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Finnair Thinks 85 Years Ahead, We Wonder Why

November 17, 2008 at 9:30 AM | 0 Comments

All this year Finnair has been celebrating its 85th birthday in style, looking to the past with its 50s-retro paint job and now to the future with its Departure 2093 website.

The year 2093 is--in case you were wondering, because it wasn’t instantly obvious to us--another 85 years away, so Finnair thought it'd be fun to speculate about flying in the future. They asked experts for their opinion and drew funky pictures and even started a discussion forum for debate--it's early days, but after a week there are just four messages on it.

Given that, frankly speaking, we're not really anticipating being alive in 2093, Finnair's idea is kind of fun, but a bit on the irrelevant side. Their funky flying things of the future look great, though.

Related Stories:
· Departure 2093 [Official Site]
· Finnair Goes Funky 50s Retro [Jaunted]
· Finnair Coverage [Jaunted]

[Illustration: Departure 2093]

Virgin Atlantic, BA Squabbling over Heathrow Slots

August 18, 2008 at 3:45 PM | 0 Comments

Now that British Airways, American Airlines and three other carriers have announced their merger-which-isn't a merger, Virgin Atlantic is making a serious stink. After all, Richard Branson's baby holds just three percent of the slots at Heathrow, while BA and its newest pals control 47 percent of the landing rights at the airport.

This is actually the third time that British has tried to link up with American, but it's the first such attempt since the latest Open Skies provision was enacted, ostensibly to improve competition in the transatlantic market. But Branson says that hasn't yet happened--and won't if a tie-up between BA and AA is approved:

Open Skies has not delivered the greater competition that was promised because Heathrow is full. BA/AA and Iberia would still be unacceptably dominant, with nearly half of all of the slots at Heathrow, leaving competitors powerless to take them on.

For his part, British Airways CEO Willie Walsh says his airline doesn't plan to give up any market share to appease regulators. The UK Times asked him if he'd consider giving up any slots, which can sell for as much as £20 million ($37 million) a pair. His response?

I won't

Related Stories:
· Willie Walsh Vows Airline Will Not Surrender Slots [UK Times]
· Airline Mergers: American, British and Iberia Finally Make a Deal [Jaunted]

Airline Mergers: American, British and Iberia Finally Make a Deal

August 14, 2008 at 10:35 AM | 0 Comments

American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, Finnair and Royal Jordanian have formally announced their intent to merge, and they've put together a website to hype the tie-up. The spin-tastically named MoreTravelChoices.com even goes so far as to ask passengers to write to the Department of Transportation asking regulators to approve the deal.

The "joint business agreement" the five airlines have signed will have them cooperating on flights between North America and Europe. They also plan to expand their code sharing so you can earn even more increasingly worthless frequent flier miles. Though the agreement is being called a merger, all five carriers will remain legally separate and maintain their own identities--at least for now.

The deal still needs to be approved by the US government, which might be concerned not just with competition but also rules on foreign ownership of airlines. Predictably, Virgin Atlantic is opposed to the deal.

Related Stories:
· MoreTravelChoices.com [Official Site]
· Airline Mergers coverage [Jaunted]

Finnair Goes Funky 50s Retro

May 22, 2008 at 9:15 AM | 1 Comment

Finland's national airline Finnair, has got something to celebrate: 85 years in the air. That's longer than many airlines, and the carrier's come up with a neat way of celebrating.

Finnair's going retro. Not all the way back--and we're grateful for that--but back to the strangely cool 1950s. They're painting up one of their A319 aircraft to look just like an Aero Convair plane that Finnair (then Aero) flew in the 50s. Add to that crew dressing up in fifties clothing and passengers might come close to thinking they're time traveling.

We're wondering if reverting to 1950s prices would be beneficial or not. Then again, perhaps the best thing about Finnair back then was that it didn't need the fake pandas to sell seats.

Related Stories:
· Finnair Goes Retro [Boarding.no]
· Finnair's Creepy Panda [Jaunted]

[Photo: Finnair]

FlyNordic Flies With No Frills At All

October 5, 2007 at 9:45 AM | 0 Comments

We all know Scandinavia is an expensive place for a holiday, so it should come as no big surprise to learn that the region's biggest budget airline FlyNordic is also a little on the expensive side. You're not going to get £1 fares on FlyNordic, but you are going to get no-frills service within Sweden and to Denmark, Norway and a few other European destinations at a fairly reasonable price

FlyNordic has a complicated history of ever-shifting Finnish and Norwegian ownership, despite being largely based in Sweden. Now it's a subsidiary of Norwegian Air Shuttle (with Finnair holding 5%), and it targets both leisure travelers and business customers. In fact, businesses can buy a Business Pass good for any member of the company to use for trips within Sweden (20 flights for just $3,000) or to the rest of Scandinavia (20 flights for $3,400). At around $150 a flight, it's no Ryanair, but it does beat a regular carrier hands down.

All FlyNordic is really missing is something catchy to remember it by. After all, Finnair has its panda and Iceland Express has its blog with tips on getting an Icelandic boyfriend, so we hope FlyNordic can come up with something fun soon.

Related Stories:
· Finnair's Creepy Panda [Jaunted]
· Iceland Express Impresses [Jaunted]
· FlyNordic [Official Site]

[Photo: ::: Maltesen :::]

Finnair Sometimes Good For The Heart

April 18, 2007 at 9:12 AM | 0 Comments


Finnair made a big deal of serving up heart-friendly food during Heart Week earlier this month: every European flight over two hours in length (there can't be too many) had meals prepared according to the Finnish Heart Association recommendations. Apparently that meant using the "right" fats and announcing it over the PA to all passengers.

But we're more than a little concerned now about what Finnair food does to you outside of Heart Week--or, for that matter, on non-European flights or flights less than two hours. Is it heart-unfriendly? Despite Finnair's recent mass blitz of promotion (including the infamous fake panda) and expansion of flights to all corners of the globe, we just can't get excited about their food when this is the kind of promotion they bring out.

[Photo: Mel Kots & John Kots]

Related Stories:
· Finnair Serves Heart-Friendly Food on European Flights [Finnair]
· The Kiddies' Taste At Lufthansa [Jaunted]
· Finnair's Creepy Panda [Jaunted]