Air TransportFinnair has signed letters of intent to lease two Embraer E190 and two ATR 72-600 aircraft for its regional partner Norra, expanding capacity ahead of the 2026 summer season.
The airline did not disclose the lessors involved in the transaction or financial details. The aircraft are expected to enter service with Norra between summer and early autumn 2026.
Norra operates regional flights on behalf of Finnair and currently flies a fleet of 12 Embraer E190-E1 jets and 12 ATR 72-500 turboprops. With the addition of the two E190s, Finnair plans to increase the number of regional jets in the Norra fleet to 18.
The move comes shortly after Finnair announced an order for up to 46 Embraer E195-E2 aircraft, which will also be operated by Norra. Deliveries of the 134-seat jets are scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2027, with three aircraft arriving that year, followed by six in 2028 and another six in 2029.
While the E195-E2 will gradually modernize and expand Norra’s jet operations later in the decade, the leased E190s and ATR 72-600s provide a near-term increase in capacity and operational flexibility.
Finnair said the additional aircraft will support its regional network, which feeds traffic into its Helsinki hub. The airline plans to serve more than 90 European destinations during the summer 2026 schedule, including 12 new routes.
The ATR 72-600s will complement Norra’s existing turboprop operations on thinner routes, while the E190s are expected to be deployed on higher-demand regional services, maintaining the current fleet structure until the arrival of the next-generation E2 jets.
