The carrier is not afraid to add capacity (up 20% with services to Asia) — to encourage market growth, currently running at five percent.
Finnair continues to build a solid bridge between Europe and Asia, backing its international growth strategy with new aircraft, innovative product and a growing number of connections between Helsinki and cities in Asia.
The carrier is not afraid to add capacity (up 20% with services to Asia) — to encourage market growth, currently running at five percent.
Finnair makes much of the fact that Helsinki offers the quickest flight time to Europe from Asia, but says it is the experience in the air that counts even more than the time spent in the air.
“We believe we have the best product, a new Airbus A350 two-class fleet and offer a great customer experience,” says Jonne Lehtioksa, area vice president, Asia & Oceania, commercial.
For customers from Asia connecting through Helsinki, Finnair claims a 40-minute minimum connection time to some 100 destinations in Europe.
Eastbound, Finnair flies to seven destinations in Greater China, four in Japan — the most of any European airline — two in India and three in Thailand.
There are scheduled services to Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City and Hong Kong, where frequency will go double daily from April 2019.
Currently Finnair operates 10 A350s and has nine more in the pipeline, enabling it to replace its A330 fleet by the end of 2023.
“Our customers love the A350 and we love it because it is environmentally friendly, using 30% less fuel,” Lehtioksa added.
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This article is part of Travel Weekly Asia’s special report from ITB Asia 2018.