Finnair

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Finnair
Finnair Logo.svg
IATA
AY		 ICAO
FIN		 Callsign
FINNAIR
Founded 1 November 1923[1]
Hubs Helsinki Airport
Brussels Airport (Cargo)
Frequent-flyer program Finnair Plus
Airport lounge Finnair Lounge
Alliance Oneworld
Subsidiaries Flybe Nordic
Fleet size 44
Destinations 63
Company slogan Designed for you
Parent company Finnair Group[2]
Headquarters Vantaa, Finland[3]
Key people Pekka Vauramo (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 and its main hub at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both the domestic and international air travel markets in Finland, and its largest owner is the government of Finland, with 57.04% of the shares.

Finnair is the fifth 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.[6]

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, as well as about 60 seasonal charter-flight destinations.[7] As of March 2007, the airline employed 9,447 staff.[8]

Contents

History [edit]

Founding [edit]

Sud SE-210 Caravelle 10B3 Super B at Basel, 1976
Finnair MD-87 seen at Stuttgart Airport in 1991.
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.

World War II era [edit]

Air raids on Helsinki and other Finnish cities made World War II a difficult period for the airline. Half the fleet was requisitioned by the Finnish Air Force, and it is estimated that during the Winter War of 1939 and 1940 half of the airline's passengers were children being evacuated 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.

Jet Age (1970s) [edit]

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.[9]

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.[10]

Expansion (1980s) [edit]

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),[11] 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.[12] The aircraft was also fitted with extra fuel tanks, taking 13 hours for the trip.[13] 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 nonstop Paris-Tokyo services over Soviet airspace, putting Finnair at a disadvantage.[14]

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

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.

Merger of two subsidiaries [edit]

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 airline 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.

Contemporary history (2011–present) [edit]

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.[15]

Corporate affairs [edit]

Ownership [edit]

The State of Finland is the controlling shareholder (57.04%).[8] Finnair's stock is listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange.

As of early 2012, the Finnish government was considering decreasing its share of Finnair ownership below 50%.[16]

Subsidiaries and associates [edit]

Finnair Cargo building

Two subsidiary companies, Finnair Cargo Oy and Finnair Cargo Terminal Operations Oy, form Finnair's cargo business.[17] The offices of both companies are at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.[18][19]

Key business trends [edit]

The key trends for Finnair over recent years are shown below (as at year ending 31 December):

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Turnover (€ m) 1,558 1,683 1,871 1,990 2,181 2,256 1,838 2,023 2,257 2,449
Profits (EBT) (€ m) −22 31 88 −15 139 −62 −125 −33 −111.5 16.5
Number of employees (average) 9,981 9,522 9,447 9,598 9,480 9,595 8,797 7,578 7,467 6,784
Number of passengers (m) 6.8 8.1 8.5 8.8 8.7 8.3 7.4 7.1 8.0 8.8
Passenger load factor (%) 69.6 71.2 72.6 75.2 75.5 75.2 75.9 76.5 73.3 77.6
Number of aircraft (at year end) 59 69 69 72 62 65 68 63 65 45
Notes/sources [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29]

Head office [edit]

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

Finnair's head office has been located at Tietotie 11, in the grounds of Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, since 1994.[30] Before this, the head office had been located in central Helsinki,[31] and to celebrate the move, the company held a "house-warming" ceremony on 11 January 1994.[30]

Finnair is due to move to a new 70,000 square metres (750,000 sq ft) mixed-use head office, to be 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. Construction began in July 2011 and is due to be completed in June 2013.[32]

Destinations [edit]

Main article: Finnair destinations

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 [edit]

Finnair has codeshare agreements with the following airlines, beside Oneworld members (as of April 2013):

Fleet [edit]

Current fleet [edit]

A Finnair Airbus A319-100 at Düsseldorf Airport in 2004.
Airbus A320-200 in 2010.
Embraer 170 at Joensuu Airport in 2011.

As of December 2012, the Finnair fleet consists of the following aircraft:[33][34][35]

Finnair fleet
Aircraft Total Orders Passengers Notes
P Y
Total
Airbus A319-100 9 — 0 138 138
Airbus A320-200 10 — 0 159 159
Airbus A321-200 6 5 0 196 196 Deliveries in 2013[36]
Airbus A330-300 4 — 42 229 271 [37]
1 45 218 263 [38]
3 32 265 297 [39]
Airbus A340-300 7 — 42 227 269
Airbus A350-900 — 11(+8) TBA 315 Deliveries in 2015,[40] replacing A340
Boeing 757-200 4 — 0 227 227 Operated mostly on charter flights. To be phased out. Replacement aircraft A321.
Total 44 16

Previously operated [edit]

Finnair has previously operated the following equipment:[41]

Services [edit]

Finnair Plus [edit]

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.

Finnair lounges [edit]

Finnair operates lounges at two airports:

The remaining international destinations are served with contract lounges.

