Finnair Plus - 2012 May Finnair HEL-CKG?

CKG flight will be operated four times weekly by using A340 from May next year (from my understanding it is either a rumor ot still in proposal stage...).

However I did not find any official news or planning.

Anyone has more details inside news about this proposed route?

I have no clue but gratz on thread n800! ;)

Didn't Finnair say some time ago that they only want to operate daily (long haul) routes...4 times per week to/from Chongqing..not enough planes but slots to be taken..who knows and anyway it's just a rumour..

Didn't Finnair say some time ago that they only want to operate daily (long haul) routes...4 times per week to/from Chongqing..not enough planes but slots to be taken..who knows and anyway it's just a rumour..

Whilst I do know that the second daily PVG flight has absolute priority to AY and they even shuffled their China management accordingly, Chengdu would seem a far more obvious destination in Sichuan than Chongqing.

Chengdu would seem a far more obvious destination in Sichuan than Chongqing.

Is there enough demand from Chengdu. KLM operates just four flights
aweek. Any other possible destinations? Lufthansa flies to Guangzhou (AY was not succesful) and Nanjing. Shenyang was short-lived. KLM operates to Xiamen and Hangzhou.

Now it's true:

https://newsclient.omxgroup.com/cdsPublic/viewDisclosure.action?disclosureId=460753&lang=en

I´ll copy-paste the release as the link might not work after a while.

5.7.2011 09:01:00 - OMX Helsinki, News
Finnair to open route to China's largest city, Chongqing
Finnair Plc
Press release

Finnair to open route to China's largest city, Chongqing

In May 2012 Finnair will introduce a direct route to Chongqing, the largest and
fastest-growing city in China. The new route is a logical step in the
implementation of Finnair's Asian strategy. The airline's goal is to benefit
from the market growth in Asia and open new routes to markets where growth is
strongest. Finnair is the first airline to open a direct flight route from
Europe to Chongqing.

Situated on the edge of the Tibetan plateau, Greater Chongqing has a population
of 32 million. In addition, Chongqing's urban population is expected to double
over the next five years.

“China is a key part of our Europe-Asia strategy. Western China is an important
growth area, and the new route will strengthen our market share in the growing
Asian markets. In addition to Chongqing, Finnair flies to Beijing, Shanghai and
to Hong Kong with a total of 26 weekly flights,” says Mika Vehviläinen,
President and CEO of Finnair.

In addition to Chinese companies many Western companies, especially in the
electronics, automotive and chemical industries, are currently expanding their
operations in the city, so business travel is booming. Also cargo growth
prospects are promising due to industrial growth.

“Our co-operation with the Chongqing authorities and the local airport has been
very good when planning this new route, and we are very grateful for the
assistanc
e that we have received during our preparations. The smooth
co-operation has accelerated the route planning process, which is very
important in this rapidly changing business,” Vehviläinen adds.

Chongqing Airport's growth potential is huge. The airport has already opened
140 routes to more than 80 cities in China and Asia, and the airport is
undergoing expansion. When the expansion is complete in 2015, the airport will
be capable of receiving 45 million passengers a year.

Although in the early stages of marketing the focus will be in particular on
business travellers, Chongqing also offers much to see for tourists interested
in China's history and nature. Visitors can enjoy the historical buildings,
temples and natural beauty, as well as the Dazu Rock Carvings, a UNESCO World
Heritage Site, and hot springs. Chongqing also provides convenient access to
river cruises on the Jialing and Yangtze rivers, and the city is well connected
to Lhasa, Xian and Kunming.

Finnair will fly to Chongqing four times a week with Finnair's Airbus A340
aircraft. The new route will be opened in May 2012, and the flight time from
Helsinki to Chongqing will be eight and a half hours. In addition to Chongqing,
Finnair flies to 10 other Asian destinations.

I´ll copy-paste the release as the link might not work after a while.

5.7.2011 09:01:00 - OMX Helsinki, News
Finnair to open route to China's largest city, Chongqing
Finnair Plc
Press release

Finnair to open route to China's largest city, Chongqing.

Thank you, Helsinki Flyer!

It will be the fastest route for me to reach home! Now we just need to wait for the flight time and number.

Regards

Now we just need to wait for the flight time and number.

Should be as follows (routesonline.com):

AY055 HEL1730 – 0700+1CKG 340 x247
AY056 CKG0945 – 1405HEL 340 x135

starting 09MAY12

CKG flight will be operated four times weekly by using A340 from May next year (from my understanding it is either a rumor ot still in proposal stage...).

However I did not find any official news or planning.

I'd like to know where did You get this information before the official announcement? Your posted data was so sharp so I'm curious where it came from :p

I'd like to know where did You get this information before the official announcement? Your posted data was so sharp so I'm curious where it came from :p

AFAIK, the Chinese version of official press release spread among Chinese media already yesterday.

