Blue Wings Innovation issue March 2013

POSTER ARTIST ERIK BRUUN

TOP 5 LONDON BARBERSHOPS

Innovation issue

ENCOURAGING INNOVATION

YUGONOSTALGIA

Trends, destinations and insights for travellers • March 2013

Your l na perso y cop

CO-CREATING A BETTER BUSINESS

TOKYO’S WORLD OF SUSHI

SINGAPORE’S

FUTURISTIC GARDEN

An earthly journey

in Iceland

Helposti Kotiin!

*Hinta toimituksiin pääkaupunkiseudulle. Voimassa 30.3.2013 saakka, toimitus vuonna 2013.

Kannustalon kauneutta ja laatua muuttovalmiina.

Kun rakennat muuttovalmiin Kannustalo-Kodin, niin talo valmistuu nopeasti ja kustannukset pysyvät hyvin hallinnassa. Valitse suosikkisi.

MUUTTOVALMIS AUrOrA 178 5h +k, 309 730€*

MUUTTOVALMIS rAUhALA 162 5h +k, 248 850€*

MUUTTOVALMIS AUrOrA 165 5h +k, 259 140 €*

MUUTTOVALMIS AUrOrA 121b 4h +k, 202 980 €*

MUUTTOVALMIS hArMAJA 134A 5h +k, 220 340 €*

EDITORIAL

BY ARJA SUOMINEN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND CORPORATE RESPONSIBILTY

WWW.FINNAIR.COM

DEPUTY EDITOR Laura Palotie laura.palotie@sanomamagazines.fi +358 9 120 5815

Japan’s culinary culture inspires travel.

ART DIRECTOR Jaakko Koivisto Miia Taskinen LAYOUT DESIGNER Peter Sade CONTENT MANAGER Kati Heikinheimo REPROGRAPHICS Anne Lindfors, Tuukka Palmio ENGLISH TRANSLATION Wif Stenger EDITORIAL OFFICES Lapinmäentie 1, 00350 Helsinki, Finland, Postal address P.O.Box 100, 00040 Sanoma Magazines, Finland, tel. +358 9 1201, fax +358 9 120 5988, e-mail firstname.lastname@sanomamagazines.fi ADVERTISING SALES Media Assistant Sirkka Pulkkinen tel. +358 9 120 5921 PUBLISHER Sanoma Magazines Finland Oy Custom Publishing PRINTED BY Hansaprint, Turku, Finland 2013 PAPER Nova Press 70g Cover paper Lumi Art Silk 200g CIRCULATION 60,000 ISSN-0358-7703

Japanese culinary journeys

S

ome people collect souvenirs; others treasure experiences.

Over dinner during a recent trip to Tokyo, I discovered

that there are food travellers in Japan who journey to different regions for seasonal specialties. Our host was avid foodie Sakari Romu, Finnair’s Japan sales director and general man-

ager, a Finn who grew up in the Kansai area of the country.

Vitamin and mineral-rich bamboo shoots can be found throughout Japan, but Romu recommends Kyoto, as its foothills produce several varieties. The best season is during April and May. In summer, uni or sea urchin thrives in the waters off Shakotan and Nemuro on the island of Hokkaido. Romu likes Otaru, a cosy canal town near Sapporo. Autumn is samma (saury) fish season. Kesennuma, one of the country’s largest fishing ports and an area still recovering from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, is a

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Arja Suominen arja.suominen@finnair.com FINNAIR HEAD OFFICE Tietotie 11 A, Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, 1053 Finnair, Finland, tel. +358 9 81881, Postal address: P. O. Box 15, 01053 Finnair, Finland CUSTOMER FEEDBACK www.finnair.com > Information and services > After the flight or by mail: Customer Relations, SL/08, FI-01053 FINNAIR. www.finnair.com www.finnair.fi www.finnairgroup.com

good place to support the economy and sample samma.

Snow crab time is November through February. While the sweetest crabs come from Hokkaido, try them in Tottori, Fukui, or Kanazawa.

In this issue, we focus on innovation with features on topics ranging from business co-creation to Norway’s new designers. We also have a piece on Tokyo’s diverse sushi scene (see p. 44).

Wishing you a wonderful trip, Arja Suominen P.S. Check out Finnair’s 90th anniversary videos on YouTube. Each month highlights a different theme.

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MARCH 2013

18

12

ON THE COVER: GULFOSS WATERFALL BY PEPPE MANCUSO

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REGULARS

54

18

A NATURE ADVENTURE IN ICELAND

26

BUSINESS CO-CREATION

32

YUGO-NOSTALGIA IN SARAJEVO

38

SINGAPORE’S BOTANICAL FUTURE

44

MULTIFACETED SUSHI IN TOKYO

48

TOP 5: LONDON BARBERSHOPS

50

HOW TO ENCOURAGE INNOVATION

54

ERIK BRUUN’S DESIGN LEGACY

58

NEW DESIGN STARS IN NORWAY

64

CULINARY FINDS AROUND BENIDORM

70

TEA FOR TWO: OUTOTEC’S PERTTI KORHONEN

77

TIMES SQUARE TREASURES

6

TRAVEL MOMENT

30

ALEXANDER STUBB

73

THIS MONTH AROUND THE WORLD

80

FINLAND IN FIGURES

58

38 IN THIS ISSUE Rome, p. 6 Levi, p. 12 Santiago de Compostela, p. 14 Iceland, p. 18 Sarajevo, p. 32 Singapore, p. 38 Tokyo, p. 44 London, p. 48 Norway, p. 58 Benidorm, p. 64 New York, p. 77

TRAVEL COLUMNS 10

12

14

NEWS

EDUCATION

DESTINATION

OUTDOORS

Record result for UNICEF

Helsinki-Shanghai exchanges

Levi in Finnish Lapland

The Camino way

77

32

FLYING FINNAIR

8

New border crossings

82

Before and during the flight

83

Fleet

87

Helsinki Airport

88

Maps and destinations

90

Corporate responsibility

94

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TRAVEL MOMENT

PHOTO BY REIJO HIETANEN

PALACE OF WORSHIP EXPLORING ROME’S wide array of grand churches, a visitor is likely to spot a group of nuns; the city is home to the headquarters of several religious orders, and is thus known for its large number of Christian devotees.

