Finnair beefs up Asia services

SINGAPORE Finnair will add a service to Guangzhou in China in 2016 as it strengthens its cover of key Asian destinations.
Services will also be introduced to Fukuoka in Japan at the same. The airline’s management is due to attend this week’s ITB Asia in Singapore to promote the new services.
Finnair will fly direct from Helsinki to Guangzhou with four weekly flights starting 6 May through to the end of the summer timetable 29 October.

inside no 7Guangzhou, the third largest city in China, with a population of 13 million is Finnair’s sixth destination in Greater China.
The airline flies to Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong and Shanghai, and has a summer only service to Xi’an.
The new destinations will be served with Finnair’s Airbus A330 aircraft.
“We intend to double our Asian traffic by 2020 from our 2010 baseline, and these new destinations are an important step towards this target,” said Pekka Vauramo, Finnair president and CEO during a recent media briefing. “We have a long tradition of connecting Asia and Europe with smooth fast connections via our Helsinki hub, and I look forward to expanding our network to these two exciting markets.”
The airline is feeling the heat from Middle East airlines that are offering one-stop services through Dubai and Abu Dhabi in Nordic markets eroding Finnair’s traditional business. It still commands a strong loyalty programme in Finland, but has lost substantial leisure bookings to both Singapore and Bangkok to Emirates, Etihad and Qatar airlines.

sourced:ttrweekly.com