Press Release
19 December, 2018
Finnair welcomes Santa Claus to Hong Kong
Santa’s official airline will also upgrade its Hong Kong-Helsinki service next year, enabling travellers to visit Santa all-year round
Santa Claus flew with Finnair to Hong Kong on the Airbus A350 aircraft – now exclusively serving the Hong Kong-Helsinki service
Finnair, the official airline for Santa Claus, is helping everybody’s favourite gift-giver spread Christmas cheer here in Hong Kong. The oneworld member held a special event in Hong Kong today, which saw members of the media as well as a number of lucky children not only get the chance to meet but also engage with Father Christmas himself.
Santa’s visit to Hong Kong highlights the city’s growing importance as a destination for Finnair. Performance of the non-stop service between Hong Kong and the airline’s home base in Helsinki has consistently been strong, as travellers look to not only travel to Finland in just ten hours, but also seamlessly connect onto over 100 European destinations. For those seeking to spend a couple of days in Helsinki before flying on to their next destination, Finnair offers flexible stopovers in the city, with travellers able to choose from a stay of five hours, up to five days.
Finland is of course renowned for being the home of Santa Claus, with the jolly old man residing in Rovaniemi, the administrative capital of the country’s northernmost province, Lapland. Finnair operates multiple weekly frequencies to Rovaniemi, and is eager to connect more Hong Kong travellers to the home place of Santa. The carrier will therefore be ramping up frequency for its Hong Kong-Helsinki service.
Having already increased the number of weekly flights from ten to 12 over the past month, Finnair will further strengthen the route by adding an additional two weekly services between Hong Kong and Helsinki from 1 April 2019. This will effectively turn the route into a twice-daily service, providing travellers with additional flexibility and the means to visit Santa all-year round.
Flight Number |
Sector |
Departure Time |
Arrival Time |
Frequency |
AY100 |
HKG – HEL |
00:25 |
05:45 |
Daily |
AY099 |
HEL – HKG |
23:45 |
14:30+1 |
|
AY102 |
HKG – HEL |
09:10 |
14:30 |
|
AY101 |
HEL – HKG |
16:45 |
07:35+1 |
The Airbus A350 offers unprecedented levels of passenger comfort, including fully-flat Business Class seats
Finnair will continue to serve the route with the new Airbus A350, which includes a two-class configuration with 46 seats in Business Class and 251 seats in Economy Class – of which 43 are Economy Comfort seats with extra legroom.
Speaking at the Finnair event in Hong Kong today, the airline’s Regional Head Stan Kwong noted Santa’s close affinity with the city: ”Santa holds a special place in the hearts of many – particularly during this festive time of the year – and as Santa’s official airline, we are committed to helping him spread joy to millions of people around the world. And where better to do so than in Hong Kong, the world’s most visited city.”
“Travellers from Hong Kong will soon be able to enjoy greater convenience and flexibility when travelling to Finland. With the frequency upgrade to our Hong Kong-Helsinki service, Santa’s home has never been closer before!”
For more information:
www.finnair.com, www.company.finnair.com
www.twitter.com/Finnair
www.facebook.com/finnair
www.instagram.com/feelfinnair
www.youtube.com/finnair
Images: gallery.finnair.com
Finnair blog: www.bluewings.finnair.com
About Finnair
Finnair flies between Asia, Europe and North America with an emphasis on fast connections via Helsinki, carrying more than twelve million passengers annually. Finnair's extensive network connects 19 cities in Asia and 8 cities in North America with over 100 destinations in Europe. The airline, a pioneer in sustainable flying, was the first European airline to fly the next-generation, eco-smart Airbus A350 XWB aircraft and it is the first airline listed in the Leadership Index of the worldwide Carbon Disclosure Project. The only Nordic carrier with a 4-star Skytrax ranking, Finnair has also won the World Airline Award for Best Airline Northern Europe for the past nine years running. Finnair is a member of oneworld, the alliance of the world's leading airlines committed to providing the highest level of service and convenience to frequent international travellers.
Media Contact:
GHC Asia 3163 0122 |
GHC Asia 3163 0155 |
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