This particular group was touring San Gio-

vanni in Laterano, the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome. It was originally established in the fourth century and has been rebuilt and restored several times after being hit by battles, fires, earthquakes and other disasters.

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TRAVEL NEWS

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY KATJA PANTZAR

©

UNICEF/INDA2011-00207/NIKLAS HALLE’N

FINNAIR UPGRADES

RECORD RESULTS

T

he Change for Good collection by Finnair for UNICEF has raised almost 70,000 euros for UNICEF’s Schools for Asia programme, which supports education for children in 11 Asian countries. The result is a 10,000-euro increase over the previous year’s achievement.

During the six-week campaign from November 26, 2012 to January 6, 2013, Finnair customers donated 69,729.28 euros via envelope collection on board aircraft and donation boxes at Helsinki Airport. Finnair Plus customers donated more than two million Finnair Plus points.

“I want to warmly thank all our customers who have given their support to Change for Good,” says Arja Suominen, senior vice president of corporate communications and corporate responsibility.

The UNICEF Schools for Asia camFINNAIR.COM

TRAFFIC UP ACCORDING TO the International Air Transport Association (IATA), there was a 5.3 per cent year-on-year increase in passenger demand in 2012. The increase was slightly down on 2011 growth of 5.9 per cent, but above the 5 per cent 20-year average.

WWW.IATA.ORG

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paign supports children’s schooling in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, East Timor, India, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Vietnam. The campaign aims to provide children with qualified teachers, safe and clean school facilities, and curricula that include lifeskills education in health, nutrition, hygiene, sanitation, and HIV prevention.

In order to achieve permanent and positive change, UNICEF works together with local authorities and village communities.

Finnair Plus loyalty customers can donate their points to UNICEF throughout the year. Monetary donations can be made at permanent collection boxes around Helsinki Airport.

Since 1994 Finnair and its customers have donated 1.17 million euros to UNICEF.

PROFITABLE 2012 Finnair turned a profit last year for the first time since 2007. Net sales increased by nearly 8.5 per cent. Operating profit was just under 45 million euros. Finnair transported more than 8.8 million ­passengers last year, an increase of almost nine per cent over 2011.

CABIN CHANGES Starting in January 2014, Finnair will install new fullflat seats in its long-haul Business Class. After the process is completed in autumn of that year, all of Finnair’s long-haul fleet will have these seats with the exception of three older aircraft that will retire in 2015.

STOCKHOLM NEWS Finnair will move from Terminal 5 to the revamped Terminal 2 at Stockholm-Arlanda on April 9th. Terminal 2’s renovation will be completed on April 23rd, doubling seating space, adding new restaurants and shops, and shortening travel time from check-in through security and to the gates. A priority lane through security is available, and Finnair’s premium passengers can enjoy the brand-new Menzies Executive Lounge.

EASTER EXTRAS FINNAIR will fly more than 30 additional flights during the busy Easter period of March 22 to April 2. The majority are to popular European destinations such as Malaga, Barcelona, and Madrid in Spain.

Five extra frequencies to Amsterdam will be available, while extra connections to Nice, Krakow, Ljubljana and Dubrovnik are also on offer.

TRAVEL EDUCATION

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY BRONWEN SCOTT PALOMÄKI

ISTOCKPHOTO

FURNITURE FROM FINLAND

DEMIC BRIDGE A C A AN

FINLAND’S interior and furniture designers will be the main attraction at one of Shanghai’s first international modern furniture design events, Designed by Yrjö Kukkapuro and Avarte Exhibition.

The event will take place over three weeks starting April 19 at Tongji University’s College of Design and Innovation.

China’s growing middle class is looking beyond traditional luxury to everyday high-end products, including the Scandinavian variety. Celebrated Finnish designer Yrjö Kukkapuro will join other top international names to speak at the exhibition’s accompanying symposium. Kukkapuro’s classics can be found at museums around the world, such as New York’s Museum of Modern Art. RADICALDESIGNWEEK.COM

TO CHINA

D

ouble degrees, mobile courses and an exhibition series of star students’ projects are a few of the ongoing joint activities of Helsinki’s Aalto University and Shanghai’s prestigious, centuryold Tongji University. The partnership began in 2010, the same year Aalto was established, with the opening of the SinoFinnish Centre in Shanghai.

“Although Aalto has had hundreds of relationships with foreign universities around the globe, its partnership with Tongji is the first truly strategic, systematic, and long-term one,” says Hannu Seristö, vice president of Aalto. “Aalto and Tongji are well-matched with the same sort of goals and values, including a readiness to change and renew.”

The relationship between the two institutions was highlighted in autumn of 2012, when Aalto and Tongji spearheaded events at Shanghai’s Radical Design Week.

