Finnair launches codeshare partnerships with Juneyao Air and China Southern in June 2019

China Southern:

China Southern Airlines and Finnair have agreed on new codeshare partnership starting on 01 June, 2019. The cooperation includes the Finnair route between Guangzhou and Helsinki, and selected Finnair destinations in Europe. The new codeshare partnership adds five new destination to China Southern Airlines' network in Europe.

From Helsinki to Amsterdam (AMS), Billund (BLL), Copenhagen (CPH), Göteborg (GOT), Guangzhou (CAN), London (LHR), Paris (CDG), Riga (RIX) and Stockholm (ARN).
From Guangzhou to Changsha (CSX), Chongqing (CKG), Hangzhou (HGH), Nanjing (NKG), Sanya (SYX), Wenzhou (WNZ), Xiamen (XMN) and Xi'an (XIY).

Twitter

Juneyao Air:

Finnair and the Shanghai-based Juneyao Air have agreed on a new codeshare cooperation on the route operated by Juneyao Air and Finnair between Helsinki and Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG), as well as on selected Juneyao routes in China and selected Finnair routes in Finland [from 28 June, 2019 onwards]. The new codeshare agreement adds eight new destinations to Finnair’s network in China.

From Shanghai to Harbin, Helsinki (HEL), Shenyang, Dalian, Qingdao, Xi´an, Chongqing, Kunming, Xiamen and Fuzhou.
From Nanjing to Xi´an, Chongqing and Zhangjiajie.
From Helsinki to Ivalo, Rovaniemi, Kemi, Kuopio, Oulu and Shanghai (PVG).

Finnair

This is a significant step for Finnair and these two Chinese airlines. Until now, Air China was the only Chinese airline with whom AY had a codeshare agreement.

QuawerAir wrote:

SeanM1997 wrote:

c933103 wrote:

It seems like CZ's application also say they will utilize fifth freedom right, where will they be heading to?

Whats the China Southern application?

CZ applied for daily CAN-HEL route from 1 July 2019 in November 2018. To be honest, I thought HEL was out of their route planning table for this year, but I'd be extremely happy if they are still coming to HEL. Regarding the 5th freedom rights, CZ also plans to arrive at other European airports such as CPH and MAD, so could they be heading there?

I’d expect they be dead and gone. AY already began year round operation with codeshare, and given their new leader’s conservative nature, I highly doubt if they ever will bother to start... they have cut nearly 2/5 capacity on North America on August, so I will not expect any of the planned MXP,MAD,HEL or TLV, or anything else(excluding the use of widebodies to fly overcharged short routes i.e. PEK-URC) to materialize anytime soon.

Also note that SZX’s dumping policy didn’t help either——despite most of the routes being 2 weekly, flying to places with minimal demand, they indeed offer opportunities to nonstop from Pearl River Delta, which takes away demand.

China's southwestern Chengdu is eying Helsinki service too, reportedly with a plan to launch CTU-HEL this August.
今年8月还将新开通成都直飞芬兰赫尔辛基航线

In an interesting related note, Finland proposes signing air service agreement with Nepal, does that mean HEL-KTM is on the horizon in the future not too distant?

Juneyao Airlines opened its PVG–HEL route today with 209 passengers onboard (PFL of only 64.5%). At the inaugural flight ceremony at HEL, Lentoposti interviewed Joni Sundelin, the head director of Helsinki Airport. According to Lentoposti, he said that the planned route launch from Chengdu to Helsinki has delayed but may still happen in 2019. Per him, Sichuan Airlines plans to operate 2x weekly flights on CTU-HEL-CPH route using 5th freedom rights. Routing is the same from CPH (via HEL).

Yes, indeed. HO has inaugurated its 1st intercontinental longhaul route from Shanghai to Helsinki today June 28th, thus becoming the first and also the only privately-owned airline in mainland China to operate intercontinental longhaul service.

