flydubai has inaugurated its new daily service to Helsinki becoming the first national carrier for the UAE to offer direct flights from Dubai. The inaugural flight departed yesterday from Terminal 2, Dubai International (DXB) and landed at Helsinki Airport (HEL) just before midnight.
On board the flight was a delegation led by Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations and E-commerce at flydubai and was joined by Thierry Aucoc, Senior Vice President, Commercial (Europe & Russian Federation) at Emirates, H.E Riitta Swan, Finnish Ambassador to the UAE together with representatives from regional media outlets. On arrival in Helsinki, the delegation was welcomed by senior officials from the airport.
Speaking at a press conference to mark the occasion, Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations and E-commerce at flydubai said: “As the first carrier to operate a year-round direct flight from the UAE to Finland, we expect this route to be very popular for travellers from Dubai and the region as we make the market more accessible for adventure seekers, those who want to see the Northern Lights, Lapland and those visiting family and friends alike. Passengers travelling on this route will be able to enjoy the added comfort offered by our latest innovations in cabin design as well as an exceptional travel experience on board our new Boeing MAX 8 aircraft.”
Finland attracts more than 6 million tourists a year, but most flights to the market so far have been seasonal. The new scheduled direct flights from Dubai will give passengers easier access into Finland and help stimulate trade and tourism around the year.
“We have seen healthy demand especially for our Business Class since the route was announced in April this year. We expect this trend to continue from Dubai as well as see growing numbers of connecting passengers from both the Emirates and the flydubai networks. Passengers from Finland now have easier access to popular destinations on the flydubai network including Sri Lanka and Tanzania as well as further afield on the Emirates network to Far East destinations including Australia, Indonesia and Thailand,” Efendi added.
flydubai provides its customers with a better travel experience by offering greater choice and flexibility. With flydubai’s Business Class, passengers can enjoy a more personalised flying experience while Economy Class offers comfortable seating and a convenient way to travel. On flydubai’s newest aircraft, the Boeing 737 MAX 8, the efficient and environmentally friendly aircraft features a new cabin offering a flat-bed in Business Class for passengers to sleep comfortably during their flight. Economy Class offers new RECARO seats, which are designed to optimise space and comfort. flydubai also offers exceptional inflight entertainment with a full HD, 11.6-inch screen, featuring more than 1,000 hours of movies, TV shows, music and games in Arabic, English and Russian.
Emirates will codeshare on this route and as part of the Emirates flydubai partnership, each airlines’ passengers will have the opportunity to connect in Dubai to hundreds of destinations across the world.
Thierry Aucoc, Senior Vice President, Commercial (Europe & Russian Federation) at Emirates said, “Emirates and flydubai have an extensive partnership that gives our shared customers unmatched travel options, choice and convenience. We are delighted that Helsinki has now joined our codeshare network, and look forward to bringing the benefits of our partnership to those travelling to and from Finland. flydubai customers travelling to or from Helsinki can enjoy seamless connections to destinations across Emirates’ worldwide network via Dubai including cities such as Bangkok, Shanghai, Tokyo and Singapore. The codeshare will allow more travellers to experience the award-winning Emirates service on our fleet of Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s which offer customers the comforts of the latest and most efficient wide-body aircraft in the skies.”
“It is my great pleasure to welcome flydubai to start year around direct flights from Dubai to Helsinki. I regard Finland as an excellent travel destination for Emiratis and residents of the UAE. In Finland one can enjoy the cleanest air in the world and great nature in a very safe environment. Finland can offer ultimate experiences, wellbeing and family activities. This new direct flight will certainly attract more Finns for holidays in the UAE”, said H.E Riitta Swan, Finnish Ambassador to the UAE.
From 02 December 2018, flights to Helsinki along with a number of flydubai’s European routes including Bucharest, Krakow, Prague, Zagreb and others will operate from Terminal 3, Dubai International (DXB) optimising connectivity for those travelling through the world’s busiest airport, Dubai International. The first codeshare flight took off on 29 October 2017 and the codeshare network has expanded to 80 destinations and the combined network is on track to reach 240 destinations by 2022.
For bookings under the codeshare, Emirates passengers receive complimentary meals and the Emirates checked baggage allowance on flights operated by flydubai in Business and Economy classes.
“This year over 20 million passengers are expected to travel through Helsinki Airport. Although Helsinki Airport has strong connectivity it hasn’t had a year-round direct route to Dubai. We are delighted Helsinki is now even easier to reach from the Middle East,” said, Petri Vuori, Vice President at Finavia, Sales and Route Development.