The ten-day initiative focused on Finland strengthening its profile in China as a world innovator.

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Shanghai’s Aalto-Tongji Design Factory, modelled after a similar space in Helsinki, is also taking off. The space serves as the core platform for the collaboration and doesn’t look like a typical academic laboratory. The décor incorporates beanbag chairs, sofas with oversized Marimekkoupholstered pillows and a Finnish sauna.

Students take part in programmes such as Product Design and Innovation – now on offer for the first full year.

While cooperation among multi-disciplined and multicultured students and teachers is a key driver of the program’s appeal, business participation provides another vital component. Finnish corporations Biolan, Kone and Metso provide mentoring and financial resources, and in return stay up to date on research results and have access to a strong and international recruiting platform.

SINOFINNISHCENTRE.ORG/BETA

IN A GLOBAL CLASSROOM WITH A GROWING NUMBER of Finns and Chinese studying in the same classes, teachers are trying to address differences in learning habits. Some have observed, for example, that while keeping quiet during class is a trait shared by many Chinese and Finnish students, the Chinese tend to expect more guidelines from teachers before working solo.

Intensive one-week pedagogical training workshops at Aalto and Tongji in April and May, respectively, will aim at honing multicultural teaching methods.

“Teachers need to understand the cultural learning environment to which their students are accustomed,” explains Kirsi Kettula, educational developer at Aalto.

BRIGHT IDEAS INTO SMART SOLUTIONS Neste Jacobs is a preferred solution provider of high-quality technology, engineering and project services for a wide range of industries in the oil and gas, petrochemicals, chemicals and biotechnology fields.

welcometonj.com

TRAVEL DESTINATION

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY EEVA PUHAKAINEN

Levi’s long season helps pro skiers to stay in top form.

LAPLAND’S

T

he alpine-style ski resort of Levi, the largest in Finnish Lapland, offers slopes preferred by pros and a range of northern delicacies. One of these is the king crab, a majestic creature that one might not imagine encountering in Finland. Yet Levi’s King Crab House has been serving up these Arctic crustaceans since late 2012.

“The idea for the restaurant came from a Norwegian couple, Håkon and Toini Karlsen,” says manager Jouko Siimesvaara. The Karlsens, who often come to Levi on holiday, run a hotel and restaurant in a former fish factory on Norway’s Nordkapp (North Cape). A maritime eatery in Levi was a natural next step.

Crab meat, which is low in fat and high in protein, is typically served steamed. As a main course, a kilo of crab will feed four.

One can hand-pick a crab from the aquarium at 148 euros per kilo. King Crab House also serves other Arctic Sea delights such as black cod, halibut, catfish and mussels, alongside traditional Lapp delicacies. Make sure to book a table ahead of time (kingcrabhouse.fi).

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At restaurants Tango and Bistro on Levi’s restaurant street (ravintolakatu.fi/ en), you can sample fare prepared by Top Chef Finland competitor Sami Salonen. He catches fish in local rivers and procures game fowl straight from the hunters of Kiruna, just across the border in Sweden.

Reindeer venison and sausages at Tango and Bistro, meanwhile, are acquired from “Poro-Matti” (“Reindeer Matti”) in a nearby village. The same man provides sausages for Helsinki’s Lappi restaurant, where American celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain fell in love with them. Much to Matti’s surprise, his reindeer sausages are now served at some of Europe’s most luxurious restaurants.

A CHAMPION ENDORSEMENT The undisputed queen of Levi is slalom champion Tanja Poutiainen, who won her first World Cup event on Levi’s Black Slope in 2004. She won FIS World Cup slalom titles in 2005 and 2009. This season, the Olympic silver medallist is back in form, having placed second at last November’s World Cup event in Levi. Thanks to its location 170 kilometres north of the

LEVI TOURISM

NORTHERN KINGDOM Arctic Circle, the resort usually opens in November.

“One of the things that’s special about Levi is its extremely long season,” says Poutiainen. “Last year I was still on the fell on April 30 and all 44 pistes were open.”

Levi also invites skiers of all levels to test out its cross-country trails. They range from a 2.3-kilometre “Mini Reindeer” route to the traditional 18-kilometre circuit. The most challenging trails around nearby Kätkä Fell include four routes ranging from 16 to 40 kilometres.

The heart of Levi is the Zero Point complex, right below the front pistes. Here you’ll find equipment rentals and a café and shop named after Poutiainen, with a ski school nearby. And starting at 3 pm, a DJ-led after-ski party begins on the V’inkkari restaurant’s terrace: it’s not uncommon for revellers to jump up onto the benches or sing karaoke.

FINNAIR FLIES to Kittilä several times daily.

WHAT’S ON AT LEVI IN MARCH ARCTIC HORSE RACE, representing the popular Finnish sport of horse racing, takes place on the frozen Lake Levijärvi.

March 16–17

DSPMEDIA.ORG/ARCTIC

LEVI TOURISM

YOUNG SKIERS square off at the giant slalom Finnish junior championship on March 2.

LEVI IN A NUTSHELL SKI TOURISM began at Levi in the 1930s, and the first downhill skiing competition was staged in 1941. Today there are 44 slopes, with the longest at 2,500 metres.

There are also 26 lifts and two snow parks for snowboarders. A dozen hotels, half of them apartments, offer a total of 24,000 beds.

THE SUMMIT of Levi Fell is 531 metres above sea level. The World Cup course, the Black Slope, starts at an altitude of 438 metres. Levi is the World Cup circuit’s northernmost site. It’s also the lowest place ever to record a temperature as frigid as -51 degrees Celsius, in 1999.

