Finnair Cargo will fly to Shanghai twice a week; the new service to New York bumps that route up to twice a week, as well. World Airways is providing MD11s for the new services.

"Viewed from Shanghai, the new freighter services offer connections to Northern Europe and also provide fast services from Northern Europe to Shanghai. In addition to Shanghai flights more capacity to New York is welcomed," Pertti Mero, Finnair's vice president, global sales, said in a statement.

Purchasing capacity will help Finnair expand to new destinations; another avenue is opening up soon. The carrier will also be a minority shareholder in the new Nordic Global Airlines, an all-cargo operator that plans to start operations from Helsinki later this year with services to Asia and North America.

“We believe that Helsinki is a natural base for a wide-body freighter operation, given its proximity to Asia and location among the growing economies of Europe. We expect NGA to benefit from these natural advantages as it grows its fleet,” Brian Neff, president of Neff Capital Management, said upon announcing the new airline in March.

Last month, Finnair launched five new passenger flights from Helsinki to Hong Kong for summer travelers.