Finnair is the flag carrier of Finland and the largest airline in the Scandinavian nation. Founded in 1923 as Aero, the airline began using the name Finnair in its marketing in 1953, but the name change did not take place until 1968. When it first launched, the airline concentrated its network in domestic operations and slowly expanded to international service.
In 1956, Aero became the first Western airline to operate flights to Moscow after the war. The first long-haul flight was launched in 1969 to New York City, marking the airline’s entry into the United States market. Today, Finnair has a modern fleet that includes the Airbus A350 and its famous non-reclining business class seats.
As a member of the Oneworld alliance , passengers have access to extensive connectivity worldwide through Finnair and its partners. Using Helsinki, Finnair has become an important player in the market between Europe and Asia. According to data from Cirium , an aviation analytics firm, Finnair has four routes to the US in September.
All depart from Helsinki Airport and fly to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) serving New York City, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), and Dallas/Fort-Worth International Airport (DFW). All of the airports on this list are hubs for Finnair’s American one world partner, American Airlines, allowing greater connectivity for its passengers.
Origin Destination Distance Helsinki Los Angeles 5,614 miles Helsinki Dallas/Fort Worth 5,224 miles Helsinki Chicago 4,436 miles Helsinki New York (JFK) 4,117 John F. Kennedy International Airport As mentioned above, New York City became Finnair’s first long-haul destination, and it marked the airline’s entry into the American market. When flights first began in 1969, the airline used Douglas DC-8 aircraft.
Today, the airline uses its modern Airbus A350-900s, which carry 279 passengers in a three-cabin configuration. The A350 has become an integral part of Finnair’s fleet renewal plan. With 279 seats, 28 in business class, 21 in Premium Economy, and 230 in economy, the aircraft offers passengers maximum comfort on the 4,117-mile route.
The flight from HEL to JFK is operated daily on the following schedule. Origin Destination Departure Arrival Helsinki New York City 17:20 19:05 New York City Helsinki 22:55 14:00 +1 Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport The flight to DFW is the second-longest of the four US routes. The 5,614-mile flight is also operated by the Airbus A350s.
It is also the newest route of Finnair’s US services, having ben launched in February 2022. For passengers flying to Latin America and the Caribbean, DFW is a perfect route as it offers a one-stop itinerary to several destinations. In September, Finnair will operate the flight six times weekly, offering a roundtrip seat capacity of 556 per day.
Its total seat offering for the month is 13,986. Origin Destination Departure Arrival Helsinki Dallas/Fort Worth 12:25 15:05 Dallas/Fort Worth Helsinki 16:50 10:45 +1 Los Angeles International Airport The flight to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is relatively new - it was launched in 2019, one year before the COVID-19 pandemic, which nearly brought the aviation industry to a halt. At the time, the route was operated three times weekly during the summer.
The A350 was the aircraft deployed on the West Coast route from the start, and is still the plane used today. Earlier in the month, Finnair will only operate two weekly flights and then increase to thrice weekly. Origin Destination Departure Arrival Helsinki Los Angeles 16:00 17:05 Los Angeles Helsinki 18:45 15:20 +1 Chicago O’Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare is the third-busiest airport in the country.
With six runways and more than 60,000 monthly flights, it is very well-connected. In 2014, Finnair announced that the following summer, it would begin flying thrice weekly to ORD using its Airbus A330s. "Chicago is a great addition to our summer destinations, and is in demand with leisure travelers from Northern Europe.
Finnair’s timetable allows for easy connections to Chicago from throughout out extensive network in Europe and Asia.” Petri Vuori, Finnair's VP of Global Sales At the time, Finnair’s service was meant to replace the route previously offered by American Airlines during the summer. In September 2021, the airline announced it would fly year-round to Chicago , but that was short lived as the following year, Finnair cut its flights in October.
In 2023, flights were available through October, but this year, the final flight is on September 1. Origin Destination Departure Arrival Helsinki Chicago 15:55 17:25 Chicago Helsinki 21:30 14:15 +1 Previous routes Data shows that in the post, Finnair has also flown to San Francisco, Seattle, Miami, and Boston. In November and December 2016, Finnair operated one flight to San Francisco.
The following summer, from June to September, the airline flew to SFO thrice weekly using its A350s. The route then resumed in the summer of 2018 and operated until early December. In 2019, it did the same thing, and service has not resumed since.
Flights to Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA) were launched in June 2022 and operated thrice weekly through October. Finnair deployed the Airbus A330-300 to SEA. Last year, the carrier operated the route from March to August, and this year from June through August.
Miami International Airport (MIA) was served during the winter of 2014-2015, just a few times weekly with the airline’s Airbus A340-300s. Then, in October 2015, the route came back with year-round service until April 2017. After that, the airline decided to reduce the service back to wintertime and operated that schedule until March 2020.
In November 2021, Finnair resumed flights to South Florida through March 2022 and has operated in the winter in the years since. The route to Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) was served by the airline’s small fleet of Boeing 757s, which were retired in 2014. Flights were launched in June 2008 and operated until August before operating during the same months in 2009.
Finnair has not connected the two cities since then..
