Finnair connects Delhi with Helsinki

New Delhi, Oct 31 (UNI) Finnair has started its new fast route to Delhi with its first flight from Helsinki landing here early this morning.

The flight time to Delhi is six-and-a-half hours. Initially, the flights will run three times a week using Boeing MD-11 wide-bodied aircraft, but next spring the frequencies will be boosted to five a week.

''India is a growing economic powerhouse with the gross national product booming at a rate of about eight per cent per year. Both business and leisure travel are increasing by double percentage figures annually,'' said Finnair's deputy CEO Henrik Arle.

''Our route is the shortest between the EU and India, so it is of genuine interest to travellers between the destinations. Advance demand for the route has been great, even though we are only just starting the flights. We have also seen a big increase in demand for air cargo from India to Europe,'' he said.

Departures from Helsinki to Delhi are on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and return flights on the following days.

There are relatively few frequencies from the whole of Europe to Delhi and no direct connections from northern Europe. The new route has excellent connections to Delhi from Scandinavia, the Baltic sea area and whole of northern Europe, with short flight times even to London and Paris.

In the Delhi-Helsinki direction, quick Finnair connections serve to around 30 cities in Europe.

The Delhi route is Finnair's tenth Asian destination. A third of the airline's revenues result for scheduled traffic comes from Asian routes.

UNI SU CS DS1420