Finnair
Finnair Plc is the flag carrier and largest full-service legacy airline of Finland, with headquarters in Vantaa on the grounds of Helsinki Airport, its hub. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both domestic and international air travel in Finland. Its major shareholder is the government of Finland, which owns 55.9% of its shares. Finnair is a member of the Oneworld airline alliance.
Founded in 1923, Finnair is one of the oldest airlines in continuous operation and is consistently listed as one of the safest in the world. The company's slogans are Designed for you and ''The Nordic Way.''
History
Founding
In 1923, consul Bruno Lucander founded Finnair as Aero O/Y. The company code, "AY", stands for Aero Osake-yhtiö. 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 12 September 1923, and the company was entered into the trade register on 11 December 1923. The first flight was on 20 March 1924, from Helsinki to Tallinn, Estonia, on a Junkers F.13 aircraft equipped with floats. The seaplane service ended in 1936 following the construction of the first aerodromes in Finland.World War II
Air raids on Helsinki and other Finnish cities made World War II a difficult period for the airline. Half of the fleet was requisitioned by the Finnish Air Force and it was estimated that, during the Winter War in 1939 and 1940, half of the airline's passengers from other Finnish cities were children being evacuated to Sweden.Immediate postwar period
The Finnish government wanted longer routes, so it acquired a majority stake in the company in 1946 and re-established services to Europe in November 1947, initially using the Douglas DC-3. In 1953, the airline began branding itself as Finnair. The Convair 440 twin-engined pressurised airliner was acquired from January 1953, and these faster aircraft were operated on the company's longer routes as far as London.Jet Age (1960s and 1970s)
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 25 June 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 15 May 1969. In the 1960s, Finnair's head office was in Helsinki.Finnair received its first wide-body aircraft in 1975, two DC-10-30 planes. The first of these arrived on 4 February 1975 and entered service on 14 February 1975, flying between Helsinki and New York, later between Helsinki and Las Palmas.
Finnair created Finnaviation was established in 1979. It was formed from the reorganisation of Wihuri OY Finnwings and its merging with Nordair OY. Scheduled domestic services began in October 1979. In the early 1980s, Finnair held a 60% shareholding. Finnaviation was eventually completely merged into Finnair.
Expansion (1980s)
In 1981, Finnair opened routes to Seattle and Los Angeles. Finnair became the first operator to fly non-stop from Western Europe to Japan, operating Helsinki–Tokyo flights with a modified McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30ER in April 1983. Until then, flights had to go via Moscow or Anchorage due to Soviet airspace restrictions, but Finnair circumvented these by flying directly north from Helsinki, over the North Pole and back south through the Bering Strait, avoiding Soviet airspace. However, Finnair did not have to make a roundabout because of the Soviet regulation on this route, but the Japanese authorities demanded it. The aircraft was fitted with extra fuel tanks, taking 13 hours for the trip. The routes through Soviet airspace and with a stopover in Moscow also took 13 hours, but flights with a stopover in 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.Finnair launched a Helsinki-Beijing route in 1988, 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 7 December 1990. The first revenue service with the MD-11 took place on 20 December 1990, with OH-LGA operating a flight from Helsinki to Tenerife in the Canary Islands.
Subsidiary airlines (1990s–2000s)
In 1997, the subsidiaries Kar-Air and Finnaviation became wholly owned by Finnair and were integrated into the mainline operations. On 25 September 1997, the company's official name was changed to Finnair Oyj.In 1999, Finnair joined the Oneworld airline alliance. In 2001, Finnair reused the name "Aero" when establishing Aero Airlines, a subsidiary airline based in Tallinn, Estonia.
In 2003, Finnair acquired ownership of the Swedish low-cost airline, FlyNordic, which operated mainly within Scandinavia. In 2007, Finnair sold all its shares in FlyNordic to Norwegian Air Shuttle. As part of the transaction, Finnair acquired 4.8% of the latter company, becoming its third largest shareholder. Finnair later sold their shares in 2013.
On 8 March 2007, Finnair became the first airline to order the Airbus A350 XWB aircraft, placing an order for 11 Airbus A350 XWB, with delivery started in 2015.
Labour disputes and restructuring (2006–present)
Finnair has suffered from many labour disputes in this period, resulting from cost-cutting measures prompted by competition from budget airlines.On 1 December 2011, Finnair transferred its baggage and apron services to Swissport International as per a five-year agreement signed on 7 November 2011.
As of 2022, it transported about 2.9 million passengers, a substantial decrease from 2019 as COVID-19 pandemic shut down airports and airlines due to travel restrictions. At the end of 2022, the airline employed 5,325 people on average. From 2022 onwards, the Russian airspace closure resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine has forced Finnair to suspend some services to Asia.
In March 2023, Finnair announced it would terminate domestic flights from both Tampere and Turku to Helsinki in favour of coach service due to low demand and the short distance.
Corporate affairs
Business trends
The key trends for Finnair are shown below :Ownership and structure
The group's parent company is Finnair Plc, which is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Stock Exchange and domiciled in Helsinki at the registered address Tietotie 9, Vantaa.The State of Finland is the major shareholder, with no other shareholder owning more than 5% of shares.
Subsidiaries and associates
Finnair Cargo
Two subsidiary companies, Finnair Cargo Oy and Finnair Cargo Terminal Operations Oy, form Finnair's cargo business. The offices of both companies are at Helsinki Airport. Finnair Cargo uses Finnair's fleet on its cargo operations.Finnair Cargo has three hubs:
- Helsinki Airport: Helsinki Airport is the main hub of Finnair Cargo. There is a new freight terminal at the airport, opened in the first half of 2017.
- Brussels Airport: Finnair Cargo has used Brussels Airport as a secondary hub for freight operations. Now the cargo airline operates its flights from BRU in co-operation with DHL Aviation.
- London Heathrow Airport: Heathrow Airport is the most recent hub addition to Finnair Cargo's route network. In cooperation with IAG Cargo, Finnair operates to LHR daily with Airbus A350 to carry extra freight.
Nordic Regional Airlines
Head office
Finnair's head office, known as the House of Travel and Transportation, is located on the grounds of Helsinki Airport approximately 1 km south of the passenger terminal. The office opened in 2013, replacing the previous head office which stood on an adjacent lot. The mixed-use building has a total floor area of across seven floors, including of office space.The previous airport head office had been in use since 1994, then replacing an office located in central Helsinki. The last Helsinki head office, designed by architect, opened in 1972. Finnair fully vacated the building in 2013, and in 2016, it was converted into rental storage units.