Mumbai, Aug 11 (Inditop.com) Nordic carrier Finnair is restarting its operations from this city to Europe from Oct 18, with a brand new fleet of Airbus aircraft, sensing a revival in passenger demand after some trying times over the past year.
The carrier has also fixed an inaugural tariff of Rs.29,900 for an all-inclusive return ticket to Helsinki and 11 European destinations with the flexibilities for rescheduling normally available on a full-fare business ticket, a senior airline official said.
“This is our Diwali gift to Mumbai,” Kari Stolbow, director for the Indian subcontinent, told Inditop. “The fare includes all levies and taxes and holds not just for Helsinki, but also to 11 European destinations including London, Brussels, Oslo and Amsterdam.”
He said Finnair was deploying new A-330 aircraft for the operation, beginning with three flights a week, with a configuration of 42 business class seats and 229 seats in the economy section.
“The business class fare is also priced competitively at Rs.78,000.”
In May, Finnair retired its old fleet of MD-11 aircraft and started operating on the New Delhi-Helsinki-New York sector on new A330-300 aircraft, with a transit time of just 40 minutes at the Finnish capital.
“It takes just 16 hours and 45 minutes between New Delhi and New York,” Stolbow said, adding this was just an hour more than the non-stop flight of Air India. From the middle of September, this will become a daily service, against five times a week now.
From Oct 18, the carrier, thus, will operate 10 flights out of India.
According to the senior Finnair executive, who has been with the carrier for 27 years, India was the top growth market for the company in Asia, which accounts for 40 percent of its revenues.
“We surely see a revival of passenger traffic from October. Airlines generally are the first to feel the pinch of a slowdown and also benefit first during a revival.”
