Finnair ups Beijing service

Finnair is answering returning demand for its flights to China by increasing the number of frequencies to Beijing. Finnair's number of flights to Beijing will quadruple within a month when a second weekly frequency was added last week, a third one starts on Friday and a fourth in mid-August. Most passengers between Helsinki and Beijing use connecting flights between Helsinki and other European destinations, which is expected to result in greater passenger numbers in European traffic as well.

"Demand for the route has improved especially in China. Tourist class has at times been sold to the last seat and the advance booking situation on the route is also looking good," smiles VP Network Strategy and Planning Petteri Kostermaa. Finnair had to cut its Beijing route to a single weekly flight in May due to a drop in demand.

At the moment, Finnair flies to Beijing on Mondays and Wednesdays. The third frequency will commence this Friday. The fourth frequency will be operated on Thursdays starting in mid-August. At the beginning of September, the day the fourth frequency is operated will change from Thursday to Sunday. The return flights from Beijing to Helsinki are always on the next day.

In September, Finnair is launching its new destination Shanghai with three weekly flights. As of September, the airline will have altogether 26 weekly flights to the most important destinations in Asia: Tokyo, Osaka, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore.