Finnair’s UK ambitions take flight with Flybe codeshare extension
Finland's flag carrier has bolstered a codesharing deal with Flybe to amp up its UK connectivity.
Finnair is extending its UK network with new codeshare services on Flybe flights between several European cities and the UK.
The airline's codes will be added to the following Flybe services when a Finnair flight is also included in the booking:
- Paris – Cardiff/Doncaster-Sheffield/Birmingham/Southampton
- Düsseldorf – Birmingham
- Düsseldorf – Birmingham/Southampton
- Amsterdam – Birmingham/Southampton/Doncaster-Sheffield
- Berlin – Birmingham
Read more: Flybe takes off at Heathrow: It's starting new Scottish flights next year
In 2014, the airlines signed a codeshare agreement, deeming it "a win-win" for both sides.
The airlines currently cooperate on Flybe-operated routes between Manchester and eight regional airports in the UK (Aberdeen, Belfast, Edinburgh, Exeter, Isle of Man, Jersey, Newquay and Southampton).
The Nordic carrier flies between Asia, Europe and North America and carries more than 10m passengers each year.
"Our growing partnership with Flybe will provide UK travellers with better travel options and even more convenient connections to Finnair's extensive network in Asia," said Philip Lewin, head of partnerships and alliances at Finnair.
"The extension of our well-established codeshare partnership with Finnair now offers our customers yet more opportunity to travel to and from the UK regions," said Vincent Hodder, Flybe's chief revenue officer. "It gives both Flybe and Finnair increased network reach and reinforces our commitment to provide our customers with convenient seamless ‘One Stop to the World’ connections from their local airport.”
Read more: Flybe adds 12 Finnair routes
In December, Flybe announced the appointment of its new chief executive, Christine Ourmieres-Widener, who has just taken over from Saad Hammad.
Ourmieres-Widener's background is in aviation and the travel industry, with stints at Air France and Amadeus France, before she became chief executive of Irish airline CityJet in 2010, for five years.
Hammad stood down in October 2016 "with immediate effect", with the regional airline saying it was "time for a new CEO to lead the next phase of Flybe's long-term development".