Finnair Cargo Uses Route Exchange to Expand Freighter Services

MANCHESTER, England, January 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Finnair Cargo has successfully used Route Exchange, the online platform for air service development, to open a new Brussels base. In March 2013 Finnair Cargo will initiate weekly flights via its new Brussels hub, connecting the Belgian capital with Finnair's Helsinki hub as well as New York JFK and new destination Chicago O'Hare. The network expansion follows a partnership during the latter months of 2012 with Routes' Route Exchange business, part of Routesonline, where Finnair Cargo completed an extensive airport evaluation process to open the new Continental European destination.

This partnership has led directly to the placing of the carrier's MD-11F aircraft at Brussels Airport and demonstrates that the Route Exchange process is both efficient and successful. All parties involved were fully committed to the process with Mr Juha Järvinen, Managing Director of Finnair Cargo launching the Request for Proposals (RFP) during a briefing which he delivered in October of last year during World Routes in Abu Dhabi.

Finnair Cargo says it selected Brussels as its new European destination as it is one of Europe's key gateways for cargo, offering great connections to numerous locations in Europe with fast road feeder services covering the European air cargo market within easy reach in less than eight hours from the city. Brussels Airport, it says, is also located in the centre of European pharmaceutical industry, which offers great expansion opportunities for the carrier.

"Finnair Cargo's target is to become one of the top five cargo carriers between Europe and Northeast Asia, and the opening of Brussels cargo hub to strengthen our cargo service via Helsinki is an important step in this vision," said Mr Juha Järvinen, Managing Director of Finnair Cargo.

The successful completion of this new route evaluation process is a major endorsement for the dynamic Route Exchange online platform. "Brussels was chosen through an extensive airport evaluation process in co-operation with Route Exchange," commented Declan Maguire, Business Development Manager for the Route Exchange adding: "It was a pleasure to work with Juha and his team to aid their assessment and evaluation of new markets and opportunities to base their aircraft through our online product, Route Exchange. We wish Finnair Cargo and Brussels Airport well with this new operation."

Notes to Editors

About Routes

• Routes organises world-renowned airline and airport networking events through its regional and global Route Development Forums. Each year, there is one global event and one regional event in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas and CIS respectively. http://www.routesonline.com
  
• These events are supported by an online route development forum hosted on our website, Routesonline. The site provides airports with the ability to promote their market opportunities and acts as the airline industry's central source of market data and route development information.
  
• Integrated into Routesonline is the Route Exchange area which is the online platform for air service development. Airlines can actively campaign their target airports through this unique platform.
  
• Routes was founded in 1995 as part of the Manchester UK‐based ASM Ltd., a consultancy specialising in the field of route development for airports. http://www.asm‐global.com
  
• Routes and ASM were acquired by UBM Aviation Worldwide Ltd in August 2010. From 1^st August 2012 Routes, ASM and the Airport Cities Conference and Exhibition become part of the UBM Live division of UBM plc.
  
• UBM Live connects people and creates opportunities for companies across five continents to develop new business, meet customers, launch new products, promote their brands and expand their markets. Through premier brands such as MD&M, CPhI, IFSEC, TFM&A, Cruise Shipping Miami, the Concrete Show, the Routes portfolio of events, Airport Cities and many others, UBM Live exhibitions, conferences, awards programs, publications, websites and training and certification programs are an integral part of the marketing plans of companies across more than 20 industry sectors. http://www.ubmlive.com

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