Finnair set to Quadruple Flights to India

Finnair is set for a massive boost to the fast growing Asian market with significant increases in traffic to India and China. The number of weekly flights to India will increase from the current three to 12, while there will also be an increase in flights to China.

In June, Finnair will launch a new Indian route with flights to Mumbai, which will be served non-stop from Helsinki five days a week. Moreover, in mid-May the current three-weekly frequency for flights to the Indian capital Delhi will be increased to daily.

“It will be extremely hard, if not impossible for airlines to secure new arrival and departure slots at Indian airports in the coming years,” claimed Henrik Arle, Finnair’s Deputy CEO, responsible for Scheduled Passenger Traffic. “By adding to its Indian scheduled traffic just now, Finnair is ensuring its presence in these fast growing markets.”

Meanwhile, Finnair’s China traffic will increase in mid-May, with the boosting in frequency of non-stop Hong Kong services from four times a week to daily. Non-stop services will continue over the next winter timetable season. The Chinese network will be further strengthened with the addition of a fourth weekly flight to Guangzhou.

“Following these renewals, we will fly to all our long-haul destinations non-stop, without stopovers,” added Arle. “Daily flights bring more alternatives for our customers.”

The changes about to be implemented also significantly increase the efficiency of the Finnair long-haul fleet usage. The number of weekly long-haul flights from Helsinki will increase from 61 to 66. The monthly passenger kilometre totals offered by Finnair on long-haul traffic will consequently grow by 2.5%.

As a result of the increases in Indian and Chinese traffic, the onward flights from Bangkok to Singapore will no longer be operated. Singapore and the flights previously planned for Kuala Lumpur will be served in cooperation with partner airlines.

All in all Finnair Asian traffic will grow this year by over 30% since Finnair is adding two new Airbus A340 aircraft for the long-haul fleet during May and June.

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