| Finnair to increase capacity to Asia |
|
Finnair will acquire two 270-seat Airbus A340 wide-bodied aircraft to meet its growing long-haul traffic needs. The aircraft will join the Finnair fleet in late 2010 and early 2011. Finnair currently has 12 Airbus long-haul aircraft, which fly to nine destinations in Asia as well as to New York in North America. At the end of this year, one further new Airbus A330 aircraft, ordered earlier, will join the fleet. With the coming additions, Finnair's long-haul fleet will grow to a total 15 Airbus aircraft by the beginning of next year. Next May, Finnair will open a daily direct route to Singapore. The Finnair flight, which will be the only direct connection between Northern Europe and Singapore. Finnair will also increase direct flights to Hong Kong. Instead of the earlier seven flights, Finnair will fly to Hong Kong with a frequency of 12 flights per week from June next year. During spring 2011, more frequencies will be added to the other current Asian destinations. "Our Asian routes are also important in terms of cargo. The A340 aircraft, moreover, will bring additional capacity to meet the needs of Asia's rapidly strengthening cargo demand," says Finnair. Out of Finnair's 61 aircraft 34 are owned and 27 leased, ten from ILFC. Source: ATN, July 30, 2010 |
