The start of the northern winter 2026-27 season provides a busy month for route launches, with Finnair entering Australia, Western Sydney International Airport beginning passenger operations and several airlines adding long-haul markets.
Finnair will launch daily flights between Helsinki Airport and Melbourne Airport via Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport on Oct. 25, using Airbus A350 aircraft. The return service will depart Melbourne for the first time on Oct. 26.
The route will give Finnair fifth-freedom access to the Bangkok-Melbourne market, allowing passengers to travel on either individual sector. It will also provide connections through Helsinki to approximately 90 destinations across the carrier’s European network.
Finnair will become one of a small number of European airlines operating to Australia with its own aircraft. Turkish Airlines currently serves Melbourne and Sydney via Southeast Asia, while British Airways serves Sydney and will return to Melbourne in January 2027.
Elsewhere in Australia, Jetstar will operate the first passenger departure from the new Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) on Oct. 25. The inaugural flight will serve Gold Coast Airport.
Jetstar’s initial WSI network will comprise up to 14X-weekly flights to Melbourne, 4X-weekly to the Gold Coast and 3X-weekly to Brisbane, all using A320 aircraft. The airport has been developed to serve Sydney’s western suburbs and, unlike Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (SYD), will operate without a nighttime curfew.
Air New Zealand will become WSI’s first international airline the following day, opening 3X-weekly Auckland flights using A320 and A321 aircraft. The airline will retain its existing operations at SYD, giving passengers two Sydney gateways.
In the Middle East, Etihad Airways will add three destinations during October. Weekly flights from Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport to Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Airport will begin Oct. 4 using A320 aircraft, increasing to 2X-weekly from Oct. 25. The airport serves a developing tourism region on Saudi Arabia’s northwestern coast and will become Etihad’s sixth destination in the country.
Etihad will also launch 4X-weekly Abu Dhabi-Luxembourg service during the month using A321neo-family aircraft, becoming the first Middle Eastern airline to serve Luxembourg. The route will target local traffic alongside demand from neighboring areas of Belgium, France and Germany.
The most eye-catching of Etihad’s additions will connect Abu Dhabi and Calgary International Airport from Oct. 25. The 4X-weekly Boeing 787-9 service will establish the first nonstop link between the Middle East and Western Canada. The launch follows the expansion of the Canada-UAE air services agreement in December 2025, which increased passenger entitlements to 35X-weekly frequencies for airlines from each country.
Other European network airlines are adding long-haul routes as the winter season begins. Lufthansa will return to Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Oct. 25, launching 5X-weekly year-round flights from Frankfurt Airport with 287-seat 787-9s.
Swiss International Air Lines will enter the Bengaluru market at the start of the winter season, operating 5X-weekly from Zurich. Bengaluru becomes the carrier’s third destination in India after Delhi and Mumbai and its first in the south of the country.
British Airways will also return to Sri Lanka after an absence of 11 years. The airline will begin 3X-weekly winter-season flights between London Gatwick Airport and Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport on Oct. 23 using 777 aircraft. Sabre Market Intelligence data shows approximately 452,000 two-way passengers traveled between the UK and Sri Lanka in 2025, with much of the market connecting through Middle Eastern hubs.
In North America, United Airlines will restore daily service between Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Tokyo Narita Airport from Oct. 24 using 787-8 aircraft. The carrier already operates Chicago-Tokyo Haneda flights and will compete with All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines at Narita. American Airlines also plans to enter the same airport pair on March 27, 2027, operating daily with 787-9 aircraft.
Air Canada will open two routes to Tenerife South Airport using its new A321XLR fleet. A 2X-weekly service from Toronto Pearson International Airport will begin Oct. 25, followed by weekly Montreal flights from Oct. 31. The routes will become the only nonstop connections between North America and the Canary Islands.
Elsewhere, Delta Air Lines is also still scheduled to launch Atlanta-Riyadh flights on Oct. 23, despite reports that the carrier is reviewing the route amid continued regional uncertainty. The airline’s latest published plans show daily A350-900 service during the first week, followed by 3X-weekly flights. If launched as planned, it will become Delta’s first route to Saudi Arabia and the first nonstop service between the U.S. and Riyadh operated by a U.S. airline.
Related Content
