Indo-Asian News Service

Helsinki, Sept 7

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. 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. He said, “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 that 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 that the carrier was also looking forward to the formal entry of Kingfisher Airlines into the OneWorld alliance of global airlines for better synergies. .