Tag Archives: HEL

Finnair is coming to Chicago O’Hare for next summer

Finnair (Helsinki) will start flying to Chicago (O’Hare) next summer, from June 13 to October 17, 2015. Flights will be operated three times a week with Airbus A330 aircraft. Departures from Helsinki and Chicago are on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 17:25 and arrive in Chicago (ORD) at 18:40 local time. Return flights to Helsinki depart at 22:00 and arrive the following day at 14:50.

Finnair’s Chicago service is included in the joint business on trans-Atlantic traffic with fellow oneworld alliance partners British Airways, Iberia, American Airlines and American’s merger partner US Airways. Chicago is a hub for American, which allows Finnair’s customers quick codeshare connections to destinations throughout the United States, including San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The joint business between the cooperating airlines also gives customers the possibility to mix and match flights on different carriers for the best pricing and scheduling. For example, an itinerary could include a nonstop flight to Chicago in one direction, but a return flight connecting through another transatlantic hub if the timing is more convenient.

Due to opening the Chicago route, Finnair’s seasonal summer service to Hanoi will be discontinued. Finnair’s previously announced new summer destinations in 2015 include Athens, Dublin, Malta and Split.

Finnair aircraft slide show:

Finnair to offer full-flat seats for nine long-haul routes

Finnair’s (Helsinki) flights to Tokyo and New York will feature aircraft equipped with full-flat seats available in Business Class. Additionally, Finnair will offer full-flat seats on flights to Beijing beginning on May 1, 2014 and as of June 1, 2014 the full-flat allocation also extends to Hanoi, Hong Kong, Nagoya, Osaka and Shanghai. The new seats are a result of Finnair’s 29 million-euro program to retrofit most of its wide-body fleet of Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft.

The Zodiac Seats UK Vantage model seats, which are already in use on Finnair’s four newest Airbus A330s, are designed to provide a fully-flat bed measuring 79 inches in length and 23 inches in width. The fully adjustable seats also come with an individual reading light, adjustable head rest, mood lights and a range of inflight entertainment options.

After the full-flat retrofit program is complete, all of Finnair’s long-haul Airbus fleet will have full-flat seats in Business Class with the exception of three older aircraft. Due to maintenance or other technical reasons, designated full-flat routes may still be served by these other aircraft, which feature angled lie-flat seating in Business Class. These three aircraft will be the first to be removed from the fleet as next-generation Airbus A350 XWBs begin arriving in 2015.

Finnair currently operates 15 Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft in its wide-body fleet, serving a network of 15 long-haul destinations in Asia and North America. A further 11 Airbus A350 XWBs (with an option for 8 more) are due to arrive beginning in H2 2015, which will help the airline double its revenue from Asian destinations by 2020. Finnair will be the first European airline to fly with the state of the art A350.

Top Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-302X OH-LTO (msn 1013) arrives back at the Helsinki (HEL) hub.

Finnair:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Finnair.

Finnair to install Zodiac fully-flat seats on its long range aircraft

Finnair (Helsinki) has announced it will install new fully flat seats in most of its existing long haul aircraft starting in January. Once the installation program is completed by fall 2014, all of Finnair’s long haul Airbus fleet will have full flat seats in Business Class, with the exception of three older aircraft. These three aircraft will be the first to be removed from the fleet with the arrival of A350 XWBs in 2015. The total investment, including replacement investments, is approximately 29 million euros or approximately 39 million dollars.

The Zodiac Seats UK Vantage model seats selected by Finnair are already in use on the airline’s four newest Airbus A330s. The seats are designed to provide a fully-flat bed measuring up to 79 inches (200 cm), while shoulder room measures 23 inches (58 cm).The fully adjustable seats also come with an individual reading light, adjustable head rest, mood lights and a range of inflight entertainment options.

DIMENSIONS

Contour Vantage A330/A340

Seat width between armrest: 20.07 inches

Seat width at shoulder level: 22.83 inches

Bed length: 79.17 inches

Bed width at head level: 20 inches

Bed width at shoulder level: 20 inches

Bed width at hip level: 20 inches

Bed width at foot level: 10.98 inches

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A340-313E OH-LQE (msn 938) in the Oneworld design arrives at the Helsinki (HEL) hub.

Finnair:

Finnair to upgrade the Toronto route next summer

Finnair (Helsinki) will operate its seasonal service to Toronto (Pearson), with upgraded two-class Airbus A330 wide body aircraft. Schedules will be timed to match speedy connections throughout Finnair’s network, particularly in the Nordic-Baltic region, Eastern Europe and Russia.

Toronto service will operate from June 1 to September 21, 2014, on Tuesdays, Friday and Sundays and will last approximately eight and a half hours. Flights depart Toronto (Pearson) at 2235 (1035 pm) and arrive in Helsinki the next day at 1345 (1:45 pm) local time. Return flights depart Helsinki at 1700 (5 pm) and arrive in Toronto (Pearson) at 1845 (6:45 pm) local time.

