Finnair will become the first European carrier to fly to Xi’an (XIY), when it launches direct, seasonal service to the capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi province June 14. Finnair’s fifth destination in China, Xi’an served as the capital of 13 ancient imperial dynasties and is home to the famed Terracotta Warriors, a thousands-strong army of ceramic soldiers buried with the first emperor of China. The airline will operate the service three times a week from its hub in Helsinki (HEL) through Oct. 26 with Airbus A330-300 aircraft.

“I’m very excited and pleased to announce Xi’an as our fifth destination in China,” said Mika Vehviläinen, CEO, Finnair. “The fast-growing Chinese economy continues to fuel rapid growth in demand for air travel to and from Europe, and to open up new opportunities for Finnair. We have a history of pioneering better connections between Europe and China going back to 1988, when we began flying to Beijing. We look forward to building on that history and offering the quickest and smoothest itineraries between dozens of European destinations and Xi’an.”

Finland’s flag carrier, celebrating 90 years of operation this year, recently announced plans to double its Asian revenue by 2020. As part of its Europe–Asia growth strategy, the airline became the first carrier to directly connect Europe with Chongqing, China (CKG) earlier this year and will begin seasonal service to Hanoi, Vietnam (HAN) also on June 14. Elsewhere in Asia, Finnair offers flights to Beijing (PEK), Shanghai (SHA), Hong Kong (HKG), Bangkok (BKK), Delhi (DEL), Nagoya (NKM), Osaka (ITM), Seoul (ICN), Singapore (SIN) and Tokyo (NRT).

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