The company is trying to brand itself as the gateway to Asia; its website is full of infographics showing:

  • Under the title “Fly the shortcut to Asia”, Finnair is pushing the idea that it offers the shortest possible route.
  • You save 4 hours flying to Asia with Finnair compared to other major airlines. The point is driven home by the fact it takes 10 hours 40 minutes to fly from Helsinki to Seoul, while other airlines take 14 hours 35 minutes on average.
  • Finnair also published a route map that highlights the speed and convenience of how short the route to Asia is with them.


The Economy Market Segment

With political troubles brewing in traditional Mediterranean holiday destinations, more and more Europeans have begun to venture further afield for their sun and sea. With this in mind, Finnair looks to maximize their advantage due to several factors.
The holidaymakers flying in Economy don’t care how nice the Business class is, or how beautiful the al Mourjan Business class lounge is in Doha. They want to get to their holiday destination as quick as possible.
Finnair has a considerable population in northern Europe to attract. Most are only a couple of hours flying time away. Once in Helsinki they can rapidly connect and reach Asia pretty quickly. The same is not the case for the Gulf carriers. Qatar and the UAE have tiny populations nowhere near enough to sustain operations the size of Gulf carriers.