Finnair

IATA AY ICAO FIN Callsign FINNAIR
Founded	1 November 1923[1]
Hubs	Helsinki Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Finnair Plus
Airport lounge	Finnair Lounge
Alliance	Oneworld
Subsidiaries	Flybe Nordic
Fleet size	58 (+17 Orders)
Destinations	63
Company slogan	Designed for you
Parent company	Finnair Group[2]
Headquarters	Vantaa, Finland[3]
Key people	Mika Vehviläinen (President & CEO)[4]
Website	www.finnair.com

Finnair Plc (Finnish: Finnair Oyj, Swedish: Finnair Abp)^[5] is the flag carrier and largest airline of Finland with its headquarters in Vantaa, Finland and its main hub at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both the domestic and international air travel markets in Finland. The largest owner is the government of Finland with 55.8% of the shares. Finnair is a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. In 2006, the airline transported 8.8 million passengers, on a network of 15 domestic and 55 international destinations. In addition there are about 60 seasonal charter-flight destinations.^[6] As of early 2012, the Finnish government is considering decreasing its share of Finnair ownership below 50%.^[7]

History[link]

Sud SE-210 Caravelle 10B3 Super B at Basel, 1976

A Finnair Airbus A300 in 1995.

Airbus A321-200 landing

MD-11 decorated with Moomin characters

TOKE building on the grounds of Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in Vantaa, Finland

In 1923, consul Bruno Lucander founded Finnair as Aero O/Y (Aero Ltd). The company code originates from this AY = Aero Yhtiö i.e. company in Finnish. Lucander had previously run the Finnish operations of the Estonian airline Aeronaut. In mid-1923 he concluded an agreement with Junkers Flugzeugwerke AG to provide aircraft and technical support in exchange for a 50% ownership in the new airline. The charter establishing the company was signed in Helsinki on September 12, 1923, and the company was entered into the trade register on December 11, 1923. The first flight was flown on March 20, 1924 from Helsinki to Tallinn, Estonia, with Junkers F.13 aircraft equipped with floats. The last seaplane service was operated in December 1936 following the construction of the first aerodromes in Finland.

Air raids on Helsinki and other Finnish cities made World War II a difficult period for the airline. The company saw half of its fleet requisitioned by the Finnish Air Force during that time, and it is estimated that during the Winter War of 1939 and 1940 half of the airline's passengers were children for evacuation to Sweden.

In 1946, the Finnish government acquired a majority stake in the company and re-established services to Europe on November 1, 1947. In 1953, it began branding itself as Finnair. In 1961, Finnair joined the jet age by adding Rolls-Royce Avon-engined Caravelles to its fleet. These were later exchanged with the manufacturer for Pratt & Whitney JT8D-engined Super Caravelles. In 1962 Finnair acquired a 27% controlling interest in a private Finnish airline, Kar-Air. Finnair Oy became the company's official name on June 25, 1968. In 1969, it took possession of its first U.S. made jet, a Douglas DC-8. The first transatlantic service to New York was inaugurated on May 15, 1969.^{[citation needed]} In the 1960s Finnair's head office was in Helsinki.^[8]

Finnair received its first widebody aircraft in 1975, two DC-10-30 aircraft. The first of these arrived on February 4, 1975 and entered service on February 14, 1975 with service from Helsinki to Las Palmas.

In 1979 Finnair established a subsidiary company Finnaviation for domestic operations, with a 60% stake.^[9]

In 1983, Finnair became the first operator to fly non-stop from Western Europe to Japan when Helsinki-Tokyo flights with one McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30ER aircraft were started. Up until then, flights either had to go via Moscow (Aeroflot, SAS, BA) or Anchorage (most carriers),^[10] but Finnair circumvented this requirement by flying directly north from Helsinki, over the North Pole and back south through the Bering Strait, avoiding the Soviet airspace.^[11] The aircraft was also fitted with extra fuel tanks, taking 13 hours for the trip.^[12] The routes through Soviet airspace and with a stopover in Moscow took the same 13 hours, but flights with a stopover at Anchorage took up to 16 hours, giving Finnair a competitive edge. In the spring of 1986, Soviet regulators finally cleared the way for Air France and Japan Airlines to fly non-stop Paris-Tokyo services over Soviet airspace, putting Finnair at a disadvantage.^[13]

In 1988, Finnair launched a Helsinki-Beijing route, making Finnair the first Western European carrier to fly non-stop between Europe and China.

