On 7 January 2016 the inaugural flight to Beijing for Finnair’s brand new Airbus A350 XWB aircraft took place, following on last year’s successful introduction into the Nordic airline’s long-haul traffic of this plane, on the Helsinki-Shanghai route. The Finnair Airbus landed at the Beijing International Airport’s Terminal 3.
Finnair became the first airline in the world to fly one of the newly released aircrafts to China on November 22, 2015, when its inaugural A350 flight from Helsinki landed in Shanghai to a crowd of supporters.
“The A350 is the future of flying, and we are extremely proud to be the first airline in the world to bring it to China, using both the Shanghai and Beijing routes,” said Pekka Vauramo, Finnair’s CEO. “We hope to bring a completely new and enhanced travel experience to our passengers and to realize our commitment to the market. Finnair has maintained a strong track record in regard to punctuality and safety. The A350 brings better fuel efficiency, added capacity and better competitiveness to Finnair.”
Finnair is not only the first European airline to fly Airbus A350 XWB, but also the first airline to operate A350 aircraft to China in the world.
Finnair chose Shanghai as the first long-haul destination for A350 XWB, which largely supports Finnair strategy as to double its Asian traffic by 2020 from the 2010 baseline in addition to other Chinese routes. Finnair’s investment on A350 is an important step towards this target. Meanwhile, Helsinki-Shanghai route is one of the most important routes to this strategy.
“Finnair has worked on A350XWB program for ten years. This moment heralds a new and exciting chapter in Finnair’s 92 year history. A350 will make great contribution to both passenger and cargo for China market. On behave of Finnair, I sincere hope everyone would join us to look forward the wonderful performance of Finnair’s A350 fleet” said Pekka Vauramo when Finnair launched the said Airbus on the Helsinki-Shanghai route last year.
Passengers on board Finnair’s Airbus A350XWB enjoy the extraordinary flight experience more conveniently. The aircraft “keep passengers more entertained and better connected by its new entertainment systems and Wi-Fi.” Finnair aims to offer its customers unique Nordic experience.
A350WXB is devoted to give passengers more enjoyable and peaceful flights through the popular Zodiac Cirrus business seat, economy comfort seats with extra leg space, additional services, full internet access, and ambient LED lighting system. The new aircraft is quiet and spacious, which enables passengers to enjoy their journey even more than before.
“As Finnair was the first Western European airline to fly to China in 1988, it is only fitting to operate Europe’s first A350 into this market. With the new A350, Finnair will continue to enhance products and services, expand new destinations in Europe, and contribute on making passengers’ journey more convenient and comfortable. ”said Sales Director, Greater China at Finnair, Lars Olofsson.
New A350 aircrafts will also be put in on the Hong Kong route.
