Finnair celebrates its 90th anniversary
(Warsaw 7.11. 2013) Finnair, the world’s fifth-oldest airline still in operation, celebrated its 90th Anniversary on Friday, November 1st.. Established in 1923, Finnair specialises today in flights between Europe and Asia, offering direct connections from Helsinki to over 60 European and 13 Asian destinations. Over eight million passengers per year fly on Finnair’s modern Airbus fleet.
“We build on a legacy of creating better connections between Europe and Asia and our vision of doubling our Asian revenue by 2020", says CEO Pekka Vauramo.
Finnair will celebrate its 90 years of flying in various ways. As one of the special events to mark its jubilee year, the airline distributed a special Finnair-themed edition of the Donald Duck comic book to all passengers on long-haul flights on Friday, November 1st. Finnair has also commissioned a special batch of posters by Finnish graphic designer Erik Bruun to celebrate its anniversary.
As part of the jubilee year, Finnair has renewed its service concept. Tableware and textiles designed by Marimekko for Finnair have been introduced on all flights in both Business and Economy Class. In September Finnair launched cooperation with two renowned Finnish chefs, Pekka Terävä and Tomi Björck. The entertainment systems on board have been upgraded, nearly doubling the selection of entertainment on long-haul flights with 72 films and over 150 television programmes available in both Business and Economy class.
Finnair is harmonizing its fleet and became the first airline to take delivery of the new Airbus A321 Sharklet aircraft in September. It is also installing new, fully reclining seats in most of its long-haul fleet from January 2014 onwards. In spring 2014, Finnair will open a new Premium Lounge at the Helsinki airport.
2013 also marks the the 40th Anniversary year of Finnair’s Helsinki-Warsaw route that was opened in 1973. “We’re proud of our long standing presence in Poland”, says Juhani Nuoramo, Finnair’s Sales Director for Europe East. “Our goal is to become the number one choice for Polish passengers to Asia when there is no daily direct service, by offering the best connections via Helsinki”, Nuoramo continues.
Finnair has received international recognition in its anniversary year. It became the first airline to be selected in the Leadership Index of the global Carbon Disclosure Project on carbon dioxide emissions. Finnair is also the only Nordic airline to be awarded four stars by Skytrax. It has been named Northern Europe’s Best Airline at the World Airline Awards for the last four years, and was recently named Best European Airline at the annual TTG Travel Awards. Finnair is a member of oneworld alliance, which is formed by the world’s leading airlines.
Follow Finnair’s historic journey by watching special videos celebrating the airline’s 90th anniversary at www.youtube.com/finnair
Further information
Finnair Media Desk tel. +358 9 818 4020, comms@finnair.com
Finnair: http://www.finnair.com
Photobank: http://gallery.finnair.com
Finnair blogs: http://blogs.finnair.com
Finnair on Facebook: www.facebook.com/finnair
Finnair on Twitter: www.twitter.com/finnair
Finnair Group website: www.finnairgroup.com
Finnair, celebrating its 90th birthday this year, is specialised in fast connections between Europe and Asia via Helsinki. The airline carries more than eight million passengers annually and connects 13 cities in Asia with more than 60 destinations in Europe. A pioneer in sustainable flying, Finnair operates a young, modern fleet and is the first airline listed in the Leadership Index of the worldwide Carbon Disclosure Project. The only Nordic carrier with a 4-star Skytrax ranking, Finnair has also won the World Airline Award for Best Airline Northern Europe for the past four years running. Finnair is a member of oneworld, the alliance of the world's leading airlines committed to providing the highest level of service and convenience to frequent international travellers.
