Finnair launches new routes to San Francisco and Alicante from 2017

In line with its growth strategy, Finnair has today announced that it will open a new seasonal route from Helsinki to San Francisco in June 2017.

The airline will operate three weekly flights between both cities from June 1 to September 30. The flights will be operated on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

Thanks to Helsinki’s geographical location, Finnair’s new northern route to San Francisco will offer competitive travel times for customers from Scandinavia, the Baltics, Russia as well as from many European cities. San Francisco will be Finnair’s fourth US destination, along with New York, Chicago and Miami. The new San Francisco flight will be operated within the Atlantic joint business between Finnair, American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia. The joint business offers customers additional flight choices, better connections and better pricing on transatlantic routes. Currently, the four airlines operate over 100 daily return flights between Europe and North America.

“We are very pleased to be taking another step forward in the growth of our airline as San Francisco is an exciting new destination for all of our customers,” says Juha Järvinen, Chief Commercial Officer at Finnair. “In the same way as when Finnair flies to Asia, the northern position of our Helsinki hub will also present a quick alternative for our connecting European customers flying to North America’s West Coast.”

Finnair will also add capacity to Spain, by opening a new route to Alicante with up to four weekly flights between March 26 and October 27. In addition, Finnair will also increase its flights to Malaga with two additional weekly flights between June and July, increasing frequencies to a total of eleven weekly flights. Last month, Finnair also announced new routes to Ibiza and Menorca for the summer 2017 season.

Aviation Tribune

Χανιά-Kemi η νέα σύνδεση της Finnair από το καλοκαίρι του 2017

Δύο εποχιακά δρομολόγια από την πόλη Kemi (Tornio) της Φινλανδίας προς τα Χανιά, εισάγει στο πρόγραμμα πτήσεων για το καλοκαίρι του 2017 η φινλανδική αεροπορική εταιρία Finnair.

Οι πτήσεις θα ξεκινήσουν στις 20 Ιουνίου 2017 και θα εκτελούνται μέχρι και τις 8 Αυγούστου του 2017, με αεροσκάφος Airbus A320 με συχνότητα μια φορά την εβδομαδα, ως εξής:

AY4701 KEM1725 – 2200CHQ 320 2
AY4702 CHQ1055 – 1530KEM 320 2

Tornos News

Finnair has signed an agreement with ViaSat

Finnair has signed an agreement with ViaSat, a global broadband services and technology company, to install a high-speed wireless internet network on its entire Airbus A320 series short-haul fleet flying in Europe.

The installation of the Wi-Fi equipment will begin in May 2017, and will be completed by June 2018. 

With a connection speed of 12 Mbps or higher per passenger, the new system will offer the fastest in-flight internet connection currently available on the market, which will also enable the use of increasingly popular video streaming services.

ViaSat will ensure end-to-end in-flight connectivity service across the Finnair fleet, and has partnered with Eutelsat to deliver the high-speed satellite-based internet service, which will cover the entire European continent.  

“Our customers increasingly value the possibility of being connected during their flights and this change will also create great opportunities for Finnair to further develop its in-flight portal that will serve customers with news, entertainment and great shopping opportunities on their portable devices,” said Piia Karhu, senior vice president, customer experience development at Finnair.

“We are very pleased to partner with ViaSat on this project as we will be able to offer our customers the best possible Wi-Fi offering available on the market today, and that has the ability to scale, once the installations are completed.”

Last July, Finnair announced that its entire long-haul fleet of Airbus A330 aircraft would be retrofitted with Wi-Fi connectivity by May 2017.

Finnair is currently operating six A350-XWB aircraft which already offer wireless connectivity for its passengers.

The airline is expected to receive an additional five A350 aircraft by the end of next year.

Finnair’s wireless internet access is free for Business class passengers, Finnair Plus Gold and Platinum customers, and oneworld Sapphire and Emerald level customers.

Economy class passengers can purchase internet access at an hourly rate or for the duration of the flight.

“Finnair is a forward-looking airline that is recognised worldwide for customer service,” said Don Buchman, vice president and general manager, commercial mobility at ViaSat.

