Finnair Airbus A340-313X OH-LQG (msn 174) FRA (Bernard Ross) (new livery), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Finnair (Helsinki) has announced a new route to Chongqing, China’s largest and fastest growing city from the Helsinki hub. The new route will be opened in May 2012, flying to Chongqing four times a week with Finnair’s Airbus A340 aircraft. Finnair is the first airline to open a direct service from Europe to Chongqing.

Chongqing, formerly transliterated as Chungking, is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of the People’s Republic of China.

The municipality was only created on March 14, 1997, succeeding the sub-provincial city administration that was part of Sichuan Province. As of November 2010, the municipality had a population of 28,846,200 (almost 29 million).

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Copyright Photo: Bernhard Ross. Please click on the photo about the new brand.

Finnair-Finnish Airlines Airbus A319-112 OH-LVE “Silver Bird” (msn 1791) DUS (Arnd Wolf) (retrojet), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Finnair (Helsinki) aims to fly its first biofuel flight from Amsterdam and Helsinki next week. This will be the longest commercial biofuel flight flown anywhere in the world to date.

According to the airline, “Finnair will accept for permanent use only a biofuel alternative that is socially, ecologically and economically sustainable. For example, the cultivation of the biomass used in the production of biofuel must significantly reduce GHG emissions, must not compromise food production or lead to biodiversity degradation or deforestation.”

For its first biofuel flight, Finnair will use biofuel made from recycled vegetable oil (used cooking oil) supplied by SkyNRG in a mixture that is 50% biofuel and 50% ordinary aviation fuel. Finnair and SkyNRG have agreed to jointly work on a structural supply chain, as both parties firmly believe that the adoption of “green routes” by airlines will help accelerate the development of sustainable and affordable jet fuels, which have the potential to reduce aviation emissions by up to 80% in the long-term.

At this time, Finnair aims to fly at least three Amsterdam-Helsinki flights using a 50% biofuel blend in both engines. Refuelling is done at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

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Copyright Photo: Arnd Wolf. Please click on the photo for information about this special retrojet.

Finncomm Airlines (Finnish Commuter Airlines) Embraer ERJ 170-100STD OH-LEK (msn 17000127) RIX (Yannick Delamarre), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Finncomm Airlines (Finnish Commuter Airlines) (Helsinki) was acquired by Flybe (Exter) and Finnair (Helsinki) on August 18. The new entity will be rebranded as Flybe Nordic (flybe.fi) on October 30, 2011.

Flybe now holds a 60 percent majority stake in Flybe Nordic, holding a 60 percent stake, with Finnair holding the remaining 40 percent. Flybe will have three seats on the new airline’s board of directors with Finnair having the other two.

The new owners have announced Flybe Nordics’s expanded route network. The expansion features a total of 24 regional routes offering a choice of up to 416 flights a week. This includes all existing routes previously operated by Finncomm together with the addition of nine brand new routes.

This extended program features four new routes from Helsinki, four from key regional cities in Finland and one between Sweden’s Stockholm Bromma airport and Estonia’s capital city, Tallinn. Four of the new routes offer multiple daily frequencies each with a choice of up to three flights a day.

The nine new routes are as follows:

Helsinki — Mariehamn, Aland (twice daily)
Helsinki – Tartu, Estonia (6 times per week)
Helsinki – Trondheim, Norway (4 per week)
Helsinki – Umea, Sweden (4 per week)
Tampere – Tallinn, Estonia (three times daily)
Turku – Tallinn* (twice daily)
Vaasa – Tallinn* (6 per week)
Oulu – Tallinn* (6 per week)
Tallinn – Stockholm Bromma, Sweden (three flights daily)

*Flights start November 14, 2011.

Copyright Photo: Yannick Delamarre.

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New logo:

Finnair Airbus A340-313X OH-LQD (msn 921) (Angry Birds) SIN (K.C. Sim), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Finnair (Helsinki) flew the world-famous Angry Birds, developed by the Finnish company Rovio, to Singapore on September 20. During the flight, fans of the mobile device game competed in the Angry Birds Asian Challenge.

The Angry Birds game has been downloaded to various platforms, including smart phones and tablets, over 350 million times.

Finnair cashed in on the online craze by flying Angry Birds’ most dedicated fans. The five most popular fans were selected by a jury and were awarded tickets to Singapore. During the flight, the Angry Birds fans and other flight passengers were able to participate in a competition on games consoles distributed to passengers and specially programmed for this event. The winner became the proud holder of the very first Angry Birds Asian Challenge title.

