Following the Shanghai flights from late October, Finnair will deploy the A350 on flights to Beijing Capital, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Hong Kong and Singapore Changi over the following months.

Finnair has officially outlined its planned A350-900 operating schedule with the new aircraft type set to take its longhaul debut on 25 October with flfight  to Shanghai Pudong, China. The Finnish carrier will officially begin A350 operations on 5 October with crew familiarization flights domestically before deploying the twinjet onto regional services in Europe. Following the Shanghai flights from 25 October, Finnair will deploy the A350 on flights to Beijing Capital from 21 November, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi from 1 December, Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok from February 2016 and Singapore Changi from May next year.

Finnair has nineteen A350-900 aircraft on order with the first four due by the end of this year. Another seven will be delivered in 2016 and 2017, with the remaining eight to be delivered between 2018 and 2023. Finnair plans to phase out its seven A340-300s by the end of 2017, leaving a widebody fleet that comprises A330-300s and A350 aircraft.

Source: Payload issue, May 2015