Wizz Air has pushed past SAS into ninth place in a new list of Europe’s top 20 airline groups, with another carrier close behind.

The Finnish carrier is opening up Sapporo and Punta Cana for winter 2019-20, one snowy, the other sandy.

SAS had the lowest passenger growth of the four big Nordic airlines in 2018, but it is arguably in a better place.

SAS and Finnair are in the top 20 safest airlines, while the ten safest low-cost carriers and a few of the least safe airlines are also named.

The Finnish carrier will deploy a second widebody aircraft on its busy Helsinki-London route – and add a seventh daily frequency.

Routes to Asia make up half of the airline’s traffic measured in available seat kilometres, so why the decline?

Pilots at the flag carrier’s subsidiary Norra say they may strike, but Finnair has leased a plane from DAT just in case.

The Finnish carrier says it is responding to rising demand on both its Moscow and St Petersburg routes.

China Southern has received permission to fly to the north-eastern edge of the EU. But it might need a partner airline.

The Finnish carrier is working on a new Premium Economy class, to be added between 2020 and 2022, and will renew the cabins of its ATRs.

Finnair is to add three new leisure routes for next summer, each of which has a famous connection to food and drink.

Chief commercial officer and a member of the executive board, Juha Järvinen will move on to Virgin Atlantic.

The airline warns it now expects lower profits than last year and has taken the step of removing an incentive plan for its pilots.

The airline is wet leasing an aircraft from Air Italy for its Chicago and Miami routes in an emergency short-term deal.

New technology gives airlines access to all connected travel sellers, and sellers access to all connected airlines.

The awarded Five-Star Global Airline rating is based on customers' reviews checked against geolocation on their mobile devices.

Lisbon and Alanya expand to year-round products, while Brussels gets an occasional A330.

The short film has two directors and two actors, from Sweden and Korea, to “create a film about beautiful connections”.

A new agreement enables additional travel solutions, while a high-level Finnish delegation goes on a charm offensive.

A young people-centric banking executive, aged 44, will take over as chief executive from the first day of 2019.