As mentioned, Angry Birds is a puzzle video game developed by Finnish computer game developer Rovio Mobile. Inspired primarily by a sketch of stylized wingless birds, the game was first released for Apple’s iOS in December 2009. Since that time, over 12 million copies of the game have been purchased from Apple’s App Store, which has prompted the company to design versions for other touchscreen-based smart phones, such as those using the Android operating system, among others.

In the game, players use a slingshot to launch birds at pigs stationed on or within various structures, with the intent of destroying all the pigs on the playfield. As players advance through the game, new birds appear, some with special abilities that can be activated by the player. Rovio Mobile has supported Angry Birds with numerous free updates that add additional game content, and the company has even released stand-alone holiday and promotional versions of the game.

Copyright Photos: K.C. Sim. Finnair’s Airbus A340-313X OH-LQD (msn 921) arrives at Singapore on the special flight with the Angry Birds logos.

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Finncomm Airlines (Finnish Commuter Airlines) Embraer ERJ 170-100STD OH-LEK (msn 17000127) RIX (Yannick Delamarre), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Finncomm Airlines (Finnish Commuter Airlines) (Helsinki), as planned, was turned over to its new owners Flybe (Exeter) (60%) and Finnair (Helsinki) (40%) and became Flybe Nordic (Flybe.fi) on October 30, 2011 with the start of the winter season.

The new owners are adding new routes including the Helsinki-Mariehamn route in the Aland Islands. Flybe will now offer a choice of two flights a day and 22 flights a week on the route

To recognize the start of its new route and highlight its commitment to the Åland Islands, Flybe announced its intention to name an aircraft in honor of the region. The airline will be giving people the opportunity to suggest a suitable name, and details of the plane-naming competition will be announced shortly.

Flybe’s extensive regional winter schedule features a total of 25 routes, including 10 that are brand new, giving passengers a choice of up to 500 flights a week. Flybe’s growing network from Helsinki also offers convenient links for businesspeople and tourists between Åland and important destinations like Karleby-Jakobstad, Kemi-Torneå and Skellefteå.

The nice other new routes in Flybe’s network are as follows:

Helsinki – Jyväskylä (up to 3 daily)
Helsinki – Tartu, Estonia (6 per week)
Helsinki – Trondheim, Norway (4 per week)
Helsinki – Umea, Sweden (4 per week)
Tampere – Tallinn, Estonia (up to 2 daily)
Turku – Tallinn (up to 2 daily)
Vaasa – Tallinn (6 per week)
Oulu – Tallinn (6 per week)
Tallinn – Stockholm Bromma, Sweden (up to 3 daily)

Copyright Photo: Yannick Delamarre. The Finncomm brand is being retired. All aircraft are adopting the Flybe brand.

Helsinki Route Map:

Finnair Airbus A340-313X OH-LQG (msn 174) FRA (Bernard Ross) (new livery), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Fiinair (Helsinki) is seeking a partner in Asia to boost traffic at its growing HEL hub according to this article by Bloomberg Businessweek. Finnair is also evaluating further acquisitions in the Baltic area to boost the Nordic feed into the HEL hub.

Read the full article: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Bernhard Ross.

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Finnair Embraer ERJ 170-100ST OH-LEM (msn 17000141) GVA (Paul Denton), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Finnair (Helsinki) will drop the Helsinki-Kiev route on March 8 per Airline Route. The route is operated by Embraer ERJ 170s three days a week. The carrier is also cutting the Helsinki-Stuttgart route on February 29 which is operated by Flybe Nordic.

Copyright Photo: Paul Denton.

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Finnair Embraer ERJ 190-100LR OH-LKP (msn 19000416) ZRH (Andi Hiltl), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Finnair (Helsinki) may outsource all or part of its narrow body routes to a new affiliate company according to this article by Aviation Week. The company is in discussions with possible partners. The target date is early 2013.

Read the full article: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Andi Hiltl.

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Finnair (Helsinki) will be the first airline to introduce a bright light headset designed to help passengers adapt better to jet lag. The Valkee bright light headset, a product of a Finnish design company called Valkee, is a safe and natural way to simulate the effects of daylight to alleviate symptoms caused by changes in the circadian rhythm and by shortage of natural daylight. Finnair is arranging a pilot program to test the benefits of the device for airline passengers on particularly long flights, where the need to adjust to a new time zone often causes natural challenges.

