Finnair Leisure Flights and the British leisure flight company XL Airways UK Ltd. have signed an agreement on the lease of a new Airbus 330-200 wide-bodied aircraft with crew for Finnair Leisure Flights' use in the winter season 2008-2009. The aircraft will be delivered in November 2008. The intention is to operate the aircraft on popular Thailand flights from Helsinki to Phuket. The aircraft will fly to Thailand non-stop, six times per week from November 2008. “The agreement will allow a significant increase in Leisure Flights' capacity for the next winter traffic season. At the same time, we will be able to meet increased demand for non-stop leisure flights towards Thailand,” says Finnair's Vice President, Leisure Flights Erno Hildén. The aircraft has a total of 328 seats, of which 42 are in Comfort Class located in the front section, and 286 in Economy Class. “The new Airbus A330-200 will allow non-stop flights from Helsinki to Phuket in Thailand, which will cut the travel time by around two hours. Our leased aircraft delivers a very high standard of passenger comfort; the seat spacing in Economy Class is 32-33 inches (81-84 cm) and in Comfort Class 38 inches (96 cm),” explains Hildén says. In winter season 2008/2009, in addition to the Airbus A330-200, Finnair Leisure Flights will operate its leisure flights with a fleet of seven Boeing 757-200 aircraft as well as Airbus A320 aircraft leased from Finnair Scheduled Passenger Traffic. The increased popularity of winter tourism enables capacity to be increased with the wide-bodied aircraft. Finnair Leisure Flights will fly to Thailand a total of 11 times per week in winter season 2008/2009. Other winter season long-haul destinations include Vietnam, India, the Caribbean and Brazil as well as Fort Lauderdale in Florida and Penang in Malaysia, which are returning to the flight programme. Further information: Erno Hildén, Vice President, Finnair Leisure Flights, tel. +358 9 818 8550
FINNAIR LEISURE FLIGHTS LEASES AN AIRBUS A330-200 AIRCRAFT FOR THAILAND LEISURE FLIGHTS IN WINTER SEASON 2008/2009
| Source: Finnair Oyj