newstodate.aero

Apr 14, 2020 (newstodate): Finnair is looking beyond the current downturn caused by the coronavirus, preparing for the future resumption and even expansion of its China traffic.
   Finnair has thus inked an LoI with the Chinese carrier Juneyao Airlines as a step towards establishing a joint venture on the Helsinki – Shanghai route, enabling Finnair and Juneyao Air to offer customers seamless travel through a wider choice of destinations, schedule and fare options via their main hubs, Helsinki Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
    As its first long-haul route, Juneyao Air launched flights from June 28, 2019, between Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Helsinki Airport with Boeing 787-9 aircraft offering daily rotations during the summer schedule and three weekly rotations during the winter schedule.
   During the current restrictive period, Juneyao Airlines is operating only one weekly rotation on the route since February 20, 2020, while Finnair suspended its flights to Shanghai from February 6, 2020.
   Prior to the corona-crises, Juneyao Airlines planned to extend the Shanghai-Helsinki route to Manchester, in the UK, starting from March 30, 2020, on three weekly flights, and to Dublin on two weekly flights also from March 30, as well as to Keflavik on the remaining two days from March 29, 2020.
   These plans are shelved for now, but may resurface again once limitations on Europe-China air traffic are lifted and market demands rebound.