Finnair
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| Finnair | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| IATA AY |
ICAO FIN |
Callsign FINNAIR |
| Founded | 1 November 1923[1] | |
| Hubs | Helsinki-Vantaa Airport | |
| Frequent flyer program | Finnair Plus | |
| Member lounge | Finnair Lounge | |
| Alliance | Oneworld | |
| Fleet size | 69 (+19 orders) | |
| Destinations | 66 | |
| Parent company | Office of the Council of State[2] | |
| Company slogan | "The fast airline between Europe and Asia" and "The fast airline between Asia and Europe" | |
| Headquarters | Vantaa, Finland | |
| Key people | Jukka Hienonen (CEO) | |
| Website: http://www.finnair.com | ||
Finnair Plc is Finland's largest airline and the flag carrier, with its headquarters 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 Finnish Government with 57.04% 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 4.5 star airline.[3]
Contents |
[edit] History
Finnair was founded as Aero O/Y (Aero Ltd) by consul Bruno Lucander in 1923. 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.
In 1975, Finnair received its first wide-bodied aircraft when the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 entered service. In 1979 it established a subsidiary company Finnaviation for domestic operations, with a 60% stake. 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. In 1988, Finnair launched a Helsinki-Beijing route, making Finnair the first Western European carrier to fly non-stop between Europe and China.
In 1987 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%).[4] Finnair's stock is listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. As of March 2007, the airline employed 9,447 staff.[4] 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.[5]
[edit] 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.
[edit] Fleet
[edit] Current fleet
The Finnair fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of March 31, 2009):
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers | Routes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319-100 | 11 | 105–123 | Amsterdam, Copenhagen, London, Oslo and other European flights | |
| Airbus A320-200 | 12 | 111–159 | Barcelona, Bergen, Copenhagen, London and other European flights | |
| Airbus A321-200 | 6 | 136–196 | Barcelona, Paris, London and other European flights | |
| Airbus A330-300 | 4 (4 orders 2 options) |
271 (42/229) | New York-JFK, Delhi, Nagoya, Osaka, Seoul (6th July, 2009). Charter flights to Phuket, winter 2009-2010. | Entry into service: 5 in 2009, 3 in 2010. The remaining aircraft will be delivered November (2009), January (2010), February (2010), April (2010).[6] Replacing MD-11. |
| Airbus A340-300 | 5 | 269 (42/227) | Seoul, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Nagoya, and Tokyo Narita | |
| Airbus A350-900 XWB | (11 orders 4 options) |
TBA | TBA | First aircraft to enter service in 2014 |
| Boeing 757-200WL | 7 | 227 | Primarily charter flights. Also in regular service with the Rome-Barcelona and Canada-London-Gatwick[7] route during summer | |
| Embraer 170 | 10 | 76 | Domestic and European Flights | |
| Embraer 190 | 10 (3 orders) | 100 | Bergen, Copenhagen, Oslo, Paris, Warsaw and other European flights | Entry into service: 3 2010–11 |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-11 | 4 | 282 (36/246) | Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, and Osaka-Kansai | All to exit service by March 2010. One to be converted for Aeroflot-Cargo |
- The average age of Finnair's fleet is 6.3 years as of March 31, 2009.[8]
- The average age of Finnair's Domestic/European fleet is 5.3 years as of March 31, 2009.[9]
- The average age of Finnair's Long Haul fleet is 6.4 years as of March 31, 2009.[10]
[edit] Orders
- On December 7, 2005, Finnair announced an order for three Airbus A340-313E that were delivered in 2007 and nine Airbus A350-900s plus four options to be delivered from 2014. The A340s/A330s will replace the MD-11s, which will all be retired by March 2010. On March 8, 2007, Finnair confirmed the order with the Airbus A350 XWB, and increased it to a total of nine firm orders and four options, for delivery starting in 2014.[11][12]
- In a press release dated the 28th of April, 2009, Finnair CEO Jukka Heinonen pondered whether after the expiry of the lease agreements on Finnair's 757s, due to occur in 2010, Finnair might replace all of its "leisure" fleet with Airbus aircraft, presumably to encourage commonality. With the exit of MD-11s by 2010, this would mean Finnair had an all Airbus fleet in its long, medium and short haul aircraft, having Embraers for its smaller capacity, regional operations. [13]
[edit] 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 (1947–1967)
- 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 (1975–1986)
- Douglas DC-9-10, DC-9-40, DC-9-50 (1971–2003)
- McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30/ER (1981–1996)
- McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30(1975–1996)
- McDonnell Douglas MD-11(1990-2010)
- Fokker F27 (1980–1987)
- McDonnell Douglas MD-82, MD-83, MD-87 (1983–2006)
- ATR-42 (1986–1990)
- Airbus A300B4 (1986–2004) Lastly leased to Air Scandic of Jersey (now defunct).