In 1989 Finnair became the launch customer for the McDonnell Douglas MD-11, the first of which was delivered on December 7, 1990. The first revenue service with the MD-11 took place on December 20, 1990, with OH-LGA operating a flight from Helsinki to Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

Both Kar-Air and Finnaviation became wholly owned by Finnair and were integrated into the mainline operations in 1997. On September 25, 1997, Finnair Oyj (Finnair Plc) became the company's official name. In 1999, Finnair joined the Oneworld alliance. In 2001, Finnair recycled the Aero name again and established Aero Airlines, an airline based in Tallinn, Estonia. In 2003 Finnair acquired ownership of the Swedish low-cost airline, FlyNordic, which operates mainly within Scandinavia. In 2007, Finnair sold all its shares in FlyNordic to Norwegian Air Shuttle. As part of the transaction, Finnair has acquired 4.8% of Norwegian, becoming its third largest shareholder.

The State of Finland is the controlling shareholder (57.04%).^[14] Finnair's stock is listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. As of March 2007, the airline employed 9,447 staff.^[14] Finnair is the sixth oldest airline in the world with uninterrupted existence. With no fatal or hull-loss accidents since 1963, it has also been ranked one of the safest airlines in the world.^[15]

On September 18, 2011, Finnair began negotiations to transfer all of their baggage and apron services to Swissport. They are planning to conclude the negotiations by the end of 2011. According to Finnair’s Chief Operating Officer Ville Iho, Finnair is hoping to "aim for even better quality and cost-efficiency". If Swissport and Finnair reach an agreement, the employees currently working for Barona Handling, the company that handles Finnair's ramp operations at their Helsinki hub, would be transferred to Swissport, under their current terms of employment.^[16]

Destinations[link]

From its Helsinki-Vantaa base Finnair flies to Asia, North America and extensive regional network to Europe. The domestic and intra-European flights are partly carried out in cooperation with Flybe Nordic, operating an ATR/Embraer fleet.

Codeshare agreements[link]

Finnair has codeshare agreements with the following airlines, beside Oneworld members (as of April 2012):

Fleet[link]

Current[link]

Embraer 170 at Joensuu Airport in 2011.

As of October 2011, the Finnair fleet consists of the following aircraft:^[17][18][19]

Airbus A340-300

Airbus A320-200 in 2010.

Previously operated[link]

^[25]

• Airbus A300B4 (1986–2004) (with a 2-crew cockpit)
• Boeing 737-200C (1989–1995) (1 aircraft operated by Air Atlanta Icelandic)
• Convair CV-440 Metropolitan (1953–1980)
• de Havilland Dragon Rapide (1937–1947)
• Douglas DC-2 (1941–1948)
• Douglas DC-3 (1947–1969)
• Douglas DC-8-62CF (1969–1981)
• Douglas DC-8-62 (1975–1985)
• Douglas DC-9-14 / -15F / -15MC / -15RC / -41 / -51 (1971–2003)
• Fokker F27 (1980–1987)
• Junkers F.13 (1924–1935)
• Junkers G.24 (1926–1935)
• Junkers Ju 52/3m (1932–1949)
• McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 / -30ER (1975–1996)
• McDonnell Douglas MD-11 (Passenger version) (1989–2009)
• McDonnell Douglas MD-82 / -83 / -87 (1983–2006)
• Sud Aviation Caravelle 1A (1960–1961)
• Sud Aviation Caravelle III (1961–1964)
• Sud Aviation Caravelle 10B (Super Caravelle) (1964–1983)

Services[link]

Finnair Plus[link]

Finnair Plus is Finnair's frequent-flyer programme. Passengers are awarded points based on the type and class of flight flown. Once enough miles are banked into the passenger's account, a membership tier (Basic, Silver, Gold or Platinum) is awarded. There is a Junior tier exclusively for minors. Silver, Gold, and Platinum members have privileges such as premium check-in desks and priority boarding.

Finnair offers frequent-flyer partnerships with Flybe Nordic in addition to those in the Oneworld alliance:

In addition to earning points on flights with Finnair and its partner airlines, Finnair Plus members can earn points through various hotel and car rental partners in Finland and around the world along with other service partners, such as Translizer who awards Finnair Plus points on translation services purchases.

Finnair lounges[link]

Finnair operates lounges at two airports:

• Helsinki-Vantaa Airport
• Stockholm-Arlanda Airport

The remaining international destinations are served with contract lounges.

Airbus A319-100 takeoff

Blue Wings[link]

Finnair's in-flight magazine, Blue Wings, is published 10 times per year by the Finnish media group Sanoma, in English and Finnish. The first edition of Blue Wings magazine was published in 1980. The magazine 'Lento' is also published and presents in-flight information, such as the on-board shop and route information. There are domestic and international newspapers on all flights and magazines on long-haul flights in business class.

