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Japan Airlines to start operating from Helsinki Airport

20/02/2012

Japan Airlines will start flights between Tokya Narita and Helsinki in March 2013, further strengthening Helsinki Airport’s position as a leading hub in Northern Europe. Japan Airlines’ nonstop service to Helsinki is the company’s first new service between Japan and Europe in 20 years. The service will be delivered with Boeing 787 aircraft and the new B787 Dreamliner will be the first of the new air craft operating to Helsinki.

“Helsinki Airport’s compact and well-designed terminal allows for minimum connection time as short as 35 to 40 minutes, making it an excellent transit point to and from 54 cities within Europe”, says Junji Tanaka, Regional General Manager, Germany, Central, Eastern and Northern Europe for Japan Airlines. “Customers traveling in both directions can expect from the oneworld alliance carriers smoother connections onto Finnair’s extensive network in Europe through Helsinki and also JAL’s comprehensive network of flights into Asia through our hub operations in Narita.”

“Helsinki provides the shortest and fastest connections between Europe and Japan. Japan Airlines’ operations to Helsinki enhance Helsinki’s position as a leading transfer airport in Northern Europe,” says Kimmo Ruotsalainen, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Finavia which operates Helsinki Airport.

According to Finavia, Helsinki Airport has been growing strongly last ten years in traffic between Europe and Asia. In 2011, a total of 1.63 million passengers travelled via Helsinki Airport to Asia, which was 15.4% more than the year before. Japan is the main destination country with over 400,000 passengers.

Source: Finavia