- ATR-72 (1989–2004)
- Saab 340 (1995–1999)
- Boeing 737-210C (cargo version)
[edit] Services
[edit] 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:
[edit] Finnair lounges
Finnair operates lounges at two airports:
The remaining international destinations are served with contract lounges.
[edit] Blue Wings
Finnair's in-flight magazine, Blue Wings, is published 10 times per year by Finnish media company SanomaWSOY, 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.
[edit] Meals and drinks
On most European flights, operated with Airbus aircraft and lasting longer than two hours, warm meals are served in both classes. On shorter European flights or Embraer economy class a cold meal or snack is served with free non-alcoholic drinks, beer and wine. 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.[15]
[edit] 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 A340 and A330 have an AVOD personal entertainment system on all seats with about 25 movies, several TV shows, 60 music albums, radio channels and games. MD-11 and Boeing 757 have overhead monitors with Airshow map system, movies and TV shows in Economy class. MD-11 Business class seats have either a personal monitor with nine TV channels or a DVD player with a choice of movies.[15]
[edit] Livery
Finnair has used special liveries including the "Moomins" and "Santa Claus", 1950s retro livery and Oneworld.
[edit] Uniform
Finnair cabin crew uniform was ranked as the fifth most stylish uniform in the French Bon Voyage magazine[16]. 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. Finnair requires its cabin attendants to wear gloves during take off or landing for safety reasons.
[edit] Codeshare agreements
Finnair has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:
* - also members of oneworld.
[edit] Incidents and accidents
- On 16 November 1927 a Aero O/Y Junkers F.13 disappeared en route from Tallinn to Helsinki. The aircraft was carrying two Finnish officers and the pilot. Probably got lost, landed on water and sank.
- On 10 November 1937, an Aero O/Y Junkers Ju 52 nose engine dropped off into the sea during a scheduled flight from Turku to Stockholm. The pilots managed to land safely with two remaining engines. A broken propeller blade had caused a severe imbalance tearing the engine off its mounting.
- On 14 June 1940 - Kaleva Shootdown, an Aero Junkers Ju52-3/mge aircraft flying from Tallinn to Helsinki was shot down by two Soviet bombers over the Gulf of Finland. At that time there was no war between Soviet Union and Finland.[17] There is strong evidence the plane was carrying secret documents away from Tallinn.
- On 3 January 1961 - Aero Flight 311, a DC-3 that was being flown by alcohol-intoxicated and sleep-deprived pilots crashed in Kvevlax, Finland (Koivulahti in Finnish), with a loss of all 25 on board.[18] The accident remains the worst in Finnish aviation history.
- On 8 November 1963 - Aero Flight 217, a DC-3 crash that was attributed to a malfunctioning altimeter occurred on approach to Mariehamn, Åland Islands in a poor visibility, with a loss of 22 passengers and crew. 2 passengers and a flight attendant survived the crash.[19]
[edit] References
- ^ [1]
- ^ Finnair
- ^ http://www.airlinequality.com/Airlines/AY.htm
- ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International: p. 81. 2007-04-03.
- ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0CWU/is_2000_March_23/ai_60584576/
- ^ http://www.finnairgroup.com/mediaen/mediaen_9_1.html
- ^ https://flights.gotraveldirect.com/reservations/index.cfm?fuseaction=fltRes.popSeats&flightID=168&multi=0&multiID=&flightIdB=0¤cyID=1&tmpSeatsBooked=0
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ Finnair Press Release 7 December 2005
- ^ Press Release8 March 2007
- ^ http://www.finnairgroup.com/group/group_11_2_1.html?&Id=hex_200904280000387859.html
- ^ Wegg, John (1983). Finnair. The Art of Flying since 1923. Finnair Oy. ISBN 951-99450-3-2.
- ^ a b Finnair : Travel
- ^ http://www.finnair.com/finnaircom/wps/portal/finnair/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0vM0Y_QjzKLD403MfEDSZnFe8c7e-pHgmgLd1eIkEu8szeakHe8SyhEyNUALuKDqSgYIuRlDBEJhSpCsi8Uah-SkGu8WwiGKoh9oSD7fD3yc1P1g_S99QP0C3JDoSCi3NFRUREA68Z3OA!!/delta/base64xml/L3dJdyEvd0ZNQUFzQUMvNElVRS82X1VfNDRP
- ^ 1940 Ju 52 crash
- ^ 1961 DC-3 crash
- ^ 1963 DC-3 crash
