Finnair Set To Resume A350 Flights To London As Demand Rises

Finnair is set to resume flights to London with its fleet of Airbus A350 aircraft next month. The move comes as demand on the route continues to grow and will see the widebody and its sister, the Airbus A330, replacing narrowbodies that have been operating on the route during the pandemic.

Finnair’s Airbus A350s are set to resume flights to London Heathrow. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Edit: Rohan Patel

While a resurgence of COVID-19 across the continent is causing some worry for airlines, the general trend continues to be a recovery trend, with many airlines adding and re-adding services as quickly as possible. Helsinki to London is a massive route for Finnish national carrier Finnair, which shows in the airline’s latest scheduling.

Up to five flights a day

Finnair has been looking to boost its services on the route from London Heathrow to Finland. From December, the airline will be operating its Airbus A330 and Airbus A350, with frequencies of up to five times a day during the peak holiday travel period.

According to data from aviation experts Cirium, Finnair has 100 rotations planned from Helsinki to Heathrow during December. This averages out at around three flights per day. The airline has even added in seven flights between December 17th and January 2nd to account for this.

The Airbus A350 was used to serve London before the onset of the pandemic. Photo: Vincenzo Pace – Simple Flying

The airline is also adding a stopover service in the UK. From this weekend, Finnair will operate an evening flight out to London on Sunday evenings. The aircraft will then overnight in London before returning to Helsinki early on Sunday mornings.

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Commenting on the return of the widebody, Finnair’s UK General Manager, Andrew Fish, remarked,

“We’re excited to continue our recovery and re-establish our popular frequencies from the UK and Ireland in line with customer demand for flights to Finland over the festive season… Finnair customers will be able to enjoy further flight flexibility when travelling for business or leisure from London to Helsinki, thanks to extra capacity for travellers eager to experience Finland’s winter period.”

Additional flights on other UK and Ireland routes

It’s not just London that is benefiting from additional services. From December 3rd, Finnair will also be upping the number of services that it is operating on the route from Helsinki to both Manchester and Dublin. However, these won’t see the widebodies flying to London.

Finnair’s Airbus A350 won’t be used for the increased capacities to Manchester and Dublin. Photo: Vincenzo Pace – Simple Flying

Interestingly, it seems as though the bulk of traffic is Brits trying to escape to the continent for a winter break, according to Finnair. The airline remarked that the additional frequencies are targeted at those wishing to experience winter in Finland, especially over the Christmas break.

Are you excited to see the Airbus A350 returning to London next month? Let us know what you think and why in the comments!

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