Originally Posted by
Courmisch
Sounds great but HEL does not really make much sense from Western Europe
FI already has a codeshare agreement with AS for the short EU-HW route. But they don't have the range to go direct, I guess
But Hawaii would well within range of D8's B787 from OSL.
Actually, I believe it would make a lot of sense. For instance from Germany, the direct path to HNL would be along the Norwegian coast. It's not THAT far away from HEL, after all. A detour for sure, but a detour a lot shorter than anything via the US mainland. And only 100 miles longer than the FI route via KEF and ANC.
Moreover, it would be a one-stop connection with presumably short connecting times at HEL, as opposed to at least two stops and changes of planes, one of which would occur in the US, which is always a pain considering the potentially long lines at US immigration. And considering the high prices for Hawaii, AY should make money even if the flights are long and fuel-thirsty.
Perhaps AY could once again be serving special North Pole drinks and hand out nice North Pole certificates, like in the good old DC10-30-ER days.
The biggest obstacle here would probably be the lack of cargo.