Finnair to begin Direct Flight to Chongqing Next May

Finnair, the flag carrier and largest airline of Finland, said on Tuesday that it will launch direct flights between Helsinki and southwest China's Chongqing Municipality in May next year.The carrier will be the first European airline to offer direct flights to Chongqing, a city with more than 30 million people.Finnair will operate the route using Airbus A340 aircraft, with four weekly flights. The flight time is expected to be eight and a half hours.

Chongqing will become the carrier's fourth Chinese destination, after Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.Finnair President and CEO Mika Vehvilainen, said:Western China is an important growth area, and the new route will strengthen our market share in the growing Asian markets.In addition to Chongqing, Finnair plans to launch direct flights to another 10 destinations in Asia.Currently, the carrier flights to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong with a total of 26 weekly flights.