A Scottish travel chief said "starved" airports north of the border are in dire need of extra services.
After the Finnish national carrier told ABTN it is looking at new routes to the UK, with a Scotland-Helsinki link a possibility, business travel expert Ken McNab said the move would be welcomed by passengers.
If Finnair did launch the route, it would be likely to focus on providing onward connections from Helsinki to Asian financial centres such as Tokyo, Beijing, and Singapore.
According to McNab, managing director of The Travel Company Edinburgh, Scotland has a shortage of capacity for people working in industry or finance, making it difficult for them to move around the world easily.
“We’ve been starved of services for years,” he said. “Both Glasgow and Edinburgh need more links with the world.”
Although he admitted the Scottish economy was not fully recovered, McNab said Scotland needs more services to satisfy the needs of its commerce.
“Yes, it’s great having Heathrow as a major hub in the world, and yes that reduces cost to a degree, but one only has to look at the success of Continental Airlines and Emirates flying out of scotland to understand that price is not everything.”
People will be prepared to pay an extra £40 or £50 per seat, predicted McNab, rather than get stuck at Heathrow for a two-hour changeover.
A spokesman at Edinburgh airport confirmed that the airport has capacity for growth.
“Edinburgh airport is constantly seeking to expand the choice of routes it provides to passengers with particular focus on our links to European capitals and long haul hubs. Any opportunity to do this will always be welcome,” he said.
The gap left after the demise of Globespan in December 2009 has been filled in passenger terms but in terms of routes, admitted the Edinburgh airport spokesman.
He said the airports strategy is to deliver “sustained and responsible growth for many years to come”.