【July 7, 2025 update】 Last month’s news that Finnair would reopen the route is now live as award inventory: Toronto – Helsinki – Shanghai Pudong.

The Helsinki connection is a bit long:

Finnair itinerary screenshot from Toronto to Shanghai via Helsinki

News

Finnair will reopen Helsinki–Toronto for next summer, operating Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays from May 4, 2026 to August 29, 2026.

  • Helsinki – Toronto: 8 hours 45 minutes
  • Toronto – Helsinki: 8 hours 5 minutes

Direct flights to Toronto

Finnair offers direct flights from Helsinki to Toronto on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays between 4 May and 29 August 2026. The flight time from Helsinki to Toronto is 8 hours and 45 minutes and the flight time from Toronto to Helsinki is 8 hours and 5 minutes.

Finnair Avios

Finnair’s frequent-flyer program also uses Avios, which is shared with British Airways and Qatar Airways—making it one of the easier currencies for Canadian collectors to earn. At the time of writing there is also a 30% bonus when transferring RBC Avios to BA Avios, a solid promotion. Finnair Avios shows up often on this blog mainly for Cathay Pacific business-class awards home, such as:

For friends in Eastern Canada, redeeming Finnair miles for Cathay business to Hong Kong at only 85k is a major sweet spot.

Example of Finnair Avios redeemed for Cathay Pacific business class

A possible route home?

Here is Finnair’s destination map:

From Helsinki into Mainland China / Greater China, the map shows Shanghai Pudong (PVG) and Hong Kong (HKG).

Next summer it may be worth trying YYZ – HEL – PVG. Looking forward to it.