LEVI PARTNERS with other resorts that host FIS Alpine Ski World Cup events. A Levi season ticket also includes free access to the Adelboden-Lenk and Jungfrau Ski Region slopes in Switzerland and a 50 per cent discount to St. Moritz in the Engadine Valley.

THE LAPLAND SUPER PASS provides access to Levi and three other nearby ski centres: Ylläs, Pallas and Olos. A six-day pass costs €150 to 200, depending on the time of year.

LEVI IS IN THE VILLAGE of Sirkka in the municipality of Kittilä, a 15-minute drive from Kittilä’s airport.

ISTOCKPHOTO

LEVISKICLUB.FI

TRAVEL ADVENTURE

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY LAURA WARIS

CAMINO URLS Plan your route

MUNDICAMINO.COM/INGLES

Connect with other pilgrims

CAMINODESANTIAGO.ME

Get more information

SANTIAGO-COMPOSTELA.NET

A LEGENDARY

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The word “primitive” may mean a quality or style that offers a very basic level of comfort, or a direct style of art that deliberately rejects sophisticated techniques. The Camino embodies both definitions: here life is reduced to the basics. You wear one set of clothing and carry another. Water, toiletries and a camera can be among the few extras – as well as blister-care equipment.

Albergues offer basic sleeping quarters, toilets and opportunities for washing. Daily walking directions are also simple: follow the yellow arrows and shells.

Unencumbered by excess, you take only what you need, rest when it’s necessary, and focus on what is relevant to the moment: amazing mountain views, the opportunity to be alone with one’s thoughts and the chance to meet other travellers seeking similar peace and quiet. Primitive is something to strive for, especially if your definition was picked along the Way of St. James.

FINNAIR offers excellent flight connections to Bilbao via Paris and Madrid. Oviedo can be reached by bus from Madrid or Bilbao.

PRACTICAL TIPS: THE RIGHT BACKPACK is important; buy one that fits just right.

REMAIN FLEXIBLE with your daily itinerary. Plans tend to change here, and that’s okay.

STOP FREQUENTLY to rest. Take off your shoes and socks to get rid of excess moisture on your feet.

YOUR SHOES are your best friends. Get a pair of light hiking boots that are about a half a size too big and wear them in before you go.

ISTOCKPHOTO

“C

ome see this,” the caretaker of our alberque (hostel), Domingo Ugarte, beckons with a wave of his hand. He has put away his mop and bucket and spread out a map on the big dining table in the communal kitchen. The other pilgrims have climbed into their bunks after a long first day of walking along the Primitive Way, one of the oldest stretches of the Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St. James, in northern Spain. The pilgrimage is said to date to the 9th century or earlier.

Ugarte points out “the way of San Salvador” from León to Oviedo in Spain, of which he walks a section every weekend.

On weekdays he welcomes pilgrims and cooks dinner at the Albergue of San Juan de Villapañada. Everyone chips in to cover the cost of food supplies.

Ugarte’s guests are en route to the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, in which the remains of James the Apostle were believed to be located. The 800-kilometre French Way from the Pyrenees is the most travelled route. The oldest is the Primitive Way, stretching 328 kilometres and beginning from Oviedo.

ISTOCKPHOTO

PILGRIMAGE

Pohjoisesplanadi 37 - 00100 - Helsinki - Finland + 358 9 6855 7611 • info@manglani.fi

THE FINEST SELECTION OF READY TO WEAR AND ACCESSORIES AVAILABLE IN STORE OR 100% CUSTOM TAILORED IN ITALY WWW.MANGLANI.FI

TRAVEL BOOKS

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY KATJA PANTZAR

PEN AND INK

Helsinki’s main railway station is an example of Finnish National Romantic style.

HELSINKI JUGENDSTIL –Art Nouveau Promenades (Taide) by Jonathan Moorhouse is a classic style guide with maps and pencil drawings by the author, an English architect, who has lived in Helsinki since 1963. A third edition of the book, first published in 1987, was released in 2012.

KUSTANNUSTAIDE.FI

SOILE LAAKSONEN/VR GROUP

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF

HELSINKI GOTHIC

“I

want to share this delightfully eccentric style of architecture with the world,” says Cody Douglas Oreck, author of Storybook Helsinki and Beyond (WSOY), a coffee-table book illustrated by Helsinkibased, Romanian-born photographer Octavian Bâlea.

When the designer and sustainability activist arrived in Helsinki in 2009 (her husband Bruce J. Oreck is the United States ambassador to Finland), she was surprised and charmed by the endless number of buildings in Art Nouveau Jugend (also known as Finnish National Romantic) and Art Deco style.

On discovering few books on the topic, Oreck joined forces with Bâlea. The duo spent three years compiling the 160-page book. It tells a story, in English and Finnish, of Finnish cultural identity being formed through this architectural style.

The Finnish capital boasts the largest concentration of Art Nouveau Jugend buildings in Northern Europe. Yet it’s

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somewhat of a well-kept secret, perhaps in part, says the author, due to the political weight of this early 20th-century style.

Shortly after Finland gained its independence in 1917, a civil war occurred.

According to Oreck, “the project lives on. We’re inviting submissions from readers via our website.”

STORYBOOKHELSINKI.COM

AS CLARE MOORHOUSE, an American diplomat’s wife living in Paris, prepares for an important dinner party, a secret from her past threatens to surface in An Unexpected Guest (Little, Brown)

by Anne Korkeakivi. Exquisitely written – Kirkus Reviews calls it “a beautifully modulated first novel” – the story takes place over a 24-hour period; it has been compared by reviewers to Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway.

