4 percentage points over the northern-winter schedule. If targets are met, the two carriers plan a second phase that would extend codeshares to Brisbane and Ho Chi Minh City in mid-2026.
