Mumbai30 Nov 23 1 Traveller Economy
Showing International Flight from Oslo
About Finnair
Finnair is the national flag carrier and one of the largest airlines of Finland. The airline's headquarters is at Vantaa, located on the grounds of the Helsinki Airport, which is also the hub of the airline. Finnair, along with its regional subsidiaries, has a monopoly in both, the domestic route and international route travel in the country. The government of Finland is the biggest shareholder in the airline and holds about 55.8 percent of its stakes. Finnair is also one of the members of the Oneworld airline alliance, along with British Airways and American Airlines. In 2017, the airline transported about 11.9 million passengers across 100 European, 7 North American and 20 Asian destinations. By the end of the same year, the airline also employed about 5,918 individuals to join their crew. Finnair is recognised as the sixth oldest airline to continue its operation since its inception. The airline has not witnessed fatal accidents or hull-loss incidents since 1963 and has consistently been listed to be one of the safest airlines in the world for travelling. In 2018, Hamburg aviation security office JACDEC, as well as the aviation magazine Aero International, announced Finnair to be one of the safest airlines in the world.
The airline was founded in 1923 by consul Bruno Lucander. It was started as Aero O/Y, and the company used the code AY. Lucander struck a deal with Junkers Flugzeugwerke AG to provide the airline with a fleet and technical support for the aircraft in return for 50 percent of shares in the airline. In the 1960s, Finnair also joined the jet age bandwagon by accommodating Rolls-Royce Avon-engined aircraft Caravelles to be part of its fleet. They were later exchanged for Pratt and Whitney's JT8D-engined Super Caravelles. Eventually, Finnair managed to get hold of its first US-manufactured jet aircraft, Douglas DC-8. With this, the airline managed to service its first international route with a transatlantic connection to New York in 1969. In 1975, the airline also accommodated its first wide-body aircraft with two DC-10-30 planes. In 1981, Finnair commenced its new international routes to Seattle and Los Angeles. The airline also became the first carrier to fly a non-stop flight from Western Europe to Japan. They used a modified McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30ER in 1983. Before this new route, all flights were required to travel via Moscow to reach Japan as the Soviet airspace had some restrictions. To avoid passing through the Soviet airspace, Finnair actually circumvented the flight route by flying directly from over the North Pole and back through the Bering Strait. The trip took nearly 13 hours.
By 1988, the airline also launched a few more routes such as the Helsinki-Beijing route, making it the first Western European airline to fly non-stop from Europe to China. In 1997, Finnair along with its subsidiaries Kar-Air and Finnaviation became carriers wholly owned by Finnair company. The subsidiaries were integrated with the mainline operations of Finnair, and the airline's company name was officially renamed to Finnair Oyj. Two years later, Finnair became part of the Oneworld airline alliance. In 2003, Finnair also acquired ownership of the Swedish low-cost carrier, FlyNordic, to mainly cater to the Scandinavian belt. Four years later though, the airline sold FlyNordic to the Norwegian Air Shuttle. In the same year, Finnair also became the first airline in the world to order the Airbus A350 XWB aircraft by placing an order for 11 of them. Over the years, the airline has transformed tremendously with additional routes and destinations added to their list. They have also partnered with several companies and airlines, including American Airlines, Japan Airlines, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Chinese JD.com, Deutsche Bahn (DB) and Marimekko.
Fleet size of Finnair
As of 2020, Finnair's fleet size stands at 84 aircraft in service with four orders that are awaiting delivery. Finnair's first narrow-body aircraft was delivered in 1999 by the manufacturer Airbus as Airbus A321 joined the fleet. As per current fleet, the airline has about 19 A321s. The same year, the airline also received its first Airbus A319 aircraft. Currently, the airline is equipped with 11 A319s out of which three have retired. The airline majorly uses its narrow-body fleet for domestic operations as well as for European flights. These include A319, A320 and A321. By 2009, Finnair welcomed its first A330-300 to join its fleet. With this, the airline has managed to accommodate eight Airbus A330-300s. The airline uses the A330s majorly for intercontinental flight operations from Helsinki to cities such as Delhi, New York, Miami, San Francisco, Xi'an, Chicago, Nanjing, Fukuoka, Chongqing, Nagoya and Puerto Plata.
