Airliners-India.com

[avbuff]

Effective winter 2010,

AY will increase DEL - HEL from 4pw to 6pw. From 8th Jan 2011.

AY 021 HEL - DEL 2005 0625+1 6hrs 50mins
AY 022 DEL - HEL 1050 1450 7hrs 30mins

Aircraft: A333/A343

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/Finnair-to-start-daily-Helsinki-Delhi-service-from-January/articleshow/6512230.cms

HELSINKI: Nordic carrier Finnair will start a daily service between Helsinki and New Delhi from the first week of January while making takeoff and landing times from and to the Indian capital more convenient for passengers soon.

"Our passenger load factor has been the highest from Asia, notably India. We are waiting for deliveries of new aircraft, and from Jan 6, we will become a daily service between Helsinki and New Delhi," said Kari Stolbow, director for India subcontinent.

"India remains a very important market for us. Over the past year we had expanded our capacity by 40 per cent. Now we will not only expand our service but also offer a more convenient time slot for outbound and inbound travel," Stolbow said in Helsinki.

According to the senior Finnair official, flights out of New Delhi will leave at 10.50 in the morning in the next couple of months, against 8.35 am now. On return, it will again reach at a more convenient 6.25 am.

"What makes flying Finnair more attractive and convenient is the transit time -- just 45 minutes for 90 per cent of European cities. So in a matter of just an hour-and-a-half hours more, maximum, you can reach your destination."

Stolbow said Finnair's importance to the Indian market can also be gauged by the fact that it has an all-new fleet of Airbus A-330s and A-340s deployed for this sector. "The average age of our fleet to Delhi is just six months," he said.

"Our strategy to keep fares competitive despite the tough years since 2008 seem to have paid off," he said, highlighting the fact that the passenger load factor out or India in the first quarter of this year was well above 90 per cent.

The Finnair official said the carrier was also looking forward to the formal entry of Kingfisher Airlines into the OneWorld alliance of global airlines for better synergies - both for reaching out to Indian destinations and overseas.

Five of the OneWorld carriers serving India will also share Kingfisher's new premium passenger lounge in the new Terminal 3 of New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Apart from Finnair, the OneWorld members that fly to India are American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia and Royal Jordanian.

Among the other plans for India, the Nordic carrier also plans a full-fledged freighter service between Helsinki and Mumbai next year encouraged by high cargo volumes from India in recent years.

Finnair officials said the carrier managed to carry 5.4 per cent higher volumes of cargo from New Delhi last year, despite a 16 per cent cut in capacity. This year, the cargo volumes are up 26 per cent.

For the cargo service, the carrier will target merchandise such as garments, footwear, leather accessories and pharmaceuticals to Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and some members of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

[Kabir]

great... although i will miss their MD 11s, what a treat they were to fly on!

[vivekman]

[Nimish]

Cool!

I wonder if this (daily) is seasonal or will it be daily year around?

[avbuff]

All year round.

[Jaysit]

Werent they supposed to start a new 3 weekly service from BOM as well in early 2011?

[avbuff]

[circleglobe]

Along with the added frequency the timings on DEL-HEL are changing. No more "fastest connection" to JFK. Now DEL-HEL will arrive after the JFK flight has left.

It was kind of a lame selling point anyway since it didn't work in the reverse direction.

[Jaysit]

[avbuff]

[Jaysit]

[avbuff]

IT may not fall in that bracket.

However, I do agree that time will tell how Indian carriers do on flights to FRA, CDG and MXP (as and when started)

[circleglobe]

Is there any 'new' news on Milan Malpensa from your sources at either AI or 9W?

For AI is it even possible now or would it absolutely have to wait for the first crop of 787s?