British Airways and Finnair have announced an expansion of their existing codeshare agreement to improve connectivity through their respective hubs in Helsinki and London.
Starting this winter, British Airways will place its code on new Finnair services operating from London Gatwick (LGW) to the Finnish Lapland destinations of Kittilä (KTT) and Ivalo (IVL). The Kittilä service will commence on Dec. 12 and the Ivalo service on Dec. 14. These additions give customers more options for direct travel from London to popular Lapland destinations, particularly during the winter season.
At the same time, Finnair will add its code to several British Airways routes from London Heathrow (LHR) to key northern European cities: Tallinn (TLL), Copenhagen (CPH) and Gothenburg (GOT). This reciprocal arrangement aims to streamline connections and offer passengers a wider choice of schedules and seamless ticketing across the two carriers’ networks.
British Airways already partners with Finnair, Iberia and Japan Airlines on routes between Europe and Japan. That collaboration began as a joint business venture in 2014 and has continued to develop, enabling coordinated schedules, combined sales and improved customer benefits on transcontinental services.
“We are delighted to offer our customers yet more choices of destinations between Japan and Europe with Finnair as part of our joint partnership with JAL and Iberia, and additionally the opportunity to fly direct to Lapland from London Gatwick this winter,” said Rishi Kapoor, head of alliances at British Airways.
The expanded codeshare is positioned to benefit both leisure and business travelers by increasing frequency options and simplifying connections through Helsinki and London. Travelers can expect coordinated schedules, easier through-ticketing and the convenience of earning and redeeming frequent flyer benefits across the partner carriers when booking codeshare itineraries.
By aligning services on these short- and long-haul routes, the two airlines aim to make travel planning more efficient and to provide greater access to regional destinations while maintaining strong links on major international corridors.