IAG and Finnair switch to bellyhold on London-Helsinki partnership

IAG Cargo and Finnair Cargo will no longer take space on DHL freighters between London and Helsinki, instead opting for bellyspace on passenger aircraft.
From October 3, the two partner airlines will use bellyspace on their Airbus 350 aircraft instead of continuing their use of DHL A300-600 freighters. The last freighter flight will take place on October 1.
Although the A350 aircraft have a capacity of 30 tonnes, compared with the A300 freighter’s 42 tons, frequencies will be increased from two to five times per week, on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.
The flight will also now call at London Heathrow instead of London Luton.
"The new arrival times into London Heathrow and Helsinki will allow better connectivity for both partners onto their respective transatlantic and Asian network," an IAG Cargo spokesperson said.
The two airlines launched the Helsinki-London freighter flights in July last year, with Finnair customers gaining increased access to North America and IAG increasing its connections with Asia.
IAG Cargo has increasingly been purchasing space from freighter carriers after adopting an "outsourced capacity model".
New cargo boss Drew Crawley recently said that it would continue to take space on freighters, rather than operate its own, because of the success of the strategic switch so far.
In August, IAG Cargo added two new freighter flights through its DHL partnership.