“With the ViaSat in-flight Wi-Fi system, enabled across Europe by Eutelsat’s service, Finnair can deliver greater value to its customers by giving them the freedom to use their own device to engage with the internet in new ways – from enhanced online shopping to out-of-the-box online entertainment experiences.”

Breaking Travel News

Finnair A350 has hit the engine on airbridge at Helsinki Airport

Finnair Airbus A350-900 (reg. OH-LWA) arriving this morning from Hong Kong suffered an incident at Helsinki airport.

The left engine has hit the bottom of the airbridge during taxi to the gate before unembarking the passengers.

Finnair technicians are on site the examine the damages.

AIRLIVE

Finnair increases the capacity of UK & Ireland in summer 2017

Finnair has announced that capacity between the UK and Ireland to Helsinki will increase for the summer 2017 season due to high demand.

Edinburgh will be served by up to five weekly flights operated by a 138-seat Airbus A319 aircraft in a dual business and economy class configuration.

The announcement builds on the airlines’ successful launch of the route in April 2016, Finnair passengers from Edinburgh have enjoyed more choice and easier access to destinations such as Hong Kong in just 13 hours and 15 minutes, Beijing in only 14 hours and 5 minutes, and Seoul in 14 hours and 30 minutes.

Finnair will also increase its capacity to Dublin, Ireland.

As of March 27th, Finnair will fly up to nine weekly flights between Helsinki and Dublin, an increase of three flights a week compared to the winter schedule.

The route will be operated by a mix of Airbus A319 and Embraer E190 aircraft during the 2017 summer season with a schedule that allows passengers to easily connect onto Finnair’s extensive destinations to Asia and the Far East.

Recently Finnair announced that the flagship Airbus A350XWB aircraft will operate a fifth service between London Heathrow and Helsinki from October 5th 2016. 

Offering passengers long haul levels of comfort and space on board the world’s most modern commercial aircraft throughout the short flight of two hours and 55 minutes.

The state of the art Finnair Airbus A350XWB will continue to operate on flight AY832 throughout the summer 2017 schedule in response to continuing passenger and cargo capacity demand.

Andrew Fish, Finnair sales director UK, Ireland & Benelux, said: “We are pleased to announce these enhancements, due to passenger demand, to our summer 2017 schedule between the UK, Ireland and Helsinki.

“Therefore allowing passengers even greater flexibility to take advantage of our award winning service and excellent connections to Asia.”
Finnair has also announced four new short haul routes to its summer 2017 schedule.

Between April 11th and October 28th, Finnair will fly four weekly flights to Reykjavik, Iceland; weekly to Corfu, Greece; and Menorca, Spain on Sundays.

Between June 17th and August 12th, Finnair will also operate a new weekly flight to Ibiza, Spain on Saturdays.

Breaking Travel News

Finnair has leased Sukhoi SuperJet for operation in AUG/SEP 2016

Finnair since last week has temporary leased Sukhoi SuperJet SSJ100 aircraft from Cityjet, operating on a number of European service to/from Helsinki. From 15AUG16 to 14SEP16, planned SuperJet operations as follow.

Helsinki – Billund 3 weekly
Helsinki – Geneva 4 weekly
Helsinki – Warsaw 1 daily

Routesonline

Finnair launches new European routes in Summer 2017

Finnair yesterday unveiled planned new European service for summer 2017 season, covering service to Corfu, Ibiza, Mahon and Reykjavik. Planned schedule as follow.

Helsinki – Corfu eff 30APR17 1 weekly
AY605 HEL0535 – 0900CFU 320 7
AY606 CFU0950 – 1310HEL 320 7

Helsinki – Ibiza 17JUN17 – 12AUG17 1 weekly
AY611 HEL2000 – 2300IBZ 319 6
AY612 IBZ2345 – 0455+1HEL 319 6

Helsinki – Mahon eff 21MAY17 1 weekly
AY607 HEL0600 – 0905MAH 320 7
AY608 MAH0955 – 1440HEL 320 7

Helsinki – Reykjavik Keflavik eff 11APR17 4 weekly
AY601 HEL0745 – 0835KEF 320 5
AY603 HEL1610 – 1700KEF 32B 24
AY603 HEL1610 – 1700KEF 320 6

AY602 KEF0925 – 1555HEL 320 5
AY604 KEF1750 – 0020+1HEL 32B 24
AY604 KEF1750 – 0020+1HEL 320 6

Other service increase:
Helsinki – Edinburgh eff 20JUN17 Increase from 3 to 5 weekly

Routesonline

Finnair blames the Airbus on A350 delays

Finnair has narrowed capacity growth forecast for 2016-17, blaming disruption to Airbus A350 deliveries that are an average of two months behind schedule.

