Toronto-based passengers will have another option to get to Europe next year, as Finnair is set to resume its Helsinki–Toronto service after an 11-year hiatus.
While you’ll have to wait until 2026 to take advantage of this route, it marks another oneworld carrier servicing a key Canadian hub, and opens up options for award travel to Europe and beyond.
Finnair Launches Helsinki–Toronto Flights
Helsinki-based Finnair is set to resume service to Toronto Pearson (YYZ) next year, in what will become the carrier’s seventh North American destination and sole Canadian route.
Finnair last operated this route in October 2015, according to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company.
The Helsinki–Toronto route is set to resume on May 4, 2026, and will run thrice-weekly through to August 29, 2026.
In either direction, the flight is scheduled to operate on Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday, with the following flight times:
- AY031, departing Helsinki (HEL) at 4:50pm and arriving at Toronto Pearson (YYZ) at 6:35pm
- AY032 , departing Toronto Pearson (YYZ) at 11:40pm and arriving in Helsinki at 2:45pm the next day
Westbound from Helsinki, the flight is set to run eight hours 45 minutes, and eastbound from Toronto, it’s set to run eight hours 5 minutes.
Finnair will operate a three-cabin Airbus A330-300 on this route, featuring economy, premium economy, and business class cabins.
The business class cabin feature Finnair’s one-of-a-kind business class seats, which don’t recline but rather morph into a lie-flat seat by moving a cushion.
Finnair has a unique business class product
The flights are loaded into Finnair’s schedule, and can be booked with cash and (hopefully soon) points.
Booking Finnair’s Helsinki–Toronto Route
If you’re headed to Finland or beyond, you’ll certainly want to keep an eye out for award availability on this route.
As a reminder, Finnair is one of a handful of airlines that uses Avios as its points currency. While you can’t directly access Finnair Plus from any Canadian transferable points currencies, you can access The British Airways Club (which also uses Avios as its points currency), and then convert your British Airways Avios into Finnair Avios from within the Avios ecosystem.
At the time of writing, there weren’t any award seats available on this route, which probably means they haven’t been added to the inventory just yet.
However, we can expect pricing to be similar to that on Finnair’s Chicago route (with expected differences in taxes and fees), with pricing in various classes of service as follows:
- Economy: 30,000 Avios + ~$100 (CAD) taxes and fees
- Premium economy: 43,500 Avios + ~$150 (CAD) taxes and fees
- Business class: 62,500 Avios + ~$200 (CAD) taxes and fees
While you could also book the same flight with British Airways Avios for the same cost in points, you’ll have to fork out significantly more in taxes and fees (nearly $1,500 (CAD) for business class), which erodes a lot of the value from your redemption. Therefore, be sure to take the easy extra step of converting your British Airways Avios into Finnair Avios to save a tidy sum of cash.
Avios are easy to come by in Canada, since you can convert RBC Avion points and American Express Membership Rewards points at a 1:1 ratio, or you can earn them directly on the RBC® British Airways Visa Infinite†.
Credit Cards for Earning Avios
| Credit Card | Best Offer | Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
130,000 MR points $799 annual fee |
130,000 MR points | $1,794 | Apply Now |
70,000 MR points $250 annual fee |
70,000 MR points | $1,676 | Apply Now |
100,000 MR points $799 annual fee |
100,000 MR points | $1,141 | Apply Now |
55,000 RBC Avion points† $120 annual fee |
55,000 RBC Avion points† | $1,080 | Apply Now |
55,000 RBC Avion points† $120 annual fee |
55,000 RBC Avion points† | $1,080 | Apply Now |
60,000 Avios† $165 annual fee |
60,000 Avios† | $899 | Apply Now |
40,000 MR points $199 annual fee |
40,000 MR points | $846 | Apply Now |
Up to 70,000 RBC Avion points† $399 annual fee |
Up to 70,000 RBC Avion points† | $826 | Apply Now |
35,000 RBC Avion points $175 annual fee |
35,000 RBC Avion points | $700 | Apply Now |
35,000 RBC Avion points $120 annual fee |
35,000 RBC Avion points | $580 | Apply Now |
15,000 MR points $156 annual fee |
15,000 MR points | $372 | Apply Now |
10,000 MR points $0 annual fee |
10,000 MR points | $242 | Apply Now |
Keep in mind that there’s a 30% transfer bonus from RBC Avion to The British Airways Club through to July 11, 2025. If you can find award availability on this route, then you could leverage the transfer bonus to effectively reduce the cost in points by 30%, which is an excellent deal.
A quick search for cash fares on the Finnair website shows the following sample round-trip prices (originating from Toronto):
- Economy: ~$1,700 (CAD)
- Premium economy: ~$4,966 (CAD)
- Business class: ~$4,000 (CAD)
It’s always great when business class is cheaper than lower classes of service.
Conclusion
After an 11-year hiatus, Finnair is making a return to Toronto. As of May 4, 2026, the Helsinki-based carrier will operate thrice-weekly flights to Toronto, marking its sole Canadian route.
Toronto has been fortunate to receive new routes from a variety of carriers in the last few years, and hopefully this trend continues.
If you’ve got your eye on Finland or beyond, be sure to keep an eye out for award availability in the near future and then secure a comfortable flight across the Atlantic with Finnair.
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