Oneworld member Finnair and Star Alliance connecting partner Juneyao Air are looking to establish a joint venture (JV) between their two main hubs—Helsinki and Shanghai— strengthening their existing partnership. On April 14, Finnair and Juneyao Air announced they signed an LOI to deepen their cooperation, subject to regulatory approvals. “Despite these immensely challenging times for our industry, we at Finnair remain steadfast in our belief and commitment to China as a key market and to Juneyao Air as a key partner,” Finnair chief commercial officer Ole Orver said. Juneyao Air launched its first intercontinental route between Shanghai Pudong and Helsinki in July 2019. Since then, Finnair and Juneyao Air have had a reciprocal codeshare between the two cities and to onward destinations within Europe and China. The agreement was extended to include the airlines’ frequent flyer programs (FFPs) in August 2019, allowing customers to earn and burn miles across both networks. “Over the last year, we have built up a close and mutually beneficial partnership with Juneyao Air. Taking the important step to evolve this into a deeper cooperation, focused on our Shanghai and Helsinki hubs, will allow us to not only serve our current customers even better, but also to lay a platform for further growth in the future, once the aviation market starts to normalize,” Orver said.
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