Korkeakivi’s sensibility is also reminiscent of Michael Cunningham’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Hours in its universal themes of memory, morality, and social conscience.

BRAVE NEW WORLD AWARD-WINNING Finnish writer Kari Hotakainen’s The Human Part (MacLehose Press), originally published in Finnish as Ihmisen Osa, is a dark satire on the absurdities of modern life in Finland. When elderly Salme Sinikka Malmikunnas sells her life story to an author in dire need of a plot, conflict ensues over creative license. As Salme’s story unfolds – her husband has not spoken since a family tragedy occurred – she and the author confront the differences between fact and fiction, and discover how a mother wants to believe the best about her adult children regardless of evidence to the contrary.

PETRIFUN MIES

EI SILITÄ PETRIFUN.FI

PAITAKAUPPA.FI

TEXT BY MIRA JALOMIES

PHOTOS BY PEPPE MANCUSO

ICELAND’S HOT SPRINGS, GLACIERS AND LAVA FIELDS INSPIRE AN UNTAMED ATTITUDE. EMBRACE THIS INSTINCT, HOP IN A CAMPER AND HIT THE OPEN ROAD.

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&

&

ICE MARCH 2013

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A small campervan, stocked with a fridge, hot plate and beds, is handy for getting around Iceland.

A

crowd stands at the edge of a small natural pool; no-one is speaking as they stare at the bubbling, undulating surface of the water, which alternately rises and recedes. Suddenly an enormous turquoise bubble explodes out of the pool, forming a sculpture many metres high and spewing water and steam. A collective gasp of astonishment escapes our lips. Strokkur geyser, which erupts every five or ten minutes to a height of up to 30 metres, knows how put on a show.

This geothermal area in southwest Iceland is one of the country’s most popular sights, and the number one destination for tourist busses departing from the capital of Reykjavík. But if you come on your own and stay overnight at a nearby campsite or hotel, you can commune with the thermal spirits when the place is deserted at night. There’s no admission fee – and in summer there’s enough natural light to allow you to roam outdoors around the clock.

The entire rocky landscape steams as mildly sulphuric gases vent out through cracks in the surface.

The restless water in the sinkholes and streams is boiling hot. The area’s most legendary feature, the Great Geysir itself, has almost gone to sleep, however.

Its spout, which can be as high as 80 metres, only appears during earthquakes – at least for now.

CHASING WATERFALLS Iceland sits alone in the North Atlantic, between continental Europe and Greenland. The land is

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scarcely worth visiting for its museums, architecture or culinary offerings. Shopping is really only possible in Reykjavík. Rather, it is the island’s strange, rugged wildness that has made it famous. Three years ago, when volcanic eruptions at Eyjafjallajökull disrupted global air traffic, Iceland’s volatile nature became part of global conversation.

ICELAND HAS ONE OF EUROPE’S LARGEST WILDERNESS AREAS. Beyond the geysers, the volcanic earth shows up in the form of active volcanoes, black beaches and hot springs, some of which are used as outdoor spas. This small island nation includes one of Europe’s largest wilderness areas and world’s third largest glacier, Vatnajökull, which is a national park. It also boasts magnificent waterfalls.

One of the most impressive waterfalls is the mighty Gullfoss, which flows near the geysers and emits a thundering sound that can be heard from a distance.

Standing above it, one has to shout to make him- or herself heard. The power of the water also makes a spectator’s hair stand up. The masses of water plunge down a cliff in two places before uniting into a river that whooshes into a narrow channel.

Puffins nest on the Dyrhólaey peninsula.

ACTIVE ICELAND

TOP 3

Sweaters knitted from the wool of Icelandic sheep make good souvenirs. ,

1

Glacier trekking. Iceland’s glaciers are rapidly changing their shape, so it’s advisable to visit with a guide. Icelandic Mountain Guides offer hiking trips to the Sólheimajökull and Skaftafell glaciers. Ice picks and studs for your boots are provided.

WWW.MOUNTAINGUIDES.IS

2

Whale watching. The best chance to spot whales or dolphins in Iceland is near Húsavík on the north coast, where as many as ten species of whales visit in summers. Several companies offer whale-watching cruises. North Sailing, which operates traditional wooden fishing boats, supplies warm rain gear.

WWW.NORTHSAILING.IS

3

Riding. The island nation is famous for its sturdy little purebred horses, of which there are more than 70,000. For tourists, there are options ranging from one-hour rides to expeditions lasting many days.

WWW.ISHESTAR.IS WWW.ELDHESTAR.IS

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Gullfoss is the most famous of Iceland’s many waterfalls.

ICELAND IN A NUTSHELL: POPULATION 320,000, concentrated in the southwest. The capital Reykjavík has 120,000 residents, with about 200,000 based in the metropolitan area.

LANGUAGE Icelandic – but you can get by fine with English.

CURRENCY The Icelandic crown; 1000 ISK is worth about six euros. Prices are high, though they have declined since the 2008 economic crash.

WEATHER Capricious and windy, but kept mild year-round by the Gulf Stream. In midsummer, temperatures rise to about 10–20 degrees Celsius, remaining at around zero for much of the winter.

THE ROAD around the island, the R1, has a speed limit of 90 kph.

A SMALL CAMPER VAN is a convenient way to travel. They can be hired from companies such as Happy Campers (www.happycampers.is). You can also tour the island and its main attractions by bus. The most popular day trip from Reykjavík is the “Golden Triangle” route including Geysir, the Gullfoss waterfall and Þingvellir National Park, which is located on the line where the Eurasian and North American continental plates meet.