They have also started using the flight for services to cities such as London, Brussels and Malaga. In 2007, the airline announced that it was confirming 11 Airbus A350 orders along with eight aircraft as optional. By 2014, they confirmed that they are extending their contract for additional Airbus A350 which needs to be delivered by 2018. The A350s were planned to be deployed for services to Bangkok, Shanghai and Beijing. As of 2019, along with the three cities mentioned, the airline uses its A350 fleet to connect to Ho Chi Minh City, Los Angeles, Seoul, Singapore, Krabi, Guangzhou, Osaka, Tokyo, Phuket and Puerto Vallarta. They also use it as morning flights to London for extra freight.
Baggage Allowance
Finnair's baggage allowance is pretty neat. For business class flights to or from Asia and intercontinental flights, the airline allows two pieces of baggage that should weigh no more than 32 kg. The dimensions of the baggage should also not extend beyond a total of 158 cm. This rule applies to the economy class cabin and all the ticket types. The economy class cabins allow a checked baggage weight of not more than 23 kg with passengers allowed to carry one piece of baggage. The rules apply to passengers who are travelling from economy flex and classic. Depending on whether you need to purchase extra baggage, the airline needs to be informed beforehand. You will need to purchase extra baggage allowance on their official website or at the check-in counter. Based on your ticket type, the airline would offer you the maximum weight that can be carried.
For hand luggage, Finnair allows two pieces which should be within the dimensions of 56 cm x 45 cm x 25 cm. One accessory bag is also allowed, which should be within the size of 40 cm x 30 cm x15 cm. The airline allows a maximum combined weight of 10 kg for the carry-on baggage for business class and premium passengers. Keeping the same dimensions in mind, the airline allows a maximum of 8 kg for economy class passengers.
In-flight services
Finnair's in-flight services are unmatched as they offer some of the best facilities onboard. This ranges from the exquisite seating structure to the in-flight entertainment and meals. Passengers can simply relax and enjoy the flight as the entertainment content, and friendly staff provide the best in-flight services.
Popular routes and top cities of Finnair
Finnair caters to a plethora of domestic routes and international routes from its hub in Helsinki. The airline connects with about 130 destinations across 40 countries that are spread out in Europe, Asia and North America. While a majority of big European airlines have developed their main-haul market to be in North America, Finnair has opted for the Asian market. The airline has about 20 destinations in Asia while it serves eight North American cities. Much of Finnair's destinations function on a seasonal basis. However, much recently, they have been switching the destinations to annual operations.
In the domestic route, Finnair has about ten destinations. Few of the domestic operations are undertaken in cooperation with or sometimes completely controlled by Finnair's subsidiary, Nordic Regional Airlines. The airline enjoys a monopoly in its long-haul route operations as there is no direct competition, except for the route to Tokyo. The airline has expressed its intentions to extend its Asian network and add new destinations to its list along with additional flights. The most popular route for Finnair is the Tokyo and Hong Kong international route.
Some of the top cities that Finnair operates to and from include Helsinki, Oulu, Stockholm, London, Paris, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Prague, Vaasa, Kokkola, Turku, Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Athens, Santorini, Delhi, Dublin, Milan, Rome, Osaka, Amsterdam, Oslo, Warsaw, Lisbon, Moscow, Barcelona, Geneva, Bangkok, Phuket, Dubai, Los Angeles, New York City and Ho Chi Minh City.
Why travel by Finnair?
Finnair has not just expanded its routes and international destinations but also upgraded some of its in-flight services and facilities to enable a smooth transit for passengers. The airline's website is the perfect place to book a Finnair flight ticket. Further, on the website, services such as web check-ins, updates on flight status and Finnair's flight schedules are also available. Details about the baggage allowance that passengers can carry based on their ticket type are present on the website, but the airline separately explains on the confirmation email too. The airline's web portal has all the necessary information.
