FINNAIR HISTORY

Finnair is one of world's oldest continually operating airlines. The company was founded on 1 November 1923.

Finnair flights from Helsinki via Copenhagen and Amsterdam to New York began on 15 May 1969. The new long-haul route was made possible by revolutionary navigation systems. Finnair flew to New York with DC-8 aircraft, which held nearly 200 passengers.The long-haul expansion meant that the company needed to acquire a wide-bodied fleet. In 1975 Finnair received its first wide-bodied aircraft, DC-10s.

Finnair's Far Eastern expansion began with the start of the company's direct flights to Bangkok in November 1976.

Today, Finnair operates scheduled services to more than 60 destinations in over 30 countries, including 16 points in Finland.

In recent years, it has refocused its longhaul operations on Asian routes - with its Helsinki hub ideally located geographically as a gateway between Asia and Europe. It now carries more traffic on these Asian services (measured in revenue passenger kilometres) than on its European network.

Finnair has been a member of the oneworld airline alliance since 1999.