Chongqing... Eh I don't know....

While it may serve a large metro area it's not a particularly high-income area and most of the population is spread out among the more rural regions. And I can't imagine the O&D HEL-CKG to be very high. If they can codeshare somehow with 3U though they might make this work. Good luck to them.

Chongqing... Eh I don't know....

While it may serve a large metro area it's not a particularly high-income area and most of the population is spread out among the more rural regions. And I can't imagine the O&D HEL-CKG to be very high. If they can codeshare somehow with 3U though they might make this work. Good luck to them.

I think this was a clever move.

Chongqing just opened a Development Zone for foreign businesses and investors, similar to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

From the press release:
"...many Western companies, especially in the electronics, automotive and chemical industries, are currently expanding their operations in the city.

The airport has already opened 140 routes to more than 80 cities in China and Asia, and the airport is undergoing expansion. When the expansion is complete in 2015, the airport will be capable of receiving 45 million passengers a year."

Finnair's service will be the first route to Europe and outside Asia in fact.

Given decent connections in HEL, this might work (LH does FRA-NKG and KL AMS-XMN). Still going to be a bit iffy on the CKG side of things if they don't codeshare with 3U or something. This sounds like a good 787 route, A340 I'm not that sure...

Chongqing... Eh I don't know....

While it may serve a large metro area it's not a particularly high-income area and most of the population is spread out among the more rural regions. And I can't imagine the O&D HEL-CKG to be very high. If they can codeshare somehow with 3U though they might make this work. Good luck to them.

Well, there is a huge number of Chinese SMEs in the region and their owners normally handle exports and contract negotiations overseas personally. I can foresee lively traffic for example from CKG to German AY destinations maybe with the exception of TXL.

But, to put in bluntly, Chongqing was probably chosen over Chengdu because of better conditions set by the local authorities. You can reap quite a few benefits as an "anchor investor" in China if the local government thinks others might be tempted to follow.

Chongqing... Eh I don't know....

While it may serve a large metro area it's not a particularly high-income area and most of the population is spread out among the more rural regions. And I can't imagine the O&D HEL-CKG to be very high. If they can codeshare somehow with 3U though they might make this work. Good luck to them.

Chongqing have some facts you need to understand:

1>, Great ground transportation:
The main railway station is less than 10 kms from the airport. It connects CTU and areas in between, Northern and Eastern part of CKG, Northern part of Guizhou and Western part of Hunan via reliable railway link, and mostly important, cheaply.

The highway network within Chongqing is one of the greatest compare with its capacity.

For airport itself, there is one bus terminal connects to nearby cities and reasonable long distance buses

There is also one light rail station due to open around this time.

2>, Chongqing remian one of the cheapest place as a main hub to fly in and out domestically. Whereas SHA/CAN enjoys higher fares Chongqing still have relatively low fare to most of Chinese cities. This provide a great opportunity for offline traffic.

3>, Some source indicate that cargo volumn is booming.

Being the only direct link between CKG and Europe, and the fastest one. I think AY can assure an opportunity there but rather limited. However, if competition comes in, AY could face strong headwind.

CKG flight will be operated four times weekly by using A340 from May next year (from my understanding it is either a rumor ot still in proposal stage...).

However I did not find any official news or planning.

Anyone has more details inside news about this proposed route?

Deal has been confirmed. 4x a week. Population 32 million so perhaps a good idea? First airline to fly from CKG direct to the EU.

Hmm, will AY cut some other routes or buy new/old planes? I had the "pleasure" of flying one of those ex-AF A340s July 6 NRT-HEL, it felt pretty tired, IFE was really crappy, bits and pieces of seats missing...

Hmm, will AY cut some other routes or buy new/old planes? I had the "pleasure" of flying one of those ex-AF A340s July 6 NRT-HEL, it felt pretty tired, IFE was really crappy, bits and pieces of seats missing...

I was also on a NRT-HEL old AF340 and it was "the best of leased planes to be had". I found it dreadful. They only have 2 AF340 leased planes. Hopefully no more than that.

Hmm, will AY cut some other routes or buy new/old planes?

At this moment I do not know any arriving aircraft to AY rather than A321 or proposed A350...

So I guess unless they lease some more plane......

One possibility is the HKG flights will be cut back to daily and remove the extra flight during this summer then the released A/C could be used on CKG run? Mind you that Cathay Pacific have some A340 to be get rid of. AY might be able to take over those birds?

It seems that AY is not alone with CKG. Qatar opens the DOHA-CKG route already in November. Lets hope that Finnair's shorter flight time to many European destinations wins over Qatar's better inflight service.

Yes DOH-CKG requires a bit of backtracking, but I think AY's would work whether QR flies to CKG or not.