OCT 7, 2015: Finnair continues to expand its Asian traffic, opening two Asian destinations, Fukuoka in Japan and Guangzhou in China for the summer season, 2016.

“We intend to double our Asian traffic by 2020 from the 2010 baseline, and these new destinations are an important step towards this target,” says Pekka Vauramo, Finnair president and CEO. “We have a long tradition of connecting Asia and Europe with smooth fast connections via our Helsinki hub, and I look forward to expanding our network to these two exciting markets.”

Finnair will open a direct route to Fukuoka in southern Japan in spring 2016, with three weekly frequencies. The service to Fukuoka makes Finnair the only European airline to operate to four different cities in Japan - Finnair currently offers daily connections to Tokyo Narita, Nagoya and Osaka.

Finnair will also open a direct route to China, and will fly direct from its Helsinki hub to Guangzhou in China with four weekly frequencies between May 6 and October 29, 2016. Guangzhou is the third largest city in China, with a population of 13 million. It is a major trade and transportation center, and the main manufacturing hub in one of mainland China’s leading commercial and manufacturing regions.

Guangzhou is Finnair’s sixth destination in Greater China. Finnair has year-round services to Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong and Shanghai, and a summer service to Xi’an.

Both destinations will be served with Finnair’s Airbus A330 aircraft. Finnair connects Fukuoka and Guangzhou to over 60 destinations via its Helsinki hub, with timetables designed for transfer traffic.