Most of the airplanes flying around the globe are pretty standardized in their choice of power plants. Most have two engines, a few have four, but that’s pretty much it. There’s still a few airlines flying planes with three engines, but Finnair recently reduced the number of these planes in the sky. Finnair has been flying these birds since 1990, but on Monday they flew their last commercial flight with an MD-11 as it went from Helsinki to Delhi.

Throughout the years the tri-jets have carried about 14 million passengers for Finnair, landing in cool places over 50,000 times. The airline is ditching the old jets in favor of some newer aircraft, including the Airbus A330 and A340. Eventually—like in 2014—Finnair will be getting a totally new A350 from Airbus as well. They’re pretty excited over the gas they’ll save in ditching the old planes, as their current Airbus fleet will now be about 20 percent more fuel-efficient. ]]> kjb 2010-02-24T09:04:08-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/23/02524/0126

Earlier this week we told you about Finland's new Talking Trash Bins found in Helsinki, and thanks to a helpful PR rep for Finland Tourism we actually have a shot of the trash bins to show you.

The trash bins are far more intelligent that we are, having mastered six language (ok, select phrases in different languages) and the ability to play music (ok, it's a recording of music from a bunch of high school students). Only eight of these artificial intelligence trash bins can be found in Helsinki this summer so look carefully before you toss your trash.

Have you seen the talking trash bins in person? Send us a picture!

Related Stories:
· Now Helsinki's Trash Cans Talk To You In English, Too [Jaunted]]]> juliana 2009-07-23T17:15:50-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/19/2086/02211

Trash cans that talk are an unusual kind of tourist attraction, but just the kind of thing we expect to find in somewhat eccentric Finland. When we first heard about four trash cans in Helsinki which chat away in Finnish, we craved talking trash cans that we could understand, and now the Helsinki Public Works Department has done exactly what we wished for.

This summer, eight trash cans around Helsinki will speak to you in six languages, including English, and some will even play music created by a bunch of high school students. Apparently they say things like this:

One of the sure signs of summer in Finland is that the trash bins start talking.

The idea is that tourists and locals alike will be more interested in disposing of their garbage in the correct way, but we're starting to wonder if conversing with a bin might actually be a sign of madness instead.

Related Stories:
· Talking Trash [Official Site]
· Finns Reward You For Simple Non-Littering [Jaunted]
· Helsinki Travel Guide [Jaunted] ]]> amandak 2009-07-20T09:29:21-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/15/145412/451

Who can forget the first time he read the Kalevala? The epic poem of Finland, comparable to its Odyssey or King Arthur legends but dating just back to the 19th century, inspired J.R.R. Tolkien and it could move you this summer to seek out some uniquely Finnish attractions.

The 160-year-old Kalevala was compiled from rapidly disappearing folk poetry in order to give Finns a sense of national identity while they were still under Russia's thumb. Quite honestly, we haven't gotten around to reading it yet (Infinite Jest is really long!) but we gather it's about a singer named Wäinämöinen who completes feats of strength and who inspired Tolkien's wizards in The Lord of the Rings and the plot of The Silmarillion.

Celebrate this epic anniversary at Kalevala Experience Park in Kuhmo, where you can stay in log cabins and enjoy a series of free concerts for the summer of local favorites. In Helsinki, catch a special exhibit of Kalevala-inspired works at the Ateneum Art Museum, then stay at the Klaus K hotel which takes the novel's themes of the mystical, passion, desire, and envy as design motifs (and which has a family package in which the second room in a reservation is 50 percent off). As they say, when in Helsinki...

Related Stories:
· A Fresh Idea for Your Urban Getaway: Helsinki's Klaus K [HC]
· Reading One Heck of a Huge Book For One "Infinite" Summer [Jaunted]
· Could Conan O'Brien Really Be Wrong? [Jaunted]

[Photo of a Wäinämöinen statue in Helsinki: hugovk]]]> egw 2009-07-15T17:00:23-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/6/27/03124/6819

Music festivals, swamp soccer and wife-carrying—there's already so much to do in Finland over summer, and the country continues to attract us in very clever ways, this time going straight for our stomachs.

August and September are crayfish season in Finland, and we've just realized we don't want to miss out on a Finnish-style crayfish party. These shindigs feature, of course, crayfish galore, and lip smacking and finger licking as you try to get the most meat out of your crayfish. But thats not all: "Essential ingredients of a successful crayfish party are a merry mood and schnapps songs." Aside from overdosing on crayfish, you can get drunk with the Finns and sing songs about beautiful women and beautiful crustaceans.

Wikipedia warns us there is now a limited supply of crays left in Finland and many are imported from the US or China, so perhaps taking a night-time crayfish-catching tour is a good strategy—they're easy to book during the summer season. You might however need to take your own schnapps with you.

Related Stories:
· Finland Makes Most of Summer Sunshine With a Slew of Music Festivals [Jaunted]
· Wanna Play Swamp Soccer? Head to Finland This Summer [Jaunted]

[Photo: villoks] ]]> amandak 2009-06-30T08:47:19-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/6/1/83022/96015

If you've got it, flaunt it – that's what Finland seems to think about its summer midnight sun. Finland's taking the chance again this summer to hold a practically endless list of music festivals that can go late into the night without needing any lighting; how smart of them.

The funkiest of the fests is the Flow Festival, a contemporary music festival that fits as a companion to the multi-arts Helsinki Festival. Flow will ... well, flow from August 14 to 16, and feature Kraftwerk, Lily Allen, Grace Jones and dozens of other bands from every music genre you can name. Tickets for the full three days are €94 ($130).]]> amandak 2009-06-01T13:47:04-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/4/20/74733/6190

A country as cold and far away as Finland needs to have a few tricks up its sleeves to attract tourists, and Finland is the best magician of them all. We've already become addicted to following their annual wife carrying contests and last year we added the sauna-sitting titles to our list of reasons to return to Finland.

But it turns out there are literally dozens more weird reasons to fly up to Santa-land. The Mobile Phone Throwing contest (this year on August 22) appeals to us, where we can watch hundreds of competitors heft their (probably Nokia) cell phones through the air. The Swamp Football championships take place for the twelfth time on July 17-18 and these literally involve playing soccer in very, very muddy ground. And we've long been keen on catching the Air Guitar Championships in Oulu, northern Finland – strumming away this year on August 19-21.

And if, like us, you still hold the strongest affection for wife-carrying – remember, you're allowed to carry somebody else's wife – the dates to remember are July 3 and 4, 2009. Alternatively, if you're prepared to following the Sauna contest rules of "sitting in the sauna with buttocks and thighs on the seat", then August 7-8 are the dates to note.

Related Stories:
· Visit Finland [Official Site]
· Finnish Tourist Board Will Use Wife-Carrying to Lure You In [Jaunted]
· Winners Are Not Only in Beijing: Congrats to Sauna Sitters [Jaunted]

[Photo: husin.sani] ]]> amandak 2009-04-20T16:46:41-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/