Finnair looking at Indian cities beyond New Delhi

HELSINKI - Nordic carrier Finnair Thursday said it is closely looking at Indian cities beyond New Delhi, apart from exploring a “host of options” with Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines once it formally joins the OneWorld alliance of global carriers.

The Finnish flag carrier also formally announced that it will begin daily flights to New Delhi from January, increasing the frequency from the present six, but said it no plans to resume its flights to Mumbai.

“Well, Bangalore and Chennai are definitely on our radar,” Finnair chief executive Mika Vehvilainen said during the airline’s formal press conference here. “But at present, we are not looking at resuming our Mumbai operations,” he added.

“We retain our landing rights in Mumbai and examining the situation. As of now, there are no immediate plans to resume our operations,” Vehvilainen said, referring to the suspension of operations to India’s commercial capital in 2008.

According to Christer Haglund, Finnair’s senior vice president for public affairs and corporate communications, the carrier has been quite happy with the operations to New Delhi, which started in 2006, and plans were afoot to expand the service further.

“Come January and we will be flying daily to New Delhi to cater to the increased demand from the Indian market,” Haglund said. The airline used to operate to New Delhi seven times a week earlier, but reduced this by one flight earlier this year.

Vehvilainen also spoke at length about the possible alliance with Kingfisher, which is a member-elect of OneWorld — an alliance of 11 global airlines and 20 affiliate carriers — of which Finnair is among the original promoters.

“There are various options with Kingfisher. There could be a situation where Kingfisher carries our passengers to other Indian destinations. There could be also be code-sharing flights. It’s a win-win situation for both.”

Five of the OneWorld carriers serving India will also share Kingfisher’s new premium passenger lounge in the new Terminal 3 of New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Apart from Finnair, the other OneWorld members that fly to India are American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia and Royal Jordanian.

The Finnair chief executive said it was Kingfisher’s quality of service — despite it being deep in the red — that had prompted the proposed tie-up.

“It was most definitely Kingfisher’s service quality. For us, quality is very important for us and there can be no compromise on that,” he pointed out, adding it was for this reason Finnair has deployed an all-new fleet to India.

“Our Asian operations bring in 55 percent of our revenue.”

According to senior Finnair officials, the airline will also change its timing for its New Delhi service soon to make it more convenient for passengers. Flights out of the Indian capital will leave at 10.50 a.m. and on return, they will reach at 6.25 a.m.

“What makes flying Finnair more attractive and convenient is the transit time — just 45 minutes for 90 percent of the European cities. So in a matter of just an hour-and-a-half more, maximum, you can reach your destination,” an official said.

At 474 million euros, Finnair recorded a revenue growth of 11 percent in the April-June quarter of 2010.