China will increase its connectivity to Europe as Finnair and British Airways are set to introduce new direct flight services to Xi'an and Chengdu, respectively.

Xi'an will to become connected to Europe for the first time, when Finnair launches a direct service from Helsinki to Xi'an, home of the Terracotta Warriors, in summer 2013.

This comes as part of Finnair's Asian expansion strategy and will be the airline's fifth destination in China, following flights to Chongqing, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

British Airways has announced planned to launch a direct flight service from London Heathrow to Chengdu, which is expected to commence in September 2013. The airline currently operates 13 flights weekly to Beijing and Shanghai. This new flight route will mark the first direct link between Chengdu and London.

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