Meals and drinks[link]

On most European flights, a cold salad or sandwich is served, together with non-alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic beverages and additional food items are available for purchase. Domestic flights as well as shorter European flights have snacks for sale and free non-alcoholic beverages. Business class offers warm meals and free beverages, including alcohol. On most Intercontinental flights there is a choice of meals in economy class. In inter-continental business class on most Airbus aircraft (excluding those with fully lie-flat seats), there is dedicated snack bar.^[26]

In-flight entertainment[link]

All Finnair aircraft have LCD video monitors or personal entertainment systems except the Embraer 170s and 190s. Airbus A320 series aircraft have monitors showing exterior shots, Moving-map systems and mute television programs. Airbus A330 and Airbus A340 aircraft have an AVOD personal entertainment system on all seats with about 34 movies, 100 TV shows, 60 music albums, 24 radio channels and 16 games.^[27] The Boeing 757 has overhead monitors with Airshow map system, movies and TV shows in Economy class.^[26]

Livery[link]

Finnair in retro livery

Finnair has used special liveries including the "Moomins" and "Santa Claus", 1950s retro livery, Angry Birds and Oneworld. Finnair revealed a new livery in December 2010. Major changes include a restyled and larger lettering on the body, repainting of the engines in white, and a reversal of the color scheme for the tail fin favoring a white background with a blue stylized logo. The outline of the globe was also removed from the tail fin.^[28]

Uniform[link]

Finnair's previous cabin crew uniform was ranked as the fifth most stylish uniform by the French Bon Voyage magazine.^[29] The current uniform was designed by Ritva-Liisa Pohjalainen and launched in December 2011. Finnair has codes to indicate the rank of crew member: one stripe in the sleeve means normal cabin attendant and three stripes a purser. Additionally, female pursers have a white vertical stripe on their dresses or blouses. Finnair requires its cabin crew to wear gloves during take off and landing for safety reasons as well as female crew to switch high heels for boots during winter operations.

Corporate affairs[link]

Head office[link]

Finnair head office, Tietotie 11, at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport

Finnair's head office is located at Tietotie 11 on the grounds of Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in Vantaa, Finland.^[30]

Finnair will receive a new 70,000 square metres (750,000 sq ft) mixed-use head office, named the House of Travel and Transportation and located on a car park next to the current Finnair head office at Vantaa Airport. The facility will house 22,400 square metres (241,000 sq ft) of office space. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company will develop the head office, while SRV will build the facility. The architects will design the building to meet Leed Gold and energy Class A certificate standards. The companies involved did not disclose the monetary value of the planned complex. Construction began in July 2011 and will finish in June 2013.^[31]

Prior to being in Vantaa, the head office was located in central Helsinki.^[32] The company moved the head office there from central Helsinki in 1994. The company held a "house-warming" ceremony on 11 January 1994.^[30]

Divisions[link]

Finnair Cargo building

Two subsidiary companies, Finnair Cargo Oy and Finnair Cargo Terminal Operations Oy, form Finnair's cargo business.^[33] The offices of both companies are at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in Vantaa, Finland.^[34][35]

Incidents and accidents[link]

The company's only fatal accidents to date are the two DC-3 accidents in 1961 and 1963.

• List of incidents and accidents of Aero Oy/Finnair Oy

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Finnair

	Finland portal
	Companies portal
	Aviation portal

• Official website
• Finnair Group official website
• Route Map
• Blue Wings - Finnair Inflight Magazine
• Finnair Facebook page
• Finnair YouTube Channel
• History of Oy Aero Ab