“Finnair’s new estimate of capacity growth is approximately 7%, while the previous estimate was a growth of 8% compared to 2015. The revision is due to delays in the deliveries of A350 aircraft,” Helsinki-based Finnair said in its second-quarter earnings release.

The airline, which was the European launch customer for the twinjet, has 19 A350s on order. Three of these were delivered in 2015, followed by a further three in the first half of 2016, taking it to six in total.

“We have felt quite a lot of pain from the A350 delivery delays,” Finnair CEO Pekka Vauramo said, speaking on the second-quarter earnings call. “At this point, deliveries are delayed by an average of two months, but there has been variation and that is the difficult part because of crew rostering. We have been forced to take wet leases, increasing costs, but we would rather fly the flights that we’ve sold than cancel them. We have had some cancellations, but there are very few at the moment.”

Vauramo said the situation has “contributed negatively” to the airline’s revenue growth, a problem further compounded by “revenue softness” in Europe. “What has been equally disturbing is that it’s also affected our crew training and the release of our A340s,” he said.

According to the current delivery schedule, Finnair will have seven A350s by the end of 2016, 11 by the end of 2017 and 19 by the end of 2023.

On the flip side, Vauramo said: “The fuel efficiency of the A350 is starting to be visible in our fuel consumption figures. That is good news.” The airline has also had excellent customer feedback on the A350 and a “steady improvement” in customer satisfaction on its A330s and A340s.

As part of its product improvement strategy Finnair is outfitting its entire long-haul fleet with Wi-Fi connectivity, which should be completed in 2017. “We now have a firm schedule. We have started installations and we will have all those aircraft done next year,” Vauramo said.

By 2017, Finnair plans to phase out its A340s, selling four back to Airbus in 2016 and 2017. At the end of June 2016, Finnair operated 48 aircraft, comprising 18 widebodies and 30 narrowbodies.

“In terms of individual carriers, we wouldn’t make any comment, but the delivery sequence is agreed well in advance with the customer,” an Airbus spokesman toldATW. “We have a target of at least 50 deliveries this year and we are maintaining that target.”

ATWOnline

Finnair flights AY832/AY831 London to Helsinki will operate with A350

Finnair has announced that it will operate the flagship Airbus A350XWB aircraft on a fifth service between London Heathrow and Helsinki, replacing the current Airbus A320 aircraft on the route.

From October 5th, passengers travelling on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday on flights AY832 between London and Helsinki and AY831 between Helsinki and London will be able to enjoy long haul levels of comfort on the short flight of two hours and 55 minutes.

Finnair is currently the only airline operating the Airbus A350XWB to London Heathrow offering unsurpassed levels of comfort and award winning Nordic hospitality.

Andrew Fish, Finnair sales director UK & Ireland, said: “Finnair is proud to currently be the only airline operating the ultra-modern Airbus A350XWB to London Heathrow.

“The change, from a smaller short haul configured Airbus A320 aircraft, allows the airline to meet the increased demand for capacity and cargo on this busy route.

“The A350XWB flight from London Heathrow is perfectly timed to offer a short connection via Helsinki Airport onto Finnair’s long haul A350XWB services to Asia offering customers a seamless product experience.”

The A350’s bright and spacious cabin features large panoramic view windows and comfortable seating arrangements in both cabin classes.

All Finnair A350s are equipped with Wi-Fi for greater passenger enjoyment and connectivity.

The eco-smart design of the A350 delivers at least a 25 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency and operating costs over the previous generation of aircraft in its class, significantly reducing the carbon footprint of Finnair and its passengers.

Destinations served by the Airbus A350XWB include London Heathrow, Bangkok, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul and from October 2016, Singapore.