More information:

VISITICELAND.COM, ICELAND.IS

Mývatn Nature Baths JARDBODIN.IS

Boat trips on Jökulsárlón lagoon ICELAGOON.IS

A view of the village of Vik in southern Iceland.

Many coastal towns, including Höfn, get their income from fishing and fish processing.

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A French couple enjoying a lunch break at Höfn harbour.

AROUND ICELAND’S MAIN ROAD, HOUSES AND VILLAGES ARE RARE. Even on a sunny midsummer day, the wind in Iceland can be so fierce that a woollen cap and gloves are essential. At times the wind splashes water straight onto your face, then shifts to shower the meadows and flower-covered slopes.

MOBILE HOME IN THE WILD Many of Iceland’s main natural attractions are located on or near the 1,340-kilometre main road that circles the island. You can circumnavigate the country by bus, but the treasures of nature at best explored at your own pace.

Accommodation is not available in every village, though. In summer, rooms must be booked well in advance and prices are steep – a single room will usually set you back more than 100 euros. So the most convenient alternative is to hire a converted compact van with a kitchenette and bed. In sparsely populated areas, having your own food is essential. In the evenings, you can head to a campsite, which are located near villages, farms and key attractions. In many areas you can overnight for free amid gorgeous scenery – there is plenty of empty space in Iceland.

It’s possible to drive quickly around the main road

within a few days, but a week gives you enough time to enjoy the silence. The road is narrow, but paved and uncrowded. Often you can drive dozens of kilometres without encountering anyone besides horses galloping around their meadows or sheep ripping up grass along the edge of the road.

Houses and villages are rare. Typically the road is just surrounded by treeless lava fields and plains.

Behind the rocky meadows of stunted vegetation are glaciers or the majestic volcano Hekla with its shroud of snow.

AN ICE LAGOON In some areas, the landscape can change dramatically several times within a day’s drive. On the south coast, in the Dyrhólaey nature preserve, the scenery is dominated by vertical cliffs, rock arches curving over the sea and deserted lava beaches. Many visitors scan the surroundings with binoculars as they look for some of Iceland’s most appealing natives: the orangefooted, bright-beaked puffins that nest in cliffside holes.

A couple of hours’ drive away is a mysterious ice lagoon, Jökulsárlón, which is constantly changing its shape. Ice boulders stick out of the clear water, reflecting in its glassy surface. From a boat, you can admire these ice sculptures as well as ice crystals that glow with a deep turquoise hue in the sunlight.

The lake, formed by melting glaciers, is small but deep. At high tide, sea water flows into the lagoon, bringing with it fish. If you’re lucky, you might see seals diving in to catch their dinner.

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Boat excursions are offered on ice lagoon of Jökulsárlón.

THE WARM, SOPORIFIC WATER IS HARD TO SWIM IN. And if you can tear yourself away from this display, the scene may change again before evening. In the fjord area of the east coast, the road winds along the shore with its many bays. The mountain slopes are steep and moss-covered. Here and there are farm houses and peaceful coastal villages with colourful fishing boats.

A BATH UNDER THE STARS Although you might at this point think that you’ve seen the whole range of Iceland’s landscapes, you might be surprised by the island’s northeast corner, the volcanically active Mývatn area. One can easily spend several days marvelling at the surreal lava formations, walking across the endless, rugged lava fields and climbing up to the top of the volcanic crater.

At Hverir geothermal field, a strong stench of sulphur greets you before even arrive. The unpleasant smell is soon forgotten, though, as an otherworldly scene spreads out before you, a rocky plateau punctuated by thick columns of steam and bordered by hills.

The landscape glows with colours painted by the sulphite gases – ochre, brick-red and orange. Paths lead to the blazing hot, relentlessly belching mudholes 24 BLUE WINGS

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The geothermal water at Mývatn Nature Baths outdoor spa is between 38 and 42 degrees Celsius.

and the odd piles of rocks that steam and hiss like power plants. It feels, literally, like walking on another planet.

The most relaxing experience of the day – or the whole trip – is a visit to the Mývatn Nature Baths geothermal outdoor spa. Its mineral-rich water, which bubbles up from deep in the earth, sometimes looks turquoise, and sometimes as cloudy as soapy water.

With a temperature between 38 and 42 degrees Celsius, the water is so warm and soporific that it’s hard to swim in. Instead, adopt a comfortable position on the benches that curve around the edges of the pools, close your eyes and let the warmth seep into your limbs. When you begin to overheat, you can clamber out to cool off. This doesn’t take long, since even in the middle of summer the air temperature of about 15 degrees soon refreshes you.

The main pool is smaller than that at the country’s most renowned spa, the Blue Lagoon near Reykjavík, and it has a quieter, more intimate atmosphere. Surrounded by natural rocks amid lava fields, this sandybottomed lagoon blends naturally into its environment. In the glow of the evening sun, this place is gorgeous – and in midwinter, you might spot northern lights unfurling overhead.

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26 BLUE WINGS

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KLAUS K HOTEL’S NEW LOBBY LOUNGE IN HELSINKI, DESIGNED IN PART BY A PATRON, IS AN INNOVATIVE EXAMPLE OF COCREATION IN THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY. THIS WAY OF ENGAGING CUSTOMERS HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN USED BY GLOBAL PRODUCT GIANTS SUCH AS STARBUCKS AND NIKE.