Links to related articles v t e Members of Oneworld Members Air Berlin American Airlines British Airways Cathay Pacific Finnair Iberia Japan Airlines LAN Qantas Royal Jordanian S7 Airlines Affiliate members American Eagle AmericanConnection BA CityFlyer Comair Sun-Air Dragonair Iberia Regional J-Air JAL Express Japan Transocean Air LAN Argentina LAN Ecuador LAN Express LAN Peru MexicanaLink MexicanaClick Niki JetConnect QantasLink Globus Airlines Future members Kingfisher Airlines Malaysia Airlines Former members Aer Lingus Canadian Airlines Malév Mexicana v t e Airlines of Finland Current Air Finland Air Åland Blue1 Copterline Finnair Finncomm Airlines Flybe Nordic Turku Air Defunct Fly Lappeenranta Flying Finn Karair Wasawings Wingo xprs v t e Members of the International Air Transport Association   Africa regional office Air Austral Air Madagascar Air Malawi Air Mauritius Air Namibia Air Nigeria Air Seychelles Air Zimbabwe Airlink ALS Arik Air Comair Ethiopian Airlines Interair South Africa Kenya Airways LAM Mozambique Airlines Precision Air Safair South African Airways South African Express TAAG Angola Airlines TACV   Asia-Pacific regional office Air India Air New Zealand Air Niugini Air Pacific Air Tahiti Air Tahiti Nui Air Vanuatu Aircalin All Nippon Airways Asiana Airlines Bangkok Airways Biman Bangladesh Airlines Continental Micronesia Garuda Indonesia Japan Airlines Jet Airways JetLite Kingfisher Airlines Korean Air Malaysia Airlines Nippon Cargo Airlines Pakistan International Airlines Philippine Airlines Qantas Royal Brunei Airlines SilkAir Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines Cargo SriLankan Airlines Thai Airways International V Australia Vietnam Airlines Virgin Australia   China and North Asia regional office Air China Air Koryo Air Macau Cathay Pacific China Airlines China Cargo Airlines China Eastern Airlines China Southern Airlines Dragonair EVA Air Hainan Airlines Hong Kong Airlines Hong Kong Express Airways MIAT Mongolian Airlines Shandong Airlines Shanghai Airlines Shenzhen Airlines Sichuan Airlines TransAsia Airways Xiamen Airlines   Europe regional office Adria Airways Aegean Airlines Aer Lingus Aigle Azur AirBaltic Air Berlin Air Europa Air France Air Malta Air Nostrum Air One Alitalia Arkia Israel Airlines Atlasjet Austrian Airlines B&H Airlines Belle Air Binter Canarias Blue Panorama Airlines Blue1 British Airways British Midland International Brussels Airlines Bulgaria Air CAL Cargo Air Lines Cargolux Carpatair CCM Airlines Cimber Sterling Cirrus Airlines CityJet Condor Corsairfly Croatia Airlines Cyprus Airways Czech Airlines DHL Air UK Dubrovnik Airline El Al Estonian Air EuroAtlantic Airways European Air Transport Leipzig Eurowings Finnair Flybe Freebird Airlines Hahn Air Iberia Icelandair Israir Airlines Jat Airways KLM Lauda Air LOT Polish Airlines Lufthansa Lufthansa Cargo Lufthansa CityLine Luxair Malmö Aviation Martinair Meridiana Fly Montenegro Airlines Olympic Air Onur Air Pegasus Airlines Portugália Scandinavian Airlines SATA Air Açores Sky Airlines Skyways SunExpress Swiss International Air Lines TAP Portugal TAROM THY Turkish Airlines TNT Airways TUIfly Virgin Atlantic Airways White Airways Widerøe   Latin America and the Caribbean regional office Aerolíneas Argentinas Aeroméxico Air Jamaica Austral Líneas Aéreas Avianca Caribbean Airlines Copa Airlines Copa Airlines Colombia Cubana de Aviación Insel Air Lacsa LAN Airlines LAN Argentina LAN Cargo LAN Ecuador LAN Perú MasAir PLUNA Surinam Airways TACA Airlines TACA Peru TAM Airlines TAM Airlines (Paraguay) TAME Volaris VRG Linhas Aéreas S.A.   Middle East and North Africa regional office Afriqiyah Airways Air Algérie AlMasria Universal Airlines Bahrain Air DHL International Aviation ME EgyptAir Emirates Etihad Airways Gulf Air Iran Air Iran Aseman Airlines Jazeera Airways Jordan Aviation Kam Air Kish Air Kuwait Airways Libyan Airlines Mahan Air Middle East Airlines Nouvelair Oman Air Pamir Airways Qatar Airways Royal Air Maroc Royal Jordanian Safi Airways Saudia Sudan Airways Syrian Air Tunisair Wataniya Airways Yemenia   North America regional office Air Canada Air Transat Alaska Airlines American Airlines Atlas Air Cargojet Airways Delta Air Lines FedEx Express Hawaiian Airlines JetBlue Airways United Airlines UPS Airlines US Airways   Russia and the CIS regional office Aeroflot Aerosvit Airlines Air Astana Air Moldova Armavia Azerbaijan Airlines Belavia Donavia Georgian Airways Nordavia Rossiya S7 Airlines Transaero Airlines Ukraine International Airlines UTair Aviation Vladivostok Air Volga-Dnepr Airlines v t e Members of the Association of European Airlines Adria Airways Aegean Airlines Aerosvit airBaltic Air France Air Malta Alitalia Austrian Airlines British Airways British Midland International Brussels Airlines Cargolux Croatia Airlines Cyprus Airways Czech Airlines European Air Transport Finnair Iberia Airlines Icelandair Jat Airways KLM LOT Polish Airlines Lufthansa Luxair Montenegro Airlines Olympic Air Scandinavian Airlines Swiss International Air Lines TAP Portugal TAROM TNT Airways Turkish Airlines Ukraine International Airlines Virgin Atlantic Airways