Breaking Travel News

Finnair Winter 2016 Long-Haul Service Changes

Finnair in last week’s schedule update has added a number of one-time A350-900XWB operations in winter 2016/17 season, including New York and Seoul Incheon. Planned operational date as follow.

Helsinki – New York JFK 19NOV16, 20NOV16
Helsinki – Seoul Incheon (Departure date based on HEL departure, ICN departs the next day) 19NOV16, 15DEC16, 16DEC16, 08JAN17, 09JAN17, 28JAN17, 29JAN17, 19FEB17, 13MAR17

Due to aircraft changes, a number of A350-900XWB service on existing routes will be operated by A330-300 instead on specific dates listed above.

For other winter 2016/17 season long-haul aircraft changes, effective 30OCT16, latest update as follow.
Helsinki – Delhi All 5 weekly service operates with A330-300, instead of A330-300/A340-300 mix
Helsinki – Osaka Kansai 5 weekly service operates with A330-300, replacing planned A340-300
Helsinki – Tokyo Narita Service operates with A340-300 in winter season, replacing A330-300 (Selected dates will still see A330 operation). This will be the airline’s sole A340 route operating on scheduled regular basis, excluding holiday/leisure flights

Previously reported changes:
Helsinki – Ho Chi Minh City eff 02NOV16 weekly seasonal service operates with A350-900XWB, replacing A330
Helsinki – San Francisco Limited-time charter service with A350-900XWB, on 28NOV16 and 02DEC16

Routesonline

Charter flights to San Francisco from Finnair with A350

Finnair in Nov/Dec 2016 plans to operate a total of 2 round-trip flights on Helsinki – San Francisco route, scheduled to be operated by Airbus A350-900XWB aircraft. The oneWorld member will operate this charter flight on 28NOV16 and 02DEC16. Reservation to general public is not available.

AY4511 HEL1550 – 1640SFO 359 28NOV16
AY4511 HEL1000 – 1045SFO 359 02DEC16

AY4512 SFO1930 – 1555+1HEL 359 28NOV16
AY4512 SFO1345 – 1010+1HEL 359 02DEC16

Routesonline

Finnair July/August 2016 Miami Aircraft Changes :: Routesonline

Finnair during the month of July and August 2016 once again leases Hi-Fly Airbus A340-300 aircraft to support its long-haul operation, which will be assigned on Helsinki – Miami route. The 3 weekly flights will be operated by Hi-Fly aircraft form 07JUL16 to 15AUG16.

AY007 HEL1650 – 2040MIA 343 147
AY008 MIA2230 – 1530+1HEL 343 147

Finnair July/August 2016 Miami Aircraft Changes :: Routesonline

Information about FINNAIR traffic & A350 Service

FINNAIR LEASES AN AIRCRAFT FOR MIAMI ROUTE FROM 7 JULY TO 16 AUGUST

Due to operative reasons Finnair uses leased aircraft and crew from Portuguese airline Hifly on the Helsinki - Miami route from 7 July to 16 August 2016. The flight schedule remains the same, and this does not require any action from the customers.

The aircraft is an A340-300. The English speaking crew comes from Hifly, and two Finnair cabin crew members join the crew to support the customer service. The meal concept on board is the Finnair meal concept. Business class has full flat seats. There is a personal entertainment system both in Economy and Business classes with limited content in English. 

When you buy tickets through finnair.com, the operating airline is shown on the ‘Select Flights’ page. If you have already made a booking on any of the flights affected, we will inform you about the change in operating aircraft by email/SMS. Please check from Manage booking that we have your current contact information.

Due to the change in flight operator:

• You can postpone your trip free of charge for dates between 28 June and 6 July or 17 August and 30 September 2016 according to seat availability.
• You can be rerouted on other oneworld carriers according to seat availability.
• You are entitled to a ticket refund if you choose not to travel.

If you wish to change or cancel your flight, kindly contact Finnair Customer Service. We also serve our customers on Twitter @FinnairHelps and on Finnair Facebook pages. If you have purchased your ticket from another airline or from a travel agent, please contact them directly. Finnair Passenger Rights.

