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innish flag carrier Finnair will open a ticketing office in Jakarta on Thursday to tap the growing demand of Indonesian passengers traveling to Europe.

“We are interested in exploring the Indonesian market. With the country’s robust growth, more and more Indonesians are traveling to Europe for business and pleasure,” Finnair sales director for Singapore and Southeast Asia Petteri Kostermaa told reporters in a ceremony to inaugurate the office.

“Setting up a sales office is the first step in a process that may lead to Finnair opening a route to Jakarta.”

Passengers traveling from Indonesia can fly to Helsinki from Singapore, which is said to be the fastest connecting route to northern Europe.

Kostermaa also said that having a presence in Indonesia through its partnership with AVS Indonesia would allow Finnair to better understand the needs of travelers in Indonesia so that the airline could better meet their expectations.

“We are partnering with Garuda Indonesia, Value Air, Jet Star and Silk Air to fly Indonesian passengers to Singapore, and we are looking for more partnerships with local airlines,” Kostermaa said.

The local airlines also offered connections from Denpasar, Surabaya, Medan, Makassar and Palembang via Singapore to Europe.

Finnair uses the Airbus A340-300 and A330-300 wide-body planes, A321, A320 and A319 narrow-body planes and Embraer 190 and Embraer 170 regional jets to connect Helsinki to smaller cities.

The airline offers business and economy class flights to more than 50 destinations in Europe and 10 in Asia.

Finnish Ambassador to Jakarta Kai Sauer said he was extremely happy to officiate the event.

“Finland sees Indonesia as an important partner because Indonesia is a member of G20 and ASEAN,” Sauer said.

“The growing middle class in Indonesia creates a very attractive market,” he added.

A number of other airlines have also opened offices in Jakarta, although there were no direct flights yet from Jakarta.

Vietnam Airlines, for example, only flies from Singapore to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City.

“Passengers from Jakarta can fly with our code-share partners Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines or use other airlines at their convenience,” Vietnam Airlines general manager Rini Indrati told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

“We are still waiting for confirmation to fly directly in the summer season of March or April.”

Kenya Airways also uses a similar arrangement via Bangkok.

“There are some Indonesians who are flying to Nairobi, almost every day. They usually work with UN agencies,” Kenya general manager Defy Bondang told the Post.