Finnair
| File:Finnair.svg | |||||||
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| Founded | 1 November 1923[1] | ||||||
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| Hubs | Helsinki-Vantaa Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Finnair Plus | ||||||
| Alliance | Oneworld | ||||||
| Fleet size | 66 (+32 orders) | ||||||
| Destinations | 66 | ||||||
| Parent company | Office of the Council of State[2] | ||||||
| Headquarters | Tietotie 11 Helsinki-Vantaa Airport Vantaa, Finland | ||||||
| Key people | Mika Vehviläinen (President & CEO)[3] | ||||||
| Website | www.finnair.com | ||||||
Finnair Plc is Finland's largest airline and flag carrier, with its headquarters on the grounds of Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in Vantaa, Finland, and its main hub at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. Finnair and its subsidiary companies 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 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 50 seasonal charter-flight destinations.[citation needed] Skytrax ranks Finnair as a 4 star airline.[4]
History
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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, the name Finnair was adopted as the airline's name. 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.[5]
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.[6]
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)[7], 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.[8] The aircraft was also fitted with extra fuel tanks, taking 13 hours for the trip.[9] 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.[10]
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.
The State of Finland is the controlling shareholder (57.04%).[11] Finnair's stock is listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. As of March 2007, the airline employed 9,447 staff.[11] 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.[12]
Destinations
From its Helsinki-Vantaa base Finnair flies to Asia and North America, and is now extending its European operations with the introduction of Embraer jets. The domestic operations are partly carried out in cooperation with Finncomm Airlines, operating an ATR/Embraer fleet.
Fleet
Current fleet
The Finnair fleet consists of the following aircraft (May 23, 2010):
| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Passengers (Business/Economy) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319-100 | 11 | 0 | 123 (0/123) |
| Airbus A320-200 | 12 | 0 | 159 (0/159) |
| Airbus A321-200 | 6 | 0 | 196 (0/196) |
| Airbus A330-300 | 7 | 7 | 271 (42/229), 263(45/218) or 297(32/265) |
| Airbus A340-300 | 5 | 0 | 269 (42/227) |
| Airbus A350-900 | 0 | 11 | 315 (TBA/TBA) |
| Boeing 757-200 | 4 | 0 | 227 (0/227) (Returning to ILFC) |
| Embraer E-170 | 10** | 0 | 76 (0/76) |
| Embraer E-190 | 10 | 13 | 100 (0/100) |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-11F | 2(+1) | 0 | Finnair Cargo operations |
| Total | 66 | 32 |
- The average age of Finnair's fleet is 6.1 years as of 31 March 2010.
- Embraer 170 : 10 Owned by Finnair Group. 2 Leased to Finncomm Airlines & 2 to Kenya Airways
Previously operated
- Junkers F.13 (1924–1935)
- Junkers G.24 (1926–1935)
- Junkers Ju 52/3m (1932–1949)
- de Havilland Dragon Rapide (1937–1947)
- Douglas DC-2 (1941–1948)
- Douglas DC-3 (1947–1969)
- Convair CV-440 Metropolitan (1953–1980)
- Sud Aviation Caravelle 1A (1960–1961)
- Sud Aviation Caravelle III (1961–1964)
- Sud Aviation Caravelle 10B (Super Caravelle) (1964–1983)
- Douglas DC-8-62CF (1969–1981)
- Douglas DC-8-62 (1975–1985)
- McDonnell Douglas DC-9(1971–2003)
- McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 (1975–1996)
- Fokker F27 (1980–1987)
- McDonnell Douglas MD-82, McDonnell Douglas MD-83, McDonnell Douglas MD-87 (1983–2006)
- Airbus A300B4 (1986–2004) (with a 2-crew cockpit)
Services
Finnair Plus
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 the following airlines, in addition to those in the Oneworld alliance:
Finnair lounges
Finnair operates lounges at two airports:
The remaining international destinations are served with contract lounges.
Blue Wings
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
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 are a choice of meals in economy class. In inter-continental business class on Airbus aircraft, there is dedicated snack bar.[14]
In-flight entertainment
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 25 movies, several TV shows, 60 music albums, radio channels and games. The Boeing 757 has overhead monitors with Airshow map system, movies and TV shows in Economy class.[14]
Livery
Finnair has used special liveries including the "Moomins" and "Santa Claus", 1950s retro livery and Oneworld.
Uniform
Finnair cabin crew uniform was ranked as the fifth most stylish uniform by the French Bon Voyage magazine[15]. Finnair has codes to indicate the rank of crew member: one stripe in the sleeve means normal cabin attendant, two stripes means a service chef (this rank no longer bears any special role within the crew) and three stripes a purser. Male cabin crew wear ties with plane symbols on them and the pilots wear ties with compass symbols. Yellow ties and scarfs are worn on leisure flights. Finnair requires its cabin attendants to wear gloves during take off or landing for safety reasons.
Codeshare agreements
Finnair has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:
* - also members of oneworld. ^ - members of Star Alliance. " - members of SkyTeam.
Head office
Finnair's head office is located in Tietotie 11 on the grounds of Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in Vantaa, Finland.[16]
Prior to being in Vantaa, the head office was located in central Helsinki.[17] The company moved the head office there from central Helsinki in 1994. The company held a "house-warming" ceremony on 11 January 1994.[16]
Incidents and accidents
The company's only fatal accidents to date are the two DC-3 accidents in 1961 and 1963. No major incidents or accidents have occurred since.
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ Finnair
- ^ Finnair Press Release
- ^ http://www.airlinequality.com/Airlines/AY.htm
- ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 2 April 1964. 511.
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ [5]
- ^ [6]
- ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 81.
- ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0CWU/is_2000_March_23/ai_60584576/
- ^ Wegg, John (1983). Finnair. The Art of Flying since 1923. Finnair Oy. ISBN 951-99450-3-2.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters:|origmonth=,|month=,|chapterurl=,|origdate=, and|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b Finnair : Travel
- ^ http://www.finnair.com/finnaircom/wps/portal/finnair/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0vM0Y_QjzKLD403MfEDSZnFe8c7e-pHgmgLd1eIkEu8szeakHe8SyhEyNUALuKDqSgYIuRlDBEJhSpCsi8Uah-SkGu8WwiGKoh9oSD7fD3yc1P1g_S99QP0C3JDoSCi3NFRUREA68Z3OA!!/delta/base64xml/L3dJdyEvd0ZNQUFzQUMvNElVRS82X1VfNDRP
- ^ a b "1994." Finnair Group. Retrieved on 14 February 2010.
- ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 24–30 March 1993. "Finnair" 92.
