Finnair (Helsinki) will open a new route to Tromsø, Norway for the 2014 winter season.  The Arctic city in the far north of Norway will be served from Helsinki three times per week from January 1, 2014 until March 28, 2014.  

Situated directly under the aurora zone in the Arctic, Tromsø is ideally placed for viewing the spectacular Aurora Borealis (northern lights) on clear winter nights.  The town is made up of 70,000 people and also serves as a base for winter sports such as downhill skiing, snowshoeing, dog and reindeer sledding, and glacier hiking.  Tromsø, or Romsa in Sami languages, is also a center of Sami culture in the Norwegian Lapland and hosts Sami Week every February. 

Due to the warming effect of the Gulfstream, from January to March the city is relatively warm for the Arctic, with average highs of around -2 degrees centigrade and lows of about -6.

Flights are scheduled Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for departure from Helsinki (AY2679) at 8:15 pm (2015) and departure from Tromsø (AY2680) at 9:55 pm (2155) local time. The route, operated on behalf of Finnair by Flybe Finland (formerly Flybe Nordic and Finncomm Airlines) with Embraer ERJ 190 aircraft, takes approximately two hours.

Copyright Photo: Rolf Wallner/AirlinersGallery.com. The 12 Finnair Embraer ERJ 190-100LRs are now operated for Finnair in Finnair colors by subsidiary Flybe Finland. OH-LKP (msn 19000416) taxies at Zurich.

Finnair: