Finnair will use the A350 XWB to establish Helsinki as a bridge to Northeast Asia from Europe.

Finnair is looking at adding routes to Chinese cities not currently connected to Europe as it takes delivery of the region’s newest wide-body jet fleet.

Source: Airbus

Finnair, which will become the 1st European carrier to deploy the Airbus A350 in October, is “not that concerned” about recent economic turmoil in China, CEO Pekka Vauramo said in an interview.

“We really feel being a 1st mover has benefits,” he said.

“There are some mega-cities there where we could add frequencies. We could also look into cities in China or South Korea that don’t have many connections, or don’t have any.”

Of Finnair’s 1st 5 A350 destinations, 3  -Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong- are in China, alongside Bangkok and Singapore.

Source: Airbus

The carrier will take delivery of 19 of the twin-engine jets through 2023 to add capacity and replace 7 four-engine Airbus A340s used on intercontinental trips.

Vauramo said Northeast Asia remains Finnair’s “sweet-spot” even after the market suffered setbacks including the Japanese earthquake, curbs on flights through Siberian airspace, a weakening yen and now the devaluation of the yuan.

Source: Jujug Spotting

The carrier’s strategy centers on establishing Helsinki as a bridge to northeast Asia from Europe, exploiting its position on the shortest great-circle routes between the regions.

“We are of course in many different markets in Asia and that’s one part of how we can manage this,” he said.

Based on the article “Finnair Examines New Layer of China Routes as A350s Arrives”published in Bloomberg.