Happiness takes off from Toronto as Finnair launches service to Helsinki
The official airline of Santa Claus arrived in Toronto last week, ready to transport Canadians to the Happiest Country in the World.
Yes, Finnair is back in Canada after an 11-year absence (it left the market in 2015) inaugurating its new, thrice weekly service between Toronto and Helsinki on May 4, which will operate this summer from May to the end of August.
And yes, Finnair is the official airline of Santa Claus, and it has held that designation since 1983. As for Finland, it was named the World’s Happiest Country for the 9th year in a row by the 2026 World Happiness Report.
What could be better … Santa Claus and Happiness.
And there was certainly a lot of happiness in Toronto as Finnair executives celebrated the carrier’s return to Canada to operate “the first and only direct, transatlantic flight between Canada and Finland.”
Finnair’s General Manager, North America, Javier Roig Sanchez observed that: “As Finnair continues to grow its presence in the North American market, Canada was a welcome addition to the network. Whether they are exploring Helsinki or connecting elsewhere in the Nordics or Europe, we look forward to welcoming more Canadians than ever this summer.”
Roig Sanchez also underlined Finnair’s commitment to the Toronto-Helsinki route telling Travel Courier that “this flight is planned and on sale for next year (2027), so we are bringing back Toronto to our network from April 2027 – again, three times per week.”
Toronto becomes Finnair’s 7th gateway in North America and only gateway out of Canada. The others – all in the U.S. – include Miami; New York JFK; Chicago; Dallas; Los Angeles and Seattle.
Out of Toronto, Finnair will use Airbus A330 equipment with a 3-class configuration – Business, Premium Economy and Economy – with Roig Sanchez pointing to the airline’s AirLounge seat, – with its innovative pod-like, no-recline design – as a notable feature of its business class offering.
Said Roig Sanchez: “We are the only ones offering this kind of a seat which is not reclining, it is of course a full flat bed coming from underneath, but it’s a really wide space, giving a lot of space (when the passenger is seated) – so wide you can even do some Yoga positions on it – it’s like sitting on a really good sofa at home.”
During the Toronto inaugural event, Roig Sanchez and the Finnair team were joined by Finland’s Ambassador to Canada, Hanna-Leena Korteniemi.
Ambassador Korteniemi told those attending a luncheon event to mark the occasion, that Finnair’s new flights further strengthen the connections between Finland and Canada, observing: “Finland offers something different and Finnair is making it possible for Canadians to experience it.”
Asked about Finland’s attraction for Canadians, Roig Sanchez said that along with being named the Happiest Country in the World, “it’s a Nordic country where everything works. It’s all about being in clean air space. [It’s] super well organized. 100% sustainable. And it offers … city, culture, gastronomy and on top of that, it also offers the 1,000 Lakes Region in the centre (of the country) and then in the North, we have Finnish Lapland, which is over the Arctic Circle and there we have the real home of Santa Claus.”
As for Helsinki, beyond being a compelling and accessible urban destination, Finnair’s home hub is also a major regional gateway that will provide Canadian travellers with the ability to connect to major destinations in Europe, the Baltics, Nordics and South Asia market, such as New Delhi India.
Being a member of the oneworld alliance, those strong partnerships — with the likes of American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus – allows Finnair to extend its network through its partner airlines.
Here in Canada, the Finnish carrier also has an interline arrangement with WestJet, that will allow travellers from Canadian cities like Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa among others to connect with its Toronto-Helsinki flights.
However, considering that this is a new service, the question does arise about the impact that rising aviation fuel prices could have.
Responding to the question, Roig Sanchez told Travel Courier: “We can say today that we are going to be stable up to the end of the year (2026) because of the fact that Finnair has been hedging its fuel for up to 86%, for instance, for Q1; 82% for Q2; and up to 70% for the rest of the year (2026).
As a result, he continued Finnair is in a “really stable” position, and while he agreed that “you never know what will happen, for this year we can guarantee stability in our network.”
And he added: “We didn’t cancel anything and we don’t think we are going to have to change those plans because as I say Finnair has hedged its fuel needs and that was done before anyone knew that the Mideast fuel crisis would happen.”
So, what’s the takeaway for travel advisors and their clients, well says Roig Sanchez: “I would love them to know our goals (as an airline) which are safety, punctuality, customer first and we, as a team, make all these things happen in a really, really good way.”