Mr Wang Junjin, chairman of Ho, who was aboard the 1st flight, said the opening of PVG-HEL has done his company and all his colleagues proud at the inaugural flight ceremony in Helsinki.

Big congrats to HO

Juneyao Airlines inaugurated Shanghai-Helsinki

Water cannon salute at HEL




Video clips featuring HO's inaugural flight touching down at Helsinki-vantaa Airport
http://www.cannews.com.cn/2019/0628/197836.shtml

https://m.weibo.cn/1889702180/4388109288548909

According to turisti.is, Tianjin Airlines is looking to open 3 weekly Wuhan–Helsinki–Reykjavík route next winter. Tianjin Airlines is part of HNA Group (as were Beijing Capital Airlines and Lucky Air), so I'm not surprised if this didn't become reality. If it did, Tianjin would be already 4th Chinese carrier at HEL (if Sichuan launches CTU-HEL service) and 1st at KEF.

China Southern, I understand...they're all but in oneworld at this point.

As for why Helsinki---they can provide room for growth into northern Europe, the Nordic regions, Scandinavia, and the UK, at an airport not anywhere as crowded as LHR, CDG, or FRA.

Sichuan Airlines adds Chengdu–Helsinki–Copenhagen service on September 16, 2019, using 5th freedom rights. This replaces the current non-stop Chengdu–Copenhagen route. Sichuan Airlines becomes the 3rd Chinese airline to serve Helsinki.

The route will be operated 2x weekly with Airbus A330.

Twitter

Sichuan Airlines' inaugural flight landed at Helsinki Airport this morning. The flight was nearly full with approx. 280 passengers (A330-300 has a capacity of 290 seats according to Lentoposti), most of which are Chinese. However, 210 of passengers continued to CPH while only 50 passengers deplaned at HEL. Not sure though if some passengers will continue by train for example from CPH to somewhere else.

Sichuan is already 3rd Chinese airline to commence flights to HEL after Tibet Airlines and Juneyao Air. Now there are 53 weekly flights to 8 destinations from HEL to China (incl. Hong Kong). As Finavia has negotiations with several Chinese operators, we may see even more Chinese airlines coming to HEL in the future. Which might be next?

Lentoposti (in Finnish)

Just recently, Eurostat updated air traffic statistics (route statistics, at least) to cover July and August and thus one can now see the effect of Juneyao Air's new service to passenger volumes. I decided to visualize the statistics:



After the inauguration of the new service, PAX volume nearly doubled (as expected). In July, the PLF saw a drop of 10ppts (percentage points), which suggests that Juneyao Air's PLF in the first month of operations on PVG–HEL route was weak (perhaps around or even less than 70%). However, the PLF rose next month and this possibly means HO managed to improve the PLF (to around 80% maybe?). I believe AY's PLF was rather steady during the summer season. The first two months don't tell much but they give a glance at how this new route is possibly performing.

From my point of view, the start is actually pretty good given that HO is not commonly known in Europe and this is their very first intercontinental route. But the coming months will tell more...

What do you think?

Tibet Airlines continues to serve HEL in W19/20.

TV6001 TNA1605 – 1930HEL 330 1
TV6002 HEL2130 – 1300+1TNA 330 1

Routesonline

QuawerAir wrote:

Tibet Airlines continues to serve HEL in W19/20.

TV6001 TNA1605 – 1930HEL 330 1
TV6002 HEL2130 – 1300+1TNA 330 1

Routesonline

So reduced from 2x weekly to 1 weekly?

lesfalls wrote:

QuawerAir wrote:

Tibet Airlines continues to serve HEL in W19/20.

TV6001 TNA1605 – 1930HEL 330 1
TV6002 HEL2130 – 1300+1TNA 330 1

Routesonline

So reduced from 2x weekly to 1 weekly?

Yes, at least during the winter season. In S20, there will probably be 2 weekly flights again.

MalevTU134 wrote:

workhorse wrote:

MalevTU134 wrote:

What has being born in Tibet to do with anything? And going from sea level to 3500 m.a.s.l. is no big deal. Thousands of people do that every day on the Lima-Cuzco route alone, and they do so in an hour and a half. No sweat.

It can become a big deal if your lungs and your blood are not accustomed to extract sufficient quantity of oxygen from the thin air. Not all people are equal regarding this problem and you can't know in advance where you stand (it does not only depend on your general physical condition). In the best case, you'll get away with a bit of headache. In the worst case, well, you probably won't die of pulmonary oedema in Lhasa but you'll spend a handful of quite ugly nights in hospital coughing your lungs out, making nightmares each time you start to fall asleep and reaching for that oxygen mask every 5 minutes.

Being born in Tibet (or in Cuzco) accustoms your body to high altitude from the beginning and then you don't lose it. A Tibetan who spent 5 years in Shanghai can go back to Lhasa or even higher with no problems. You (assuming you are from Hungary) can spend a month at 4000-5000 meters, get completely acclimatized, then go down for a couple of weeks, and if after that you go back it will be all over again.

I repeat, this is not an exact science, not all people are equal, but it's a risk and an unnecessary stress for your body. If you can avoid it, why not? Stay safe.

As a medical doctor, I can tell you that you are correct, with exception for the highlighted part. Being born at altitude does not "vaccinate" you aganst altitude sickness (nor against the more serious conditions HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema) and HACE (High Altitude Cerebral Edema)). Living at altitude does of course get your erythropoietin going, thereby making your body produce more erthrocytes, but if a Tibetan moves to Shanghai, his levels will decrease in the same way as would that of a Finn or Swede (as me). The body adapts both ways, going up and going down, but the effect of living at altitude disappears in matter of weeks or a few months.

Being born in Tibet doesn’t help, but having Tibetan DNA does. In practical terms you are mostly right, but Tibetan people are actually different when it comes to adapting to altitude (as there are countless more small differences between people depending on their heritage due to evolution).

https://www.inverse.com/article/30875-t ... -evolution

The Finnish capital continues to draw strong interest from China's flagship privately-owned airline—Juneyao Airlines, as HO has filed a proposal of traffic rights for a thrice weekly Helsinki service from China's high-tech hub Shenzhen planned for launch in Nov 2020, as per a recent route application notice released by CAAC (such notices are now unfortunately exposed only to Chinese airlines, not to the general public any more for obscure reasons)

Zoedyn wrote:

The Finnish capital continues to draw strong interest from China's flagship privately-owned airline—Juneyao Airlines, as HO has filed a proposal of traffic rights for a thrice weekly Helsinki service from China's high-tech hub Shenzhen planned for launch in Nov 2020, as per a recent route application notice released by CAAC (such notices are now unfortunately exposed only to Chinese airlines, not to the general public any more for obscure reasons)

I wasn't expecting HO to plan intercontinental flights from Shenzhen. Great news though and hopefully will become reality. It's indeed unfortunate if such notices are not available for the general public anymore.

Perhaps Juneyao's planned Shenzhen-Helsinki service brings more 5th freedom flights, seems to be a Chinese thing in Helsinki. In S20 Juneyao will operate PVG-HEL-MAN/DUB/KEF and Sichuan Airlines has CTU-HEL-CPH.

MareBorealis wrote:

Perhaps Juneyao's planned Shenzhen-Helsinki service brings more 5th freedom flights, seems to be a Chinese thing in Helsinki. In S20 Juneyao will operate PVG-HEL-MAN/DUB/KEF and Sichuan Airlines has CTU-HEL-CPH.

Perhaps Oslo, Berlin, or Edinburgh? Amsterdam? I'm also waiting for AY/HO to expand the codeshare network to Europe. It seems that MAN will be codeshared with AY but possibly KEF and DUB as well.