Finnair to Add Xi´an in China as New Destination for Summer 2013

Finnair will offer summer seasonal service to Xi´an in China in summer 2013, adding its fifth Chinese destination and further deepening the airline’s network of routes to Asia.

From June 14, Finnair will operate three round-trips a week between its hub at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and Xi´an Xianyang International Airport (IATA code XIY) until the close of the summer season on October 26.

Finnair Airbus A330-300 OH-LTS taxis in towards Gate 4 at American Airlines’ Terminal 8 at New York JFK after completing Finnair’s daily flight from Helsinki. Finnair’s New York flight nearly always uses Gate 4 at the terminal

Finnair says this first direct connection between Xi´an and Europe is the carrier’s latest step toward its goal of doubling Asian revenue by 2020.

Xi´an is the second new Asian destination Finnair has announced within the past month. On November 28, Finnair announced it would operate seasonal service to Hanoi from June 15, offering three round-trips per week.

“The fast-growing Chinese economy continues to fuel rapid growth in demand for air travel to and from Europe, and to open up new opportunities for Finnair,” says Mika Vehviläinen, Finnair’s CEO.

“We have a history of pioneering better connections between Europe and China going back to 1988, when we began flying to Beijing,” adds Vehviläinen. “We look forward to building on that history and offering the quickest and smoothest itineraries between dozens of European destinations and Xi´an.”

Located in central-northwest China, Xi´an is a metropolis of about 8 million people and a growing center in the development of China’s aerospace and software industries. The city is also an ancient imperial capital and an historic cradle of Chinese civilization.

As part of a design partnership with Finnish design house Marimekko, Finnair has given this Airbus A340-300 a special livery showing Marimekko’s ‘Unikko’ design. Another Finnair long-haul aircraft is also to wear the livery

The world-famous Terracotta Army, the vast collection of burial sculptures found around the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, is located about 40 kilometers to the east of the Xi´an city center.

Earlier this year, Finnair became the first airline to connect Europe on a non-stop basis with Chongqing, another fast-growing and huge inland city in China.

Elsewhere in China, Finnair also flies to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. A further eight destinations round out Finnair’s Asian network: Bangkok, Delhi, Hanoi, Nagoya, Osaka, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo.

Finnair’s network strategy specializes in offering fast connections between Europe and Asia via Helsinki. The airline carries more than eight million passengers annually and connects 13 cities in Asia with more than 60 destinations in Europe.

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