Finnish airline Finnair, who is known as the Nordic region’s strongest on Asian connections, has announced the introduction of their fourth US route — this time non-stop to San Francisco Airport (SFO). With the new service between Helsinki and San Francisco, the popular “City by the Bay” is moving one step closer to the Nordic travelers.

The new route with three weekly departures between Helsinki and SFO on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, will be operated from June 1st to September 30th, The new San Francisco flight will be operated within the Atlantic joint business between Finnair, American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia ensuring better connections and favorable pricing.

Currently, Finnair operates 17 long-hauls to Asian destinations but with the new SFO connection, the Finnish airline takes another bite into the growing Scandinavian market of US flights.

– The continuing longhaul investments by the Nordic airlines support the unquestionable increase in our demand for the US with San Francisco among the top destinations. With the opening of Finnair’s new direct route to San Francisco, the foundation for further increase in the number of Nordic visitors to the Bay area in the years to come has been laid. We look forward to following the development”, says Karin Gert Nielsen, Managing Director of San Francisco Travel in Scandinavia and Finland.

The popularity of California in Scandinavian countries is undisputable. The Golden State keeps on increasing its popularity and the numbers are there to back it up. In 2015, 280,000 Northerners crossed the Atlantic to get a piece of the Californian sun, splendid nature, mouthwatering cuisine, unique surf culture and much more, which was an increase of 4.5% over 2014.