Unfortunately there are no Economy Comfort seats in the aircraft. If you have purchased an Economy Comfort seat, we will re-seat you to a seat with more leg space. If no such seats are available, we will refund the amount paid to your credit card. This does not require any action from you. If you have purchased any other seat, you will automatically be re-seated to a similar seat.

We are sorry for the inconvenience the change in flight operator may cause you.

FLIGHTS TO/FROM DELHI CANCELLED FROM 5 TO 10 JULY 2016

Due to operational reasons Finnair flights from 5 to 10 July 2016 have been cancelled (HEL-DEL AY021 on 05/07/09JUL and DEL-HEL AY022 on 06/08/10JUL).

We inform customers of flight cancellations by sending them text messages and/or e-mails. We ask you to kindly check from Manage booking that we have your current contact information, so that the messages can reach you.

Due to the cancellation:

• you can change your trip once free of charge for 7 days before/after your original flight dates according to seat availability.
• you can be rerouted on other oneworld carriers according to seat availability.
• you are entitled to a ticket refund if you choose not to travel.

You can cancel or change your ticket by contacting our customer service or your travel agency. If you have bought your ticket from Finnair, you can apply for a refund of a cancelled flight here. We also serve our customers on Twitter @FinnairHelps and on Finnair Facebook pages. Finnair Passenger Rights.

We're truly sorry for the inconvenience the cancellation causes you!

THE LAUNCH SCHEDULE FOR A350 SERVICE

According to the expected delivery schedules of Finnair's first few A350 aircraft, the following routes are served with A350 aircraft: 

• All flights to/from Bangkok
• All flights to/from Shanghai
• All flights to/from Hong Kong
• All flights to/from Beijing starting 9 May 2016
• All flights to/from Seoul between 5 July and 15 October
• All flights to/from Singapore starting 16 October

Finnair reserved the right to make aircraft changes for operational reasons. Therefore normal ticket rules for changes and cancellations apply regardless of the aircraft type. Finnair Passenger Rights.

www.finnair.com

Finnair: Safety Database

Operator info
name: Finnair
country:  Finland
ICAO code: FIN
IATA code: AY
Founded: 1924
official name was Aero OY until 25 JUN 1968

 Finnair passed the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) benchmark for global safety management 
Related airlines:
» Aero OY became Finnair 25 JUN 1968

Finnair- Accident & incidents:

Aviation Safety Network > ASN Aviation Safety Database > Operator index > Finland > Finnair

Finnair to retire E-170 fleet and lease A321s – Aviation Gazette

    

Finnair (Helsinki) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with BOC Aviation Pte Ltd (Singapore) to lease four new Airbus A321-200 narrow-body aircraft.
BOC Aviation is a subsidiary of Bank of China, specializing in aircraft leasing. The aircraft are scheduled for delivery to Finnair during the first half of 2017. The lease agreements have a minimum term of eight years.
The airline continued;
In November, Finnair had announced the temporary damp-lease of two A321 aircraft from summer 2016 onwards. This arrangement is intended to cover the transitional period until the delivery of the four A321 aircraft now dry-leased from BOC Aviation for the longer term.
The transactions are part of Finnair’s fleet renewal, the first phase of which consists of replacing aging long-haul A340 wide-body aircraft with modern A350s. With a view to the growing long-haul traffic, feeder capacity is increased by adding seats to existing narrowbody aircraft and replacing some smaller aircraft with larger ones over the next few years. The A321 is Airbus’ largest narrow-body passenger aircraft, and the Finnair configuration will feature 209 seats.
The sale of four surplus aircraft
In the same context, Finnair sells surplus aircraft in accordance with its fleet plan to various buyers. The agreements or MOUs concern one ATR turboprop aircraft used in regional traffic, and two Embraer E170 regional jet aircraft, which will be retired from Finnair and Norra’s traffic in January-February 2016 and subsequently delivered to the buyers.
In addition, Finnair will sell an old A340 wide-body aircraft for part-out in the first half of 2016.
The sale transactions do not have a significant impact on profit and loss.