The test program will be offered to passengers in business class on the route between Helsinki and Shanghai for a period of one month, beginning at the end of March. The passengers who wish to take part in the pilot program will be asked to fill in a questionnaire after testing the Valkee device in accordance with the instructions of the cabin crew. After the test period, the Valkee bright light device will be added as a sales item for Finnair in May.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems.

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Finnair’s (Helsinki), which is 55.8 percent owned by the Finnish government, is facing an overhaul of its board of directors. According to this report by Reuters, six of eight board members will be replaced due to their lack of openness concerning executive benefits paid in 2009.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

In other news, for the summer season Finnair will restart flights to some of its more popular summer destinations. The carrier will operate flights to Bergen between June 3 and September 21, Krakow between March 29 and September 30, Ljubljana between April 9 and October 26, and Venice between March 30 and August 12. Finnair will also open new route to Dubrovnik on April 2, with flights continuing until October 27.

Copyright Photo: Stefan Sjogren.

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Finnair (Helsinki) has announced it will continue its strategy to add new routes to Asia. The Helsinki-Chongqing route will be started in May.

Chongqing is a major city in southwest China and one of the five national central cities of the People’s Republic of China(PRC). Administratively, it is one of the PRC’s four direct-controlled municipalities (the other three are Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin).

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems. The Oneworld Airbus A340-300 has been updated with the latest Finnair tail markings.

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Finnair’s (Helsinki) Caravelle days are being remembered in a movie currently being filmed in Stockholm. The movie centers around the hijacking of a Finnair Caravelle and is called “The Hijack That Went South“. Le Caravelle Club’s Sud Aviation SE.210 Caravelle III SE-DAI (msn 210) has been repainted in the 1966 livery of Finnair as “Super Caravelle” OH-LSB. This OH-LSB is also named “Tampere”. The shade of blue used in the repainting appears to be a lighter shade of blue than what was used in this era. The original OH-LSB (msn 182), also named “Tampere”, was actually a larger SE.210 Caravelle 10B3.

Top Copyright Photo: Stefan Sjogren. The new “OH-LSB” is parked close to taxiway W at Stockholm – Arlanda today. Filming is taking place this month in Stockholm. The Caravelle was repainted just a few days ago at Arlanda.

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Bottom Copyright Photo: Jacques Guillem. The historic photo of Douglas DC-9-15 OH-LSK is an actual aircraft painted in the 1966 livery which appears to be a darker shade of blue. The “F in the circle” logo by the nose was introduced in 1968.

Finnair (Helsinki) today (May 9) opens a new route to Chongqing, China. The new flights will be operated four times a week throughout the year with Airbus A340-300s. Finnair will be the first airline to operate nonstop flights between Europe and Chongqing.

Chongqing is situated on the edge of the Tibetan plateau. Greater Chongqing is one of China’s four province-level municipalities (the other three are Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin), and the only one located in inland China. With a total population of 32 million residing in an area about the size of Austria, Chongqing’s urban population is expected to double over the next five years.

Copyright Photo: Bernhard Ross.

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Video:

Flybe (Exter) has announced that Flybe Nordic (Helsinki), formerly Finncomm Airlines, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Finnair (Helsinki) to operate 12 Embraer ERJ 190-100LRs for Finnair under a contract flying arrangement. Under the terms of the MOU, the long term ERJ 190 contract will commence on October 28, 2012. Finnair will transfer the aircraft to Flybe Nordic. The aircraft will fly for Finnair on a number of European short haul routes, taking advantage of Flybe Nordic’s competitive cost base.

With this agreement the number of aircraft flown by Flybe Nordic will reach 28, double the number flown when the business commenced operations in August 2011, of which 20 will be flying under contract for Finnair.

Flybe Nordic has been flying eight aircraft on a contract basis for Finnair since August 2011.

Finn Comm Airlines adopted the Flybe brand on October 30, 2011.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems. It is unclear if the 12 E190s will retain the Finnair brand or adopt the Flybe brand.

Finnair:

Flybe:

Finnair (Helsinki) on June 21 operated this Airbus A319-112 registered as OH-LVE (msn 1791) on its last revenue flight. Since then the 1953 retrojet “Silver Bird” livery has been removed and the airframe has been returned to Hermes Aviation. The special color scheme was rolled out at Helsinki on July 26, 2008 to celebrate the airline’s 85th Anniversary. Goodbye Silver Bird.

Copyright Photo: Arnd Wolf.

