Finnair continues to expand in Japan. In December, the Finnish carrier will become the only European carrier to Sapporo with two frequencies per week, on Thursdays and Sundays. Sapporo New Chitose International Airport has not been served by a European airline since the departure of KLM in 2002. The seasonal flight will operate until April and, according to Javier RoigFinnair's Director for Southern Europe, a majority of passengers are expected to use the new route to go skiing in the mountains of Hokkaido, renowned for the excellent quality of its snow. But Sapporo also offers a interesting economic potential for businesses. The city has the fifth largest population in Japan (1.95 million) and a high proportion of students. There are almost 70,000 students at 130 local universities. The capital of Hokkaido has become a major centre for IT and biotechnology in the country. As Sapporo is one of the few major Japanese cities to be located outside an earthquake zone, it has attracted a number of companies in recent years. French insurer AXA, for example, has had a presence in the city since 2014.
In addition to Sapporo, next summer the carrier will adjust its flight schedule to Tokyo. The airline will continue to offer two daily flights, but the second will now be to Hanedacloser to the centre of the Japanese capital. The other daily frequency will continue to serve Tokyo-Narita airport.
Another new feature planned for next spring is the opening of a service between Helsinki and BusanSouth Korea's second largest city. The airline will operate three times a week with two-class Airbus A350-900 aircraft. Flights will take off from Helsinki every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. " Busan is also a major economic centre in Asia, being one of the world's largest cities. large seaport with major freight companies. These companies will benefit from one of the shortest flights to Europe. "says Javier Roig. At the same time, this winter the carrier is closing its line on Chongqing in China, but was one of the first European companies to enter the Chinese market. Beijing's new Daxing airport with three flights a week, in addition to its daily flight to Beijing Capital.
