Chinese carrier Beijing Capital Airlines appears to have its eyes on the Nordic region, with the airline filing for two new routes to Copenhagen and Helsinki set to begin next year.

The services are not available to book on the airline’s website, but industry website routesonline.com reports that the airline has filed for two thrice-weekly services from Beijing to the Danish and Finnish capitals. The Copenhagen route is expected to begin on March 27 next year, with the Helsinki service following from May 30. The carrier’s Airbus A330 aircraft has been earmarked for both services.

Details of the routes are as follows (all times local):

Beijing-Copenhagen (March 27, 2018)

Flight No. From To Departs Arrives Days
JD387 Beijing Copenhagen 0230 0735 Tue, Thu, Sat
JD388 Copenhagen Beijing 0935 0105+1

Beijing-Helsinki (May 30, 2018)

Flight No. From To Departs Arrives Days
JD407 Beijing Helsinki 0230 0710 Wed, Fri, Sun
JD408 Helsinki Beijing 1110 0105+1

These services may not be set in stone, however. Earlier this year, the carrier announced it would begin flying non-stop between Qingdao and London Heathrow three times a week starting this summer, however this didn’t happen. A press release from Beijing Capital Airlines last week had instead revised this to a twice-weekly service flying on Monday and Friday, now due to take off on November 17, though these flights are similarly unavailable to book on the airline’s website. The carrier is also set to begin flying direct to Sydney from Qingdao starting October 30.

Details of the revised Qingdao-London service are as follows (all times local):

Qingdao-London (November 17, 2017)

Flight No. From To Departs Arrives Days
JD431 Qingdao London 1505 1950 Mon, Fri
JD432 London Qingdao 2200 1730+1

Beijing Capital Airlines isn’t the only carrier to set its sights on services between China and the Nordic region. Chinese budget airline Lucky Air is set to connect Kunming and Chengdu to Helsinki in January, as part of a one-stop Kunming-Chengdu-Helsinki service.

Meanwhile Finland’s flag carrier, Finnair, will begin flying non-stop between Helsinki and Nanjing from May 13, 2018, marking its seventh destination in Greater China. Further expansion by the airline in Asia has also been speculated after the airline was recently granted additional overfly rights by the Russian government. This would enable it to operate up to 80 flights per week via the Trans-Siberian route, up from its current 65.

And it’s not just airlines. Chinese online and mobile payment platform Alipay – a subsidiary of online marketplace Alibaba – has also been targeting the Nordic region. Last month it signed multiple memoranda of understanding with Finpro in Finland, Svensk Handel in Sweden and the Scandinavian Tourist Board to expand its usage in the area.

intl.jdair.net