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Finnair (Finland)
| Finnair | ||
|---|---|---|
| IATA AY |
ICAO FIN |
Callsign FINNAIR |
| Founded | 1 November 1923[1] Finland |
|
| Hubs | Helsinki-Vantaa Airport | |
| Frequent flyer program | Finnair Plus | |
| Member lounge | Finnair Lounge | |
| Alliance | Oneworld | |
| Fleet size | 67 (+28 orders) | |
| Destinations | 65 | |
| Parent company | Office of the Council of State[1] | |
| 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. 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]
The airline has not had a fatal accident since 1963, nor has any severe damage to its aircraft occurred since then, ranking it the second-safest airline of all time (behind Australia's Qantas).[2]
Contents |
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%).[3] Finnair's stock is listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. As of March 2007, the airline employed 9,447 staff.[3] Finnair is the sixth oldest airline in the world with uninterrupted existence.
Destinations
see full article: Finnair 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 (as of 2nd May 2008)[3] :
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers | Routes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319-100 | 11 | 105-123 | ||
| Airbus A320-200 | 12 | 111-159 | ||
| Airbus A321-200 | 6 | 136-196 | ||
| Airbus A330-200 | (1 order) | 328 (38/286) | Projected use for charter and leisure flights to Thailand in winter 2008-09. | Entry into service: November 2008. The plane is leased from XL Airways UK Ltd.[4] |
| Airbus A330-343E | (8 orders, 2 options) | 271 (42/229) | New York,Beijing | NY starts on March 1st 2009. Entry into service: 2009-10 replacing MD-11 |
| Airbus A340-300 | 1 | 295 (30/265) | Mumbai | |
| Airbus A340-313E | 4 (1 order) | 269 (42/227) | Asia | Entry into service: 2007-08 |
| Airbus A350-900 XWB | (11 orders, 4 options) | Entry into service: 2014-16 | ||
| Boeing 757-200WL | 7 | 227 | Primarily charter and leisure flights. Also in regular service to Rome and Barcelona during summer. | |
| Embraer 170 | 10 | 76 | ||
| Embraer 190LR | 8 (5 orders) | 100 | Entry into service: 2 in 2009, 3 2010-11[5] | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-11 | 7 | 282 (36/246) | Asia, New York | Exit from service: 1st 11/08-last 03/10 Two to be converted for Aeroflot-Cargo |
The average age of Finnair's fleet is 5.7 years as of 2nd May 2008.[6]
- On June 30, 2004 Finnair announced an order for twelve 76-seat Embraer 170 aircraft plus 8 options.[7] On December 2, 2005 Finnair switched the last two E170 orders and 4 of its options to Embraer 190 orders. Both sets of aircraft will be delivered between September 2005 and December 2007.[8][9]
- On December 7, 2005 Finnair announced an order for three Airbus A340-300E to be delivered from 2007 and nine Airbus A350-900s plus four options to be delivered from 2011. The A350s will replace the MD-11s, which will be retired by 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.[10][11]
- Finnair received one A340-311 aircraft from Virgin Atlantic on June 12, 2006 which will operate on the Shanghai route from July 1. It will initially fly a few domestic routes for crew training purposes, the first such flight was made on June 19, 2006 from Helsinki-Vantaa to Kuopio.[citation needed]
Previously operated
- Junkers F.13 (19241935)
- Junkers G.24 (19261935)
- Junkers Ju 52/3m (19321949)
- de Havilland Dragon Rapide (19371947)
- Douglas DC-2 (19411948)
- Douglas DC-3 (19471967)
- Convair CV-440 Metropolitan (19531980)
- Sud Aviation Caravelle 1A (19601961)
- Sud Aviation Caravelle III (19611964)
- Sud Aviation Caravelle 10B (Super Caravelle) (19641983)
- Douglas DC-8-62CF (19691981)
- Douglas DC-8-62 (19751986)
- Douglas DC-9-10, DC-9-40, DC-9-50 (19712003)
- McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30/ER (19811996)
- McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30(19751996)
- Fokker F27 (19801987)
- McDonnell Douglas MD-82, MD-83, MD-87 (19832006)
- ATR-42 (19861990)
- Airbus A300B4 (19862004) Lastly leased to Air Scandic of Jersey (now defunct).
- ATR-72 (19892004)
- Saab 340 (19951998)
- McDonnell Douglas MD-11 (1990 - 2010) before 01/2009, 1 will be removed.
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 passengers 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:
Remaining international destinations are served with contract lounges.
Blue Wings
Finnair's inflight magazine, Blue Wings, is published ten times per year by Finnish media company SanomaWSOY. There are English and Finnish articles in the magazine. 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 onboard shop and route information. There are domestic and international newspapers on all flights, and magazines on long-haul flights in the business class.
Onboard
Finnair offers two service classes on most international flights. In intercontinental business class they offer lie flat seats. On most European flights operated with Airbus aircraft wich are longer than two hours there is a free warm meal in both classes. On shorter European flights they offer a cold meal or snack and free non-alcoholic drinks, beer and wine. On intercontinental Airbus flights there is a Video on demand system on every seat.[13]
Codeshare agreements
Finnair has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:
Incidents and accidents
- On 15 November 1927 a Aero O/Y Junkers F.13 disappeared en route from Tallinn to Helsinki. The aircraft was carrying two Finnish generals and the pilot. The pilot was a former communist pilot. It has been speculated that the pilot defected to the Soviet Union.
- 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.[14] 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.[15] The accident remains the worst in Finnish aviation history.
- On 8 November 1963, a DC-3 crash that was attributed to a malfunctioning altimeter occurred on approach to Mariehamn, Ĺland Islands in a poor visibility, with a loss of 22 passengers and crew. 2 passengers and a flight attendant survived the crash.[16]
References
- ^ http://www.finnairgroup.com/investorstables/investorstables_2.html
- ^ Finnair's safety record
- ^ a b c "Directory: World Airlines", Flight International, 2007-04-03, p. 81.
- ^ Finnair
- ^ "News." Airliner World : 6.
- ^ Finnair Fleet Age
- ^ Finnair Press Release 30 June 2004
- ^ Finnair Press Release 2 December 2005
- ^ Embraer conversion of options to orders 2 December 2005
- ^ Finnair Press Release 7 December 2005
- ^ Press Release8 March 2007
- ^ Wegg, John (1983). Finnair. The Art of Flying since 1923. Finnair Oy. ISBN 951-99450-3-2.
- ^ http://www.finnair.fi/finnaircom/wps/portal/finnair/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy
- ^ 1940 Ju 52 crash
- ^ 1961 DC-3 crash
- ^ 1963 DC-3 crash
External links
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