Finnair is scheduled to return to Hong Kong after an unexpected five-month hiatus, with passenger flights restarting on July 7th. Flights to the Asian airport will initially operate once a week, utilizing the airline's flagship Airbus A350s.

Hong Kong eases on restrictions

The Finnish flag carrier decided to return to Hong Kong after the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) announced an official reopening of its borders to more international flights. Previously, Hong Kong was one of Asia's most hermit cities due to its strict COVID-19 restrictions. One such limitation was not allowing mixed flights operated with foreign pilots and locally-based cabin crew or vice versa, as it would complicate quarantine measures.

In response, Finnair was left without much choice but to reduce weekly frequencies to Hong Kong since February. The frequencies were eventually reduced from daily to five times weekly and then to just thrice weekly, but it would not last very long. Finally, Finnair decided to suspend all flights to Hong Kong until the end of March, when things would have hopefully improved in terms of restrictions.

Unfortunately by then, Finnair was faced with an additional challenge presenting in the closure of Russian airspace, which forced the Nordic carrier to make further changes to its Asian network schedules. This meant the continued suspension of flights to Hong Kong until the Asian city made an official reopening announcement. The restrictions were so drastic that, ultimately, only a small handful of European destinations were being served direct or non-stop from Hong Kong International Airport.

Returning with caution

With the official reopening, Finnair could not be more excited to return to one of its most popular Asian destinations. However, the airline remains cautious, beginning with just one weekly flight. While it is uncertain when Finnair plans to increase the frequencies, it will undoubtedly happen as Hong Kong continues to ease up in the coming months.

Previously, AY99 had a scheduled departure time of departure of 23:55, which has since changed to 10 minutes after the upcoming resumption, although the return flight's scheduled time of departure remains the same. Finnair mentioned that the route was explicitly timed to allow more convenient connections from the airline's destinations across the UK and Ireland, including London, Manchester, Dublin, and Edinburgh.

A new experience awaits

Finnair's comeback to Hong Kong is just one good piece of news for passengers flying on the route. Because from August 4th, Finnair will be introducing an elevated long-haul experience with a brand-new premium economy cabin. The 12 hours or so of flight time will seem like a good night's sleep for passengers as the premium economy cabin boasts approximately 50% more space than a single economy seat.

The oneworld member airline will be boasting a renewed business class seat arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration. Though the new seats may not recline within the enclosed shell, it still offers a lie-flat bed for passengers to tuck their feet into a recess beneath the shelf of the seat in front. It might seem unusual for a business class seat, but as explained by David Kondo, who leads Finnair's Customer Experience team:

"By doing away with complicated seat mechanisms and using 3D curved shells, we're able to provide a larger flexible living space. This allows you to move more freely and take up different positions that traditional aircraft seats do not allow."

Additionally, even the economy class cabin got a quick refresh. Described as a Nordic class, the new seats are considered the widest in the category and also present as lighter since they feature memory form cushions. Finnair will also be boasting improved ergonomics to enhance passengers' travel comfort and additional storage capabilities to ensure no one loses anything on their flight.