Finnair åbner Guangzhou

[PP]

PM fra Finnair meddeler at man åbner HEL-Guangzhou (Canton) fra 2 september 2005 - dvs. næsten et år.

Nu må SAS komme ud af busken og se at få fart på sine planer med CPH-Guangzhou eller Hong Kong! Ellers løber Finnair fra dem på det kinesiske marked...


FINNAIR OYJ PRESS RELEASE 17 NOVEMBER 2004

FINNAIR LAUNCHES DIRECT FLIGHTS TO GUANGZHOU

Finnair will launch direct flights from Helsinki to Guangzhou (Canton)
in China on September 2, 2005. Finnair will fly to the city three
times a week. Guangzhou is located in southern China on the Pearl
River Delta and is one of the country’s most important economic
centres.

“Launching the Guangzhou route is a natural continuation of our Asian
strategy. Finnair has been systematically moving the focus of its long-
haul traffic to Asia since the year 2000. Guangzhou is already our
fourth destination in China in addition to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong
Kong,” says Finnair VP, Sales in Europe and Asia, Hannu Sundberg.

Guangzhou is located in the economically significant Guangdong
Province through which passes a third of Chinese exports. Guangzhou is
also part of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) economic and cultural
powerhouse, which also includes Hong Kong and Macao. With a population
of some 40 million, the PRD is one of the largest and fastest
developing industrial areas in the world.

Finnair operates to ultramodern Guangzhou airport which opened this
year. The airport is the first in China to offer an especially built
transit area for passengers. The airport has excellent connections to
other parts of mainland China as well as Hong Kong and Macao.

Finnair flies to Guangzhou from Helsinki on Tuesdays, Fridays and
Sundays with flights from Guangzhou to Helsinki on Mondays, Wednesdays
and Saturdays. Flight time between the two cities is approximately ten
hours. Finnair offers excellent connections from these flights to the
rest of its extensive European network.

Guangzhou, or Canton as it is also known, is also a historically
significant city which has held on to its traditional Chinese
ambiance. The town has attracted foreign trade for the past 2000
years. Guangzhou has a population of about ten million.

Finnair Plc
Communications
17.11.2004

Additional information: Christer Haglund, SVP Corporate
Communications, tel. +358 9 818 4007