CO-CREATION THE BETTER-TOGETHER

PARADIGM TEXT BY KATJA PANTZAR

O

ILLUSTRATIONS BY JUSSI KAAKINEN

n a warm August afternoon in 2012, Marc Skvorc, general manager of Helsinki’s Klaus K boutique hotel, placed an open Facebook invitation – “Be a designer for a day” – inviting submissions for a new lounge scheme. Six hours later his inbox pinged with the first entry, an idea for a living room space by Jukka Juhola, a fan of the original hotel concept, which is built around the Finnish national epic The Kalevala.

“When I saw his sketches and Pinterest images, I thought, this guy really understands exactly who we are and what we do,” says Skvorc, who followed his own instincts with the social media call for entries.

Although expert recommendations suggested a more engineered approach, Skvorc, who manages the familyowned hotel with his wife Mia Cederberg-Skvorc, felt strongly about having the hotel’s heavy users drive the process.

“Our way of working is about challenging the traditional aspects of the hotel business,” he says. “We wanted to turn the normally business-led design proce-

dure around and give guests direct access to creating this renewal. We believe openness is a key element to managing a business in a flourishing community.”

INSPIRATION STRIKES Juhola, who works for a Helsinki communications agency, says that openness was a key element in his desire to participate.

“The most important thing was that the threshold for participation was low,” he says, “which is why the co-creation paradigm works. I don’t have the drawing skills, so the opportunity to submit ideas in words and pictures felt just right when inspiration struck.”

The Designer for a Day idea was part of the Helsinki World Design Capital 2012 official programme. Despite Skvorc’s initial enthusiasm for Juhola’s ideas, further submissions were accepted. The jury, comprised of Klaus K board members and Finnish designerati, selected the top six submissions and deliberated.

In the end, Juhola’s concept was chosen and carried out with Swedish interior architecture and design agency Stylt Trampoli in Gothenburg, the company that transformed the historic Klaus Kurki Hotel into a design hotel in 2005. Juhola will travel with Skvorc to

“MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE THRESHOLD FOR PARTICIPATION WAS LOW.”

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A WORLD WHERE EVERYONE WINS OR LOSES IN THE BOARD GAME Co-opoly: The Game of Cooperatives, players collaborate to found and run a democratic business. In order to survive as individuals and to strive for the success of their co-op, players make tough choices regarding big and small challenges while putting their teamwork abilities to the test (a challenge for anyone used to a hierarchical work environment where someone else tells him or her what to do). This is a game where everyone wins or everybody loses.

By playing Co-opoly, players discover the unique benefits, challenges, and operations of the cooperative world – as well as the skills needed to participate in a co-op. The Guardian newspaper described it as “like Monopoly, but better.”

Using a Nike armband, runners could log their distances and times and check their heart rates and calories burned. Nike employees also created a datatracking sensor that allowed users to share their runs online. After partnering with Apple, Nike Plus membership grew from 600,000 to 3 million people worldwide. The platform increased Nike’s market share by ten per cent in the first year alone.

In addition to his work as an academic, Ramaswamy also helps organizations conceive and execute new co-creation business ideas. He has been instrumental in the executive development partnership between global auto industry giant Mahindra & Mahindra of India and the Ross School of Business.

“PEOPLE TRAVELLING FOR BUSINESS DON’T WANT TO STAY IN THEIR HOTEL ROOMS ALONE.”

STORE.TOOLBOXFORED.ORG

Gothenburg to participate in a “Day as a Designer” event. He will choose his favourite table in the LivingRoom, which will be designated “The Jukka Juhola table” with a lifetime reservation.

HARNESSING CREATIVITY Venkat Ramaswamy is widely credited with coining the term “co-creation” along with business thinker and professor C.K. Prahalad: they first introduced the concept in a Harvard Business Review article in 2000.

A Hallman Fellow of electronic business and professor of marketing at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, Ramaswamy has written dozens of articles on the topic for top-tier business journals and is the co-author of The Power of Co-creation (2010) with Francis Gouillart.

“In my research, I have not come across many travel-related examples of co-creation projects such as the Klaus K design hotel,” says Ramaswamy. “There are examples out there on both the design and consumer engagement side, but the mindset shift from a traditional ‘service delivery’ to ‘service experience co-creation’ has not yet occurred,” he says.

In his The Power of Co-creation, the examples of successful co-creation initiatives include café retailer Starbucks’ MyStarbucksIdea.com that was started to tap into customers’ ideas, and Nike Plus, the online platform that grew from a social network of runners.

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Using co-creation, Mahindra’s company culture has been transformed by enabling the sharing of specialised knowledge that had to be rolled out at high speed and no cost. Senior Mahindra management estimated that within 18 months, 50 learning and training modules were created, with 400 to 500 employees benefitting. It’s an achievement that would have taken ten years using traditional classroom methods.

MARKET RESEARCH When Klaus K’s Marc Skvorc started considering different renovation options for the hotel, named Finland’s leading hotel in 2012 by the World Travel Awards, he travelled to New York City and LA, Istanbul, Paris, and Moscow. The Rake block of buildings that houses the hotel in Helsinki has been in his wife’s family for more than 100 years, and naturally the board had to approve the half a million euro renovation budget and the concept.

“I realised that when people travel for business, whether four, five or 150 times a year, they want a space where they can relax, work, catch up on email and socialise. The distinction between work and leisure has become less defined,” says Skvorc.

“The space should be stimulating but not overbearing, alone but together. People don’t want to stay in their hotel rooms alone, especially if they’re travelling for business, regardless of how cool their room is.

