flydubai starts service to Helsinki

Oct 26, 2018: flydubai has begun its service from Dubai International (DXB) to Helsinki Airport (HEL), making it the first national carrier of the UAE to offer direct flights from Dubai.

On board the flight had a delegation led by Jeyhun Efendi, senior vice president, commercial operations and e-commerce at flydubai; Thierry Aucoc, senior VP, commercial (Europe & Russian Federation) at Emirates; and Riitta Swan, Finnish ambassador to the UAE. 

Efendi 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 the new Boeing MAX 8 aircraft.”

The new scheduled daily 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,” he added.

On flydubai’s 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. 

“This year over 20 million passengers are expected to travel through Helsinki Airport. Although Helsinki Airport has strong connectivity it has not 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, VP at Finavia, sales and route development.

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.

Aucoc 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.”

“I regard Finland as an excellent travel destination for Emiratis and residents of the UAE. This new direct flight will certainly attract more Finns for holidays in the UAE,” said Swan.

From December 2, 2018, flights to Helsinki along with a number of flydubai’s European routes including Bucharest, Krakow, Prague, Zagreb and others will operate from DXB optimising connectivity for those travelling through the world’s busiest airport, Dubai International.