Norwegian’s Finnish base opens today

Scandinavia´s second largest airline, Norwegian, opens its new base at Helsinki Airport today and commences domestic flights from Helsinki to Oulu and Rovaniemi. Helsinki Airport will be serving two domestic and 11 international routes.

In addition to the direct flights to Oslo and Stockholm, launched in spring 2010, Norwegian will provide new domestic connections from Helsinki Airport to Oulu and Rovaniemi. During the spring, the airline will add nine international routes to its weekly schedule. Norwegian flies to 98 destinations in Europe and North Africa from bases in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Helsinki Airport will be Norwegian´s seventh hub, serving 13 domestic and international routes.

“Opening a base here in Helsinki is a milestone for Norwegian. We´ve had tremendous response in the Finnish market in terms of ticket sales and are humble to the warm welcome our Finnish customers have given us. As a growing airline, we believe that the Finnish market is ready for more competition where both the business and leisure travelers may benefit from fares that everyone can afford,” said CEO Bjorn Kjos of Norwegian.

“Helsinki Airport welcomes Norwegian and its three base aircraft to Finland. Their establishing a base here is very important for our airport. Two domestic and 11 international routes mean a significant improvement for the airport’s connections and more choices for Finnish business and leisure travelers,” said Airport Director Juha-Pekka Pystynen.

“Norwegian’s new route to Oulu provides an affordable and competitive choice to customers whilst the route to Rovaniemi enhances connections to Lapland Airports and supports the local tourism industry ,” said Kimmo Ruotsalainen, Senior Vice President of Finavia.

Four daily flights will serve the Helsinki-Oulu route and one daily flight will operate between Helsinki and Rovaniemi. The first flights depart on March 31, 2011.