Finnair will resume operations to another Chinese destination from September 11th. The airline will use an Airbus A350-900 on flights between Helsinki and Nanjing on a once-weekly flight for cargo and passengers.
Finnair resumes another destination in China
Chinese authorities have given Finnair approval to operate once-weekly flights between Helsinki and Nanjing from September 11th through October 18th using an Airbus A350-900.
Speaking on the announcement, Ole Orvér, Finnair’s chief commercial officer, stated the following in a press release viewed by Simple Flying:
“We are happy to be able to serve another destination in China, which continues to be a key market for us. In September we are flying to Mainland China (Shanghai and Nanjing) two times per week and look forward to further increasing our service to the Chinese market soonest.”
Currently, the airline is operating flights to around 40 destinations across Europe and Asia, totaling 80-90 flights per day. The airline is continuously evaluating its network and adding flights as situations permit.
China is strictly limiting international flights amid the global health crisis. Airlines are restricted to only operating a few flights per week, depending on Chinese authorities. The US and China have recently agreed to increase frequencies between the two countries. Meanwhile, Finnair will only be able to operate twice-weekly services to China for now.
Why Nanjing?
Nanjing is not the first destination that comes to mind for a lot of travelers thinking about flights to China. However, Finnair has some special opportunities in this market. The airline notes its long-haul flights are supported by cargo demand, which has become very important for airlines across the world. Cargo will be the main source of revenue for these flights. Still, by opening it up to passengers, Finnair can capture some additional income and transport even a few passengers on a route that it would anyways want to operate. Plus, the airline can leverage connections.
Finnair first started flying to Nanjing in May 2018. At the time of the announcement of the flights, Nanjing became the seventh Finnair destination in Greater China with flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Xi’an, and Hong Kong. Nanjing, one of the four ancient capitals of China, has a robust population of over eight million citizens with plenty of commercial and leisure opportunities.
Finnair’s Airbus A350
Finnair’s long-haul flagship aircraft is the Airbus A350. Finland’s flag carrier outfits the plane with 297 seats. This includes 46 seats in a reverse herringbone 1-2-1 lie-flat configuration. After that comes 43 extra-legroom economy comfort seats and 208 standard economy class seats, both of these latter economy sections are outfitted in a traditional 3-3-3 layout.
Finnair is a member of the oneworld alliance and has codeshare agreements with airlines like British Airways and American Airlines. In 2019, thanks to Finnair’s new codeshare agreement with Fiji Airways, the airline was able to offer around-the-world flights, covering some areas in the South Pacific.
Are you going to take Finnair’s A350 flight to Nanjing? What do you make of Finnair resuming this route? Let us know in the comments!