Finnair’s Last Airbus A350 Delayed

Finnair has published its financial report for the 2024 calendar year with updates on how the fleet is tracking.

The Finland-based carrier says that at the end of the 2024 calendar year, it had eighteen Airbus A350s delivered across nine years from 2015 through 2024.

Based on the airline’s existing commitment, one aircraft—the last unit —remains on order. However, the carrier has announced that this aircraft will be delayed.

Finnair is now expecting the last aircraft to be delayed until the second half of 2026, and this is a revision from the previously anticipated arrival in Q2 2026.

Delays have become standard for many airlines, ranging from narrowbody to single-aisle jets. However, Airbus’ delayed deliveries may, more often than not, have attracted as much attention.

Despite this, it doesn’t mean that the European planemaker doesn’t have its supply chain struggles with the planemaker making these very well known alongside customers.

From issues in the acquisition of seats for production aircraft to other complications across supply chains, airlines such as Finnair are feeling the effects.

However, it could be worse for the Finnish carrier as it already has a strong and established fleet of A350 aircraft that operate across the network and receive a positive reception from customers more often than not.

These Airbus A350s are configured with 278 and 321 seats, respectively, and an average age of 6.8 years.

Finnair says seven active A350s are owned, including JOLCO-financed and ECA-financed aircraft. Lastly, 11 are leased.

The Finnair Fleet

Finnair also noted that at the end of the 2024 calendar year, it had five active Airbus A319s, 10 active Airbus A320s, and 15 active Airbus A321s.

For the company’s widebody fleet, alongside the commitment to the A350, the carrier also has the Airbus A330 with eight units averaging 15.2 years of age and seating 279 passengers.

Moving forward, however, a focus is being placed on the renewal of the narrow-body fleet, at least partially, as its Airbus aircraft present see their average age significantly grow and not align with next-generation options available.

Given the early nature of the discussions, specifics around this prospective deal were not outlined. Finnair states, though, that a new order will be necessary to continue its position as a leading carrier with cost competitiveness and an agile nature.