FINNAIR is the latest airline to venture beyond the coastal first-tier Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, with plans to operate non-stop flights between Helsinki and Chongqing starting May 2012.
The flights will be operated four times weekly using Airbus A340-300 aircraft.
The Finnish national carrier will be the first European airline to operate to Chongqing, its fourth destination in China, after Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, and its 12th Asian destination.
Finnair’s president and CEO, Mika Vehviläinen, said: “China is a key part of our Europe-Asia strategy. Western China is an important growth area, and the new route will strengthen our market share in the growing Asian markets.”
With a growing number of Western companies in the electronics, chemical and automotive sectors expanding their presence in Chongqing, Finnair is hoping to target business travellers among Greater Chongqing’s population of more than 32 million, as well as a secondary leisure market.
This year, Finnair expanded its operations in Hong Kong and relaunched daily nonstop flights to Singapore (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 4).
