Finnair is increasing capacity on its Helsinki to London Heathrow route with two actions – the introduction of a new rotation, and the up-scaling of another rotation to a wide-body aircraft.
Finnair Airbus A330-300 at Helsinki Vantaa airport – Image, Economy Class and Beyond
Firstly, the new frequency – Finnair will use an Airbus A320 based on the following data:
AY1343 DEPART HEL 11:40 ARRIVE LHR 12:50 AY1343 DEPART LHR 13:50 ARRIVE HEL 18:45 Commences 31st March 2019 Booked Equipment: Finnair Airbus A320 Operates Daily Data: Finnair
Let’s move onto the other move – which increase adds a second wide-body frequency between Helsinki and London. This will use a Finnair Airbus A330-300 between the two cities
AY1337 DEPART HEL 16:10 ARRIVE LHR 17;10 AY1338 DEPART LHR 18:10 ARRIVE HEL 23:00 Operates to 30th March with an Airbus A321 Operates with an Airbus A330-300 from 31st March 2019 Booked Equipment: Airbus A330-300 Operates Daily Data: Finnair
Finnair states that this will add an extra 50 seats on this flight with the equipment switch. With the additional flight, this represents a growth of 21% compared to the year before.
In addition, this move will make for easy connections to Finnair’s Asia network and late night flight bank – as well as giving a similar product throughout.
The A350/A330 that operates the morning rotation from Helsinki to London (AY1331/AY1332) will continue to operate.
In quotes
Christian Lesjak, Senior Vice President, Network and Resource Management at Finnair
“Finnair’s presence in London and in the UK has been growing steadily over the past few years and we are pleased to add capacity on this important route for Finnair,”
“By adding the new midday frequency and flying an additional wide-body aircraft on the route, we will be able to offer even more flexibility and network connections for our customers.”
Building on the Asia Hub Strategy
Finnair’s move to increase capacity is an interesting one. The airline has focused primarily on Asia its growth driver has delivered pretty well – with the airline operating 20 destinations from Helsinki.
By adding a widebody frequency in the evening, it can deliver a similar product for London-based/arriving passenger, improving the passenger experience with long haul type seats and in-flight entertainment systems.
In addition, Finnair gets to use an aircraft that may have been sitting around for hours until its next duty – thus allowing the airline to sweat its asset.
A welcome new year change.
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