The Airbus A330 aircraft,with 229 seats in Economy Class and 42 in Business Class, replace narrow body single-class Boeing 757-200s previously in use on the route. Currently four of Finnair’s eight A330s feature seats in Business Class that convert to fully-flat beds, with more scheduled for retrofit during 2014. All A330 aircraft feature a renewed, complimentary inflight entertainment experience in both cabin classes, including 72 movies and more than 150 television shows on demand.

The Toronto-Helsinki route will also be included in the joint business between Finnair and fellow oneworld partners American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia on traffic between the EU and North America, meaning that all four carriers will code share the route with identical fares and conditions on North America-EU itineraries. The joint business makes Toronto yet another gateway for seamless, cost-efficient one-stop trips between Helsinki and dozens of cities in Canada and the United States.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-302X OH-LTS (msn 1078) arrives at the Helsinki (HEL) hub.Finnair:

A behind the scenes view of Finnair’s growing Helsinki hub

Finnair‘s (Helsinki) growing hub at Helsinki (HEL) is expanding due to an ever-growing number of international connecting passengers as the airline adds more routes to Asia. The airport is located in an ideal geographical location for these connecting flights. The Finnair Blog (and video) takes us behind the scenes at HEL. HEL is a pretty nice place to connect according to Finnair.

The airline is adding Tel Aviv and Hanoi in June.

Read the full article: CLICK HERE

Finnair:

Video:

Finnair to enter the American-British-Iberia trans-Atlantic joint venture

Finnair (Helsinki) has announced it will join the trans-Atlantic joint venture established by American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia in October 2010.

Finnair will add its AY code to select American, British and Iberia flights between North America and Europe (EU, plus Norway and Switzerland). American (AA), British (BA) and Iberia (IB) codes on Finnair’s daily flights between New York and Helsinki.

All together, the JV will operate up to 102 daily roundtrips between North American and Europe serving 42 gateways on either side of the Atlantic.

Finnair:

Video:

Finnair produces its first yearly profit since 2007

Finnair (Helsinki) reported a net profit of €1.2 million ($1.6 million) in the fourth quarter of 2012. The carrier produced its first yearly profit since 2007. The flag carrier reported a net profit for 2012 of €11.8 million ($15.9 million) for 2012. CEO Mika Vehvilainen, who is leaving the company, should be credited with the turnaround. The Asian strategy has worked well for the carrier.

The next CEO will need to find new airline partners to sustain profitability.

Read the full report by Reuters: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems. Arriving from Asia, Airbus A340-313X OH-LQF (msn 168) taxies to the gate at its HEL hub and European gateway.

Finnair:

Finnair Cargo to open a new Brussels base with new routes to New York JFK and Chicago O’Hare

Finnair (Helsinki) is expanding its cargo network. Finnair is opening a new Brussels base with routes radiating back to Helsinki as well as to New York (JFK) and Chicago (O’Hare) starting in March. UBM Aviation Routes Limited has issued this statement:

Finnair Cargo has successfully used Route Exchange, the online platform for air service development, to open a new Brussels base. In March 2013 Finnair Cargo will initiate weekly flights via its new Brussels hub, connecting the Belgian capital with Finnair’s Helsinki hub as well as New York JFK and new destination Chicago O’Hare. The network expansion follows a partnership during the latter months of 2012 with Routes’ Route Exchange business, part of Routesonline, where Finnair Cargo completed an extensive airport evaluation process to open the new Continental European destination.

This partnership has led directly to the placing of the carrier’s McDonnell Douglas MD-11F aircraft at Brussels Airport.

Read the full statement: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems. The venerable McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter will continue to serve the company. The pictured MD-11 OH-LGC (msn 48512) was converted to a freighter for Finnair Cargo but was transferred to Nordic Global Airlines in September 2011. OH-LGC now longer wears these pictured markings. Nordic Global is partially owned by the Finnair Group and operates four MD-11Fs for Finnair Cargo and is likely to operate from the new Brussels base.

Finnair:

Finnair to fly to Xi’an, China next summer nonstop from Helsinki

Finnair (Helsinki) will begin flying to Xi´an, China in the summer of 2013, further deepening the airline’s network of Asian destinations. Finnair will begin service to Xi´an from its hub in Helsinki with three frequencies per week starting on June 14 until the close of the summer season on October 26, 2013.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems. Airbus A330-302X OH-LTO (msn 1013) taxies to the gate at the Helsinki hub. Finnair is pursuing an Asian long-range strategy to reinforce its growing HEL hub.

Finnair:

Air Finland shuts down and files for bankruptcy protection

Air Finland (Helsinki) operated its last flight last night (June 26) and immediately filed for bankruptcy protection. The airline commenced operations on April 3, 2003. The closure has stranded around 1,000 passengers.

Read the full report from YLE – Uutiset: CLICK HERE