Being alone is not conducive to creativity,” he says, adding that the new Klaus K LivingRoom has a library, pool table, snack menu and fireplace. “Locals are welcome too, we are not a closed community, and people in the neighbourhood do come for breakfast, brunch, events, and get-togethers.”

Future Klaus K Hotel projects include increasing the current capacity of 137 rooms to 160 rooms and adding 400 square feet of solar roof panels. “We will most certainly use co-creation again in other initiatives,” says Skvorc.

INNOVATIVE AIRPORT SPACES A similar sense of community and spirit of co-creation brought about Helsinki Airport’s Book Swap, which allows passengers to drop off books they’ve finished reading and pick up new ones.

It was launched in June 2012, arising out of Helsinki Airport and Finnair’s Quality Hunters initiative.

This project was started so that the airline and Helsinki Airport could receive concrete feedback on how to improve the passenger experience.

The Book Swap has grown to be a small room with bookshelves and armchairs. There’s even a book swap sticker where readers can record each book’s travels.

FUTURE PARADIGMS In the preface to professor Ramaswamy’s 2014 book, The Co-creation Paradigm, co-authored with Kerimcan Ozcan, he says that, “harnessing the creativity of customers and employees is the heart of co-creation.

Co-creation is much larger than just engagement. It’s about bringing together different ways in which people can contribute. It’s about the human experience, and I believe it has the power to change our future by creating a better world environment around us, which is badly needed in these times.”

WWW.KLAUSKHOTEL.COM WWW.VENKATRAMASWAMY.COM

WHAT IS CO-CREATION? MOBILE WEB and social media are among the forces that have changed the way people think, act and work. Businesses can no longer afford to view customers and other stakeholders as passive recipients of products and services, and must engage them in defining and delivering enhanced value.

According to The Power of Co-creation (2010) by Venkat Ramaswamy and Francis Gouillart, co-creation goes beyond listening and feedback. It’s about redefining the process and how organisations engage individuals – customers, employees, suppliers, partners and stake-

holders – by bringing them into the value creation process and engaging them in it. This engagement can then achieve results such as designing new products and services, lowering risks and costs, formulating new strategies, increasing market share and loyalty.

An engagement platform comprises people, interfaces, processes, and artefacts, which then evolve into valuegenerating environments. The building blocks are dialogue, access, transparency, and reflexivity. Ideas generated via co-creation become an integral part of a company’s decision-making process.

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EUROPEAN VOICES

BY ALEXANDER STUBB

Stop dividing Europe!

T

he past four years have been a bit on the tough side for a Europhile like me. A financial crisis led to a debt crisis that had farreaching implications on our currency, the euro. We lost confidence in each other.

We are in calmer waters, at least for the time being. It’s time to start healing the wounds. Over the past few years there have been attempts to redivide Europe into various categories, which I think sucks.

It feels as if the North-South divider is becoming similar to the East-West dicho­ tomy during the Cold War. Unquestion­ ably, there is a growing public perception that Europe is coalescing into two spheres – North and South – sometimes with added flavours like creditor/debtor, dynamic/rigid, competitive/ uncompetitive.

These labels are nothing new – in popular depictions Europe has long been divided into wine and beer drinkers, Protestant and Catholic, Roman and non-Roman, with the purpose of giving deeper meaning to these general labels and backgrounds.

As fun as these generalisations can be, I have serious misgivings about them.

They are built on the logic of predetermination ‒ that you cannot change what you are. The poor have to remain poor and the rich will remain rich.

THE EAST-WEST division was a harsh reality during the Cold War, but it was an unnatural and externally imposed division, an aberration of history. We should stop thinking in terms of Eastern and Western Europe as defining what we are. ­I also wonder how many decades it will take to stop referring to “new member states” in the European Union.

The essence of Europe is liberty.

With the Cold War impositions over and the EU membership providing equal opportunities, every country is free to pursue its own destiny. This is a

big change from the world many of us grew to know – a divided Europe. The Baltic Sea was part of this sharp division.

Looking back at our recent history, northern Europe was performing badly and needed major economic reforms.

Only about ten years ago Germany was referred to as “the sick man of Europe.”

Ireland is not particularly southern either.

Being a northerner does not make you immune to economic hardship, as the deep Finnish recession in the early 1990s demonstrated.

IT’S TIME TO BUILD BRIDGES, NOT WALLS. WHAT REALLY DIVIDES EUROPE, if not geographical stereotypes? Probably two things: globalisation and the euro.

Europe is shaped by globalisation. This is the great challenge today. In my mind the real issue and divider in Europe is whether you are ready to deal with this fact or pretend it is not there. Are you a localist or a globalist?

The second divider is the euro, and the question is simple. Are you in or out?

Currently 17 member states are in the eurozone. Within a few years another six or seven will join. Only the United Kingdom and Denmark have legal opt-outs.

Our Swedish neighbours fullfill the criteria, but cannot join for political reasons.

The euro is the centre of gravity in the Union, its anchor. I think that we have removed all doubts about its permanence – the euro is here to stay. Economic performance is a real issue of substance, and the euro is the feature that defines a member state’s place in the Union.

The crisis might not be completely over, but it is time to stop building new mental Berlin walls. We don’t need to draw new artificial borders within Europe. The whole purpose of integration is to break barriers, not build them.

Alexander Stubb is Finland’s minister of European affairs and foreign trade.

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NOSTALGIA IS EN VOGUE IN THE BOSNIAN CAPITAL