Jukka Hienonen, president and ceo of Finnair, told the Swedish Business Travel Association (SBTA) that Asia was the major growth area for his carrier.
It now did 41 flights there a week to ten Asian cities. This included daily services to Beijing, 14 a week to the Thai capital Bangkok and five a week to Shanghai.
Compared to its Asian services, the airline did just six transatlantic flights a week to New York.
Mr Hienonen said Finnair's Helsinki hub was a "natural catchment area" for 20 European cities including Edinburgh, Hamburg, Madrid and Warsaw for passengers wanting to fly with one stop to the Far East.
The meeting was attended by 225 members and held in the Arlanda Airport Convention Centre just outside Stockholm.
Delegates also heard predictions for the future of the travel industry over the next three years from sales and marketing executives from airlines, hotels, car rental and ground transport companies.
The Association's next meeting is to be held in either October or November on a date to be decided.
Ryanair files complaint against Air France
Europe's largest low cost airline Ryanair has filed a complaint to the European Commission against Air France alleging that it has received €1bn in "illegal" state aid over "the past number of years."
Air France has dismissed the Irish carrier's claims as a ""publicity stunt."
Ryanair said the French government had an airport charging policy under which fees for domestic routes were "often up to 50% lower" than on routes between France and other EU countries.
It called on the French government to "regularise their charging system" and for Air France to pay back "this illegal state aid."
Jim Callaghan, Ryanair's head of regulatory fares, said that Air France had a "rampant monopoly" in the French market which was enhanced by the airport charging system.
In a statement Air France replied that the complaint was "yet another publicity stunt by Ryanair."
It added: "It's the government which decides on taxes and charges and not the airlines.
"All airlines - including low cost airlines - French territory receive equal treatment and pay the same taxes and charges.
"Only passenger charges differ between domestic and intra-European flights as landing charges are the same for all types of flights, contrary to what Ryanair states."