Finnair: 

Finnair (Helsinki) narrowed its second quarter loss to $24.4 million.

Read the full story in the Washington Post: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Wingnut. Finnair’s Airbus A321-211 OH-LZD (msn 1241) taxies at London (Heathrow) in the updated 2010 livery.

Finnair: 

Finnair (Helsinki) has selected IAE International Aero Engines AG to supply engines for its five new Airbus A321 extended range aircraft, entering the Finnair fleet from September 2013. The IAE V2533-A5 engines offer Finnair a significant advantage in fuel efficiency over the competition, saving about 300 tons of fuel per year per aircraft, according to aircraft supplier Airbus test data. The engines also operate well within noise limitations set by ICAO and the EU.

Finnair announced in June 2010 an order for five Airbus aircraft to replace the four Boeing 757s currently in the fleet. The new A321s will be quieter and more comfortable for passengers, as well as about 5 per cent more fuel efficient. The move also enables more flexibility and interoperability between European scheduled and leisure flights, driving up aircraft utilization and further reducing per-passenger emissions.

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum. The new A321s will end Finnair’s connection with Boeing. The four Boeing 757-200s are mainly operated on charter flights. Boeing 757-2Q8 OH-LBV (msn 30046) arrives at Miami International Airport.

Finnair: 

Finnair (Helsinki) and Finnish design house Marimekko are teaming up to enhance the air travel experience with a new design partnership. From spring 2013 all Finnair aircraft will feature a Marimekko for Finnair collection of textiles and tableware, featuring Marimekko’s classic patterns. The Marimekko for Finnair collection is specially designed to add a light and fresh visual and tactile dimension to the onboard experience, while lightening the airline’s carbon footprint as well.

Two of Finnair’s long-haul aircraft will also wear livery based on Marimekko designs.  An Airbus A340-300 (A340-313X OH-LQD) featuring  Maija Isola’s iconic Unikko floral print from 1964 is already operating between Helsinki and Finnair’s Asian destinations, and it will be followed by another aircraft in Marimekko livery in spring 2013. OH-LQD was unveiled on October 21 at Helsinki.

Marimekko is a Finnish textile and clothing design company renowned first and foremost for its original prints and colors. The company designs and manufactures high-quality household goods ranging from interior decoration textiles to tableware as well as clothing, bags, and other accessories. When Marimekko was founded in 1951, its unprecedented printed fabrics gave it a strong and unique identity. Marimekko products are sold in about 40 countries. In 2011, sales of the company’s brands were some EUR 170 million with net sales of EUR 77 million. At the end of the year, there were 90 Marimekko stores. The key markets are North America, Northern Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. The Group has about 500 employees. Marimekko’s shares are quoted on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.

Video and Image: Finnair.

Finnair: 

Finnair (Helsinki) will begin flying to Hanoi in Vietnam in summer 2013, continuing the airline’s strategic focus on traffic between Asia and Europe. Subject to regulatory approvals, Finnair will become the only European airline to offer a direct connection from Europe to the capital of Vietnam with a population of 6.5 million. Starting on June 14, 2013 Finnair will begin service to Hanoi from its hub in Helsinki with three frequencies per week. 

The Hanoi route will be operated during the summer schedule season, which lasts until October 27, 2013.  Finnair is represented in Vietnam by its partner East Sea Travel & Air Service Group.

Hanoi is Finnair’s 12th destination in Asia

As a center of higher education and R&D in the region, Hanoi is forecasted to have the world’s fastest growing economy between the years 2008-2025 according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. 

Finnair has built on its Asian strategy during the past two decades, taking advantage of the geographical position of its Helsinki hub on the shortest routes between the great cities of Asia and more than 60 European destinations. In addition to Hanoi, Finnair operates to Bangkok, Beijing, Chongqing, Delhi, Hong Kong, Nagoya, Osaka, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo.

Copyright Photo: Stephen Tornblom. Airbus A330-302X OH-LTT (msn 1088) lifts off the runway at JFK International Airport in New York.

Finnair: 

Finnair (Helsinki) will begin flying to Xi´an, China in the summer of 2013, further deepening the airline’s network of Asian destinations. Finnair will begin service to Xi´an from its hub in Helsinki with three frequencies per week starting on June 14 until the close of the summer season on October 26, 2013.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems. Airbus A330-302X OH-LTO (msn 1013) taxies to the gate at the Helsinki hub. Finnair is pursuing an Asian long-range strategy to reinforce its growing HEL hub.

Finnair: