Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
| Finnair's A350 aircraft / Courtesy of Finnair |
By Kim Hyun-bin
Finland's flagship carrier Finnair is scheduled to launch a Busan-Helsinki route in March next year, becoming the first carrier to connect Korea's second-largest city and Scandinavia.
The airline held a press conference in Busan, Tuesday, and announced its plans to operate an Airbus A350 on the route three times a week ― Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday ― starting March 30.
Jonne Lehtioksa, vice president of Finnair's Asia & Oceania commercial unit, and Kim Dong-hwan, Finnair's general manager of Korea, took part in the event.
The new operation will be in addition to the daily flights between Incheon and Helsinki, increasing the number of flights between Korea and the Finnish capital to 10 a week.
Sales have increased 450 percent since 2008, the first year the Incheon-Helsinki route was available, according to the airline.
"We are pleased to become the first European carrier to launch flights from Busan. From the launch, we hope the residents of southeastern Korea, who have had difficulties traveling to Europe, will have a more pleasant and comfortable flight," Kim said.
Finnair, founded in 1923, currently connects more than 100 destinations in Europe and 19 cities in Asia.
