By Anne Kauranen

HELSINKI, (Reuters) –Finnair will continue to be a standalone airline. It will stick to its Asia-focused strategy and add new routes to the United States. Topi Manner, chief executive of Finnair said Friday.

Finland’s national carrier is heavily focused on connecting to Asia through its Helsinki hub. Therefore, it is crucial for the recovery of Asian traffic after the collapse caused by pandemic restrictions.

Finnair anticipates that business conditions will be back to normal by the end of the year, following pandemic disruptions.

Manner stated that they are positive about summer and said in an interview with Reuters that Manner expected South Korea, Japan, and South Korea not to impose travel restrictions on summer in the north hemisphere.

“We are confident that Asia will soon open up. Manner explained that we have been partially pivoting towards North America in the interim.

He said that Finnair will be adding new destinations to its summer schedule, including the U.S. cities Dallas and Seattle.

After the airline had announced a $200 million ($228million) investment to renew its long-haul cabin fleet, he spoke after it revealed a redesign of the business cabin and new premium economy services.

The pandemic has accelerated this trend. “People are ready to enhance the experience,” said he.

Manner explained that new cabin classes were being introduced to respond to growing demand for premium leisure travel. Manner added that a new business seat, “the air lounge”, was also being introduced. It is nest-like and offers greater privacy. Although it does not recline, the cabin can be altered to accommodate horizontal sleeping.

“We, as carriers of freight, need to be differentiated and we’ve chosen quality to do so,” he stated.

Finnair uses Airbus A330/A350 aircraft on long-haul flights.

Finnair, like many other airlines, has yet to join the wave of orders from the A320neo narrowbody jets, which consume 15% less fuel.

According to Finnair, its 35 Airbus A320 family jets include some aircraft as old as 21-years but other planes were produced in 2018, and so on.

Manner was asked if Finnair would renew its medium haul fleet. He said that it might in 3 or 4 years. However, Manner stressed the importance sustainable aviation fuel since the airline aims to achieve net zero emission by 2045.

($1 = 0.8770 euros)