Finnair has upgraded its new seasonal service to Sapporo in Japan to operate the route year-round. Twice-weekly flights to Sapporo in Hokkaido, which during the winter is home to some of Japan’s top ski resorts, are set to be launched by the Finnish flag carrier on 15 December 2019. The capacity boost is part of Finnair’s strategy of continued growth strategy in Asia and the Far East will be the airline’s fifth destination in Japan, complementing existing services to Tokyo Narita, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka.

Christian Lesjak, Finnair senior vice president of network and resource management said: “Adding Sapporo to our network is very exciting. Japan is Finnair´s largest market outside our home market Finland, and with five key Japanese cities in our network, we are now the largest European airline flying to Japan.”

During the Winter season, Finnair’s flights to Sapporo will depart Helsinki on Sundays and Thursdays as the AY65, departing at 0505, arriving into Sapporo nine hours later at 0905 the next day.

The return flights will depart Sapporo on Mondays and Fridays as the AY66, leaving at 1135 and arriving back into Helsinki at 2:10pm the same day, nine hours 35 minutes later. During the summer season flights will depart from Helsinki on Sundays and Wednesdays and from Sapporo on Mondays and Thursdays.

Fares to Sapporo from London via Helsinki start from GBP600 return in Economy Class and GBP2,815 in Business Class. Fares include all taxes and charges,

In response to increased customer demand for flights to Japan, Finnair will also add capacity to Osaka by adding two weekly frequencies on the route from the start of the 2020 summer season. The total number of Finnair´s weekly flights to Osaka will rise to 12.

Both Sapporo and Osaka routes are operated in codeshare with Finnair´s long-standing partner Japan Airlines. Finnair is a member of Siberian Joint Business, together with Japan Airlines, British Airways and Iberia. The partnership offers customers increased choice and more flexibility for flights between Europe and Japan.

From March 2020, Finnair will also launch direct daily flights to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, in addition to Finnair’s existing daily flights to Tokyo’s Narita Airport.  Finnair flies up to seven times daily from London Heathrow to Helsinki, twice daily from Manchester and up to twice a day from Edinburgh.