The Finnish capital of Helsinki welcomed the first Qatar Airways flight from Doha today, inaugurating the new daily service that will connect Helsinki to more than 150 destinations worldwide. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker and the Finnish Ambassador to Qatar, Her Excellency Mrs. Riitta Swan travelled on board the inaugural flight and were greeted by a VIP delegation including Finland’s Minister of Transport and Communications, Mrs. Anne Berner; the President and Chief Executive Officer of Finavia, Mr. Kari Savolainen; the Chief Executive Officer of Visit Helsinki, Mrs. Tuulikki Becker; and Finpro Executive Vice President, Head of Visit Finland, Mr. Paavo Virkkunen.

To celebrate this special occasion the airline flew one of its new-generation Airbus A350 aircraft to Helsinki, and will operate the daily Helsinki service with an Airbus A320 going forward. Qatar Airways’ Airbus A320 has a two-class configuration with 12 seats in Business Class and 120 seats in Economy Class.

The launch of the new route to Helsinki completes Qatar Airways’ network strategy of serving Nordic capitals, which currently includes Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo, and reinforces its commitment to serving the people of Northern Europe.

To support the new destination launch, the airline also announced a new code-share partnership with Finnair, which is effective from today, expanding Qatar Airways’ presence in the Baltic States and Nordic countries while strengthening Finnair’s network in the Middle East and beyond.

H.E. Mr. Al Baker said: “Launching our new route to Helsinki is a proud moment for the airline, completing our strategy of serving the needs of Europe’s Nordic capitals and facilitating connections for businesses, cultures and families between Finns and people throughout the world. With this new service, the people of Helsinki have convenient and world-class air service to more destinations, and we look forward to welcoming our new customers on board.”

Qatar Airways’ inaugural flight to Finland receives a traditional water cannon salute upon arrival at Helsinki airport.

Finavia President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kari Savolainen, said: “We want to express our warmest welcome to Qatar Airways and its new route between Helsinki and Doha. This is a fantastic addition to our selection of destinations and thanks to the route launch Helsinki Airport now has even better connections to the world. We ensure that our passengers enjoy their journey before and between their flights at the airport, selected as the best airport in Northern Europe in 2016.”

Finpro Executive Vice President, Head of Visit Finland, Mr. Paavo Virkkunen, said: “We are happy to welcome Qatar Airways with its global network to open access to Finland from markets that represent new growth potential to the Finnish travel industry. We believe that travellers from the Middle East and from other countries that have now become connected with Finland will find the fresh and pure Nordic nature a new kind of experience really worth exploring.”

Helsinki – Doha Flight Schedules:

Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday

Doha (DOH) to Helsinki (HEL) QR303 departs: 01:35 arrives: 08:10

Helsinki (HEL) to Doha (DOH) to QR304 departs: 10:55 arrives: 17:15

Monday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday

Doha (DOH) to Helsinki (HEL) QR301 departs: 08:15 arrives: 14:50

Helsinki (HEL) to Doha (DOH) QR302 departs: 17:45 arrives 00:05+1