Finnair celebrates 100 years, sets goal of carbon neutrality

Finnair plans to celebrate its 100th birthday by achieving profits and expanding routes, including the Americas and the Middle East. The airline aims for carbon neutrality by 2045.

From second left, Vice President of Global Sales Jenni Suomela, CCO Ole Orvér and Finnair Korea's General Manager Kim Dong-hwan pose for a photo with Finnair's Korean flight attendants after the Finnish carrier's press conference at Lotte Hotel Seoul in Jung District, central Seoul, on Thursday. [PRAIN GLOBAL]

Finnair celebrated its 100th birthday this November and plans to be around a hundred years more, according to the Finnish carrier’s officials on Thursday.

“Covid-19 really changed everything, especially in the airline industry which had come to an almost full stop,” said Finnair CCO Ole Orvér during the airline's press conference at Lotte Hotel Seoul in Jung District, central Seoul. “Since then, it has been our goal to turn our profits around and I am very happy to say that we have achieved this.”

Finnair logged an operating profit of 179 million euros ($190.9 million) and revenue of 2.95 billion euros this year, according to Orvér. This year, the airline welcomed 10 million passengers to date.

“We strongly feel we are ready for the next 100 years,” he said.

Since the pandemic, Finnair has secured new direct flight and transfer routes which has diversified its profit structure. The airline also expanded its popular routes to the Americas and the Middle East, including Dallas, Seattle and Doha, in 2022. In the 2024 winter season, it plans to resume the Nagoya route, which was suspended due to the pandemic.

Finnair has invested some 270 billion won ($206.6 million) to make upgrades to all its cabins, such as adding an extra class of seats called premium economy and advancing its entertainment systems. For these changes, it was awarded the accolade for Best Cabin Innovation at the APEX/IFSA Awards earlier this month.

For the next 100 years, the airline has ambitious goals and the biggest one is achieving carbon neutrality by 2045.

“It’s an ambitious investment but we are believers in science,” said Orvér. The airline is set to get its environmental plans approved by the Science Based Targets initiative by the first quarter of 2024.

General Manager of Finnair Korea Kim Dong-hwan said that Korea is seeing an increasing number of people visiting northern European countries.

“Finnair will spare no investment to provide the best in-flight experience to Korean passengers,” he said. “Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, has become a popular destination for Finnair, and we are proud that Korean travelers can start their trip to Northern Europe with Finnair.”

Finnair has been operating in Korea since June 2008. It currently offers flights throughout the week going between Seoul and Helsinki.

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]