Airbus A319-100 takeoff

Blue Wings [edit]

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

Meals and drinks [edit]

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 a dedicated snack bar.[42]

In-flight entertainment [edit]

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.[43] The Boeing 757 has overhead monitors with Airshow map system, movies and TV shows in Economy class.[42]

Livery [edit]

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.[44]

Uniform [edit]

Finnair's previous cabin crew uniform was ranked as the fifth most stylish uniform by the French Bon Voyage magazine.[45] 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.

Incidents and accidents [edit]

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


References [edit]

  1. ^ Finnair. Finnairgroup.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  2. ^ Finnair
  3. ^ "Airline Membership". IATA. 
  4. ^ https://newsclient.omxgroup.com/cdsPublic/viewDisclosure.action?disclosureId=549855&lang=en
  5. ^ "Articles of Association." Finnair. Retrieved on 18 February 2011. "Section 1 The name of the Company is Finnair Oyj, and its domicile is Helsinki. The name of the Company in Swedish is Finnair Abp and in English Finnair PIc."
  6. ^ JACDEC SAFETY RANKING 2012 retrieved 1 April 2013
  7. ^ "Destinations". Finnair Group. Retrieved January 28, 2012. 
  8. ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 81. 
  9. ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 2 April 1964. 511.
  10. ^ Finnair. Finnairgroup.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  11. ^ Flying over not so friendly Countries [Archive] - PPRuNe Forums. Pprune.org (1967-11-04). Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  12. ^ 1986 | 2900 | Flight Archive. Flightglobal.com (1986-10-25). Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  13. ^ boeing | caravelle | 1983 | 0592 | Flight Archive. Flightglobal.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  14. ^ 1986 | 0806 | Flight Archive. Flightglobal.com (1986-04-05). Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  15. ^ "Finnair is in negotiations to transfer baggage and apron services to Swissport at Helsinki Airport". Ground Handling Information. Retrieved 25 September 2011. 
  16. ^ Terhi Uusivaara. "Hautala valmis luopumaan Finnairin enemmistöosuudesta | Yle Uutiset". yle.fi. Retrieved 2012-10-15. 
  17. ^ "Company Info." Finnair Cargo. Retrieved on 13 September 2011.
  18. ^ "Contact Info." Finnair Cargo. Retrieved on 13 September 2011. "ADDRESS Finnair Cargo Oy Rahtitie 1, 01530 Vantaa"
  19. ^ "Head Office." Finnair Cargo. Retrieved on 13 September 2011. "HEAD OFFICE CONTACTS Finnair Cargo / Finnair Cargo Terminal Operations head office: Finnair Cargo Oy / Finnair Cargo Terminal Operations Oy Rahtitie 1 FIN-01530 Vantaa FINLAND"
  20. ^ "Financial Report 2003". Retrieved 5 December 2012. 
  21. ^ "Annual Report 2004". Retrieved 5 December 2012. 
  22. ^ "Financial Report 2005". Retrieved 5 December 2012. 
  23. ^ "Financial Report 2006". Retrieved 5 December 2012. 
  24. ^ "Financial Report 2007". Retrieved 5 December 2012. 
  25. ^ "Financial Report 2008". Retrieved 5 December 2012. 
  26. ^ "Financial Report 2009". Retrieved 5 December 2012. 
  27. ^ "Financial Report 2010". Retrieved 5 December 2012. 
  28. ^ "Financial Report 2011". Retrieved 5 December 2012. 
  29. ^ "Financial Report 2012". Retrieved 8 February 2013. 
  30. ^ a b "1994." Finnair Group. Retrieved on 14 February 2010. "Finnair's head office moved from the centre of Helsinki to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. The official 'house-warming' at Tietotie 11 was held on 11th January."
  31. ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 24–30 March 1993. "Finnair" 92.
  32. ^ "Finnish pension fund to develop Finnair headquarters." Property Investor Europe. 6 July 2011. Retrieved on 13 September 2011.
  33. ^ Finnair official fleet page
  34. ^ "Orders & deliveries". Airbus. Airbus SAS. Retrieved 3 October 2011. 
  35. ^ Finnair fleet list at planespotters.net
  36. ^ "Finnair to launch sharklet-equipped A321". Flightglobal.com. 2010-06-10. Retrieved 2012-10-15. 
  37. ^ Finnair A330 Ver.1 official seat map
  38. ^ Finnair A330 Ver.2 official seat map
  39. ^ Finnair A330 Ver.3 official seat map
  40. ^ "Finnair aims to steer clear of early production A350s". Flightglobal.com. 2007-04-03. Retrieved 2012-10-15. 
  41. ^ Wegg, John (1983). Finnair. The Art of Flying since 1923. Finnair Oy. ISBN 951-99450-3-2. 
  42. ^ a b Finnair : Travel
  43. ^ Käyttäjätunnus. "Viihde ja työskentely - Finnair - Suomi". Finnair.fi. Retrieved 2012-10-15. 
  44. ^ [1][dead link]
  45. ^ (Finnish) Miehistö. Finnair. Retrieved on 2010-11-03.

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Finnair
Portal icon Finland portal
Portal icon Companies portal
Portal icon Aviation portal
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Finnair&oldid=553934418"