Finnair to retire E-170 fleet and lease A321s – Aviation Gazette

Finnair Airbus A350 oneworld livery on delivery flight from Toulouse

                       

Finnair to Fly A350 to New York JFK in mid-Jan 2016 | Airline Route

                       

Finnair during the month of January 2016 is planning limited operation for Airbus A350-900XWB aircraft to the US, as the oneWorld member schedules the A350 operation on Helsinki – New York JFK route, from 12JAN16 to 20JAN16.

The A350 will temporary replace A330-300 on this route.

AY005 HEL1410 – 1555JFK 359 D
AY006 JFK1745 – 0850+1HEL 359 D

Finnair to Fly A350 to New York JFK in mid-Jan 2016 | Airline Route

Finnair to recruit 100 pilots and 300 cabin crew members | World Airline News

    


Finnair (Helsinki) has announced it will add more pilots and cabin staff. The company issued this statement:

Finnair prepares for growth in its long-haul traffic starting in 2016 and begins the biggest recruitment drive in the company’s history. In addition to the approximately 70 pilots and 130 cabin attendants recruited this year, the company is seeking to recruit 100 new pilots and 300 new cabin crew members. Some 50 people are also hired to perform customer service tasks and other functions during the spring.

In October, Finnair took delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 aircraft and altogether 19 have been ordered. The new wide-body aircraft are the engine of Finnair’s growth and add capacity to its long-haul traffic from spring 2016 onwards. Increasing capacity also increases the need for personnel. Earlier this year, Finnair stated that growth translates to approximately 1000 new jobs by 2020.

Recruitment of the flying personnel starts on December 4, 2015. After the selections have been made, the trainings and employment for the different employee groups will begin in phases from spring 2016 onwards, following the increase in Finnair’s need for new employees.

Finnair’s strategic objective is to double its traffic between Asia and Europe by 2020 from the 2010 level. The strategy is based on the growing markets in Asia, fast connections between Europe and Northeast Asia, quality service, and cost-efficient, punctual operations. As Asian traffic grows Finnair is also increasing capacity in its European traffic because a significant part of the company’s customers are transfer passengers.

Finnair to recruit 100 pilots and 300 cabin crew members | World Airline News

Finnair Plans A350 Domestic Flights in mid-Dec 2015 | Airline Route

   

Finnair between 17DEC15 and 19DEC15 plans to operate Airbus A350-900XWB aircraft on domestic routes, including service to Rovaniemi, and Kittila.

Planned operational schedule as follow.

Helsinki – Rovaniemi 17DEC15 / 18DEC15
AY427 HEL1055 – 1215RVN 359
AY429 HEL1705 – 1825RVN 359

AY428 RVN1405 – 1525HEL 359
AY430 RVN2010 – 2125HEL 359

Helsinki – Kittila 19DEC15
AY441 HEL0755 – 0925KTT 359
AY442 KTT1110 – 1230HEL 359

Finnair Plans A350 Domestic Flights in mid-Dec 2015 | Airline Route

Finnair launches pilot recruitment drive | Breaking Travel News

Finnair prepares for growth in its long-haul traffic starting in 2016 and begins the biggest recruitment drive in the company’s history.

In addition to the approximately 70 pilots and 130 cabin attendants recruited this year, the company is seeking to recruit 100 new pilots and 300 new cabin crewmembers.

Some 50 people are also hired to perform customer service tasks and other functions during the spring.

In October, Finnair took delivery of its first A350 XWB aircraft and altogether 19 have been ordered.

The new wide-body aircraft are the engine of Finnair’s growth and add capacity to its long-haul traffic from spring 2016 onwards.

Increasing capacity also increases the need for personnel.

Earlier this year, Finnair stated that growth translates to approximately 1,000 new jobs by 2020.

“We are courageously driving the growth of our business and making recruitments which are significant in scale, not just for Finnair but for Finland,” says Finnair senior vice president human resources Eija Hakakari.

“Due to the nature of the flying personnel’s work and the scale of the recruitment it takes time to organise the selection process and trainings.

“We want to start early, keeping an eye especially on 2017 when our growth intensifies.

“At the same time, starting these recruitments gives us opportunities to grow even more courageously should the market situation allow it.”

Finnair launches pilot recruitment drive | News | Breaking Travel News