Finnair is adding more flights between Scandinavia and the United States. The biggest news is new nonstop service between Seattle, Washington and Helsinki, Finland in the summer of 2022. Finnair’s service will be the first time Seattle and Finland have been connected via a nonstop flight. Last time Seattle was connected directly with Scandinavia was 2009. July 31, 2009 was SAS final flight to Copenhagen.
Finnair’s new service will launch on June 1, 2022. Timetables have yet to be released. All we know is that Finnair will fly to Seattle on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I expect Finnair to utilize their A350s for this route, but we may see A330s on this route.
This is a big win for Seattle, the newest OneWorld hub. When Alaska first announced joining the OneWorld alliance, I made the prediction that Seattle would become a major OneWorld gateway. Since that time, American Airlines has announced service Shanghai, Bangalore, and London. Thus far, only London is operational. Qatar Airways has added service to Doha. Now, Finnair is adding service to Helsinki. Lets not forget that JAL flys to Tokyo and Cathay Pacific connects to Hong Kong from Seattle. Next up, I’m calling on Qantas.
Finnair Expands Beyond Seattle
Beyond Seattle, Finnair is also adding more service to the United States. In the 2022 summer season, Finnair will fly from Helsinki to Seattle, Dallas, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Dallas was announced previously. In addition, Finnair will continue to serve Stockholm from LAX and JFK. Starting May 1, 2022 Finnair will fly from Stockholm to New York daily, and to Los Angeles four times a week. Boosting service to both cities.
Finnair’s current service to Miami will end March 25, 2022.
Bottom Line
As boarders in many Asian countries remain close, Finnair is looking for new markets. Seattle represents a perfect opportunity with a heavy Scandinavian population. Plus, a codeshare opportunity with Alaska Airlines can offer many one-step connections to the West Coast and Hawaii without backtracking. I flew Finnair’s business class on the A350 in November 2021 and service was sublime. 110% recommend.
New Finnair service to Seattle begins June 1, 2022.
