Finnair launches New Flights to Delhi and Extra Frequencies to Europe

The launch of flights to the Indian capital Delhi is the highlight of Finnair's winter timetable that came into force yesterday, Sunday October 29. The number of flights to Tokyo will also double at the beginning of December to four a week, while the 30th anniversary of flights from Helsinki to Bangkok – Finnair’s first Asian destination – is celebrated on Thursday 2 November. On its European network, Finnair will be adding new daily flights from Paris, Munich, Copenhagen and Vilnius, and increasing frequencies on St Petersburg, Budapest and Warsaw routes.

The inaugural flight to Delhi is today, Monday 30 October. To start with, the flights will run three times a week using Boeing MD-11 wide-bodied aircraft, but next spring the frequencies will be boosted to five a week.

“India, a wonderful country, is a growing economic powerhouse, with business and leisure travel increasing by double percentage figures annually,” said Petteri Kostermaa, Finnair’s Vice President, Network Strategies and Management. “There’s also a big increase in demand for air cargo from India to Europe. Our route is the shortest between the EU and India, so it’s of genuine interest to Indian travellers. Advance demand for the route has been great, even though we are only just starting the flights.”

The flight time between Helsinki and Delhi is just six hours and 30 minutes, with outward departures on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and return flights on the following days.

Almost Daily to Japan

Finnair’s flights to Tokyo will be operated using Airbus A340-300 aircraft, with outward departures on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Flights from Tokyo to Helsinki depart on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The extra frequencies mean that Finnair will be flying to Japan twice a day almost daily, since flights to Osaka and Nagoya are already being operated.

Twice Daily to Bangkok

Finnair’s flight to Bangkok on Thursday 2 November will mark 30 years of flights to Asia for the airline. The inaugural flight in 1976 stopped off at Tashkent, the present capital of Uzbekistan. In the first year of operations, the flights, operated with DC-8 aircraft, carried a total of 3,500 passengers on the route. Last year the figure was over 155,000. Finnair flies non-stop to the Thai capital twice daily from 4 December until the end of the winter season.

In addition to the Bangkok and the Japanese routes, the Finnair Asian network also embraces Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Singapore, with Kuala Lumpur to be added in spring 2007.

Spreading the European Network

Finnair’s European network is planned to provide excellent connections with the Asian services. The network will be enhanced this winter with new early morning daily flights added from Paris, Copenhagen and Munich to enable one day trips to Helsinki, and frequencies added to Vilnius, St Petersburg, Warsaw and Budapest. Geneva and Kiev will be added to the destination list first time for the winter period, while flights from Madrid and Manchester will be direct, skipping their previous Stockholm stopover.

Flights to New York will run five times a week through the season using Boeing MD-11 aircraft. There will be a new cargo route as of January operated in cooperation between Finnair and the Luxembourg based Cargolux Airlines running once a week via Gothenburg in Sweden.

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