Finnair is to deploy its flagship Airbus A350XWB on an additional service between Heathrow and Helsinki this winter.
The 267-seat new generation long haul aircraft will replace a smaller A320 on certain services on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays from October 5.
The carrier claims it is be the only airline operating the A350XWB to Heathrow, with the aircraft already running four weekly services from the Finnish capital.
The configuration includes 46 business class seats and 43 ‘Economy Comfort’ seats at the front of the economy class cabin, which provide four extra inches of leg room as well as noise-cancelling headphones and an amenity kit.
All seats in Economy include an 11-inch touch screen inflight entertainment system and USB power outlets.
An on board Wi-Fi portal, which can be accessed with passengers’ own devices, gives all passengers access to finnair.com and services such as destination information, customer care and pre-order shopping.
Full internet access can be purchased via the portal or by using an internet voucher code, costing economy passengers €5 for one hour, or €15 for the entire two hour, fifty five-minute flight. Access is free in business class and for frequent flyer club members.
UK, Ireland and Benelux sales director, Andrew Fish, said: UK & Ireland & Benelux, said: “The change from a smaller short haul configured Airbus A320 aircraft allows the airline to meet the increased demand for capacity and cargo on this busy route.
“The A350XWB flight from London Heathrow is perfectly timed to offer a short connection via Helsinki airport onto Finnair’s long haul A350XWB services to Asia offering customers a seamless product experience.”
Destinations served by the A350XWB include Bangkok, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul and Singapore from October 1.
Fares on the London-Helsinki route start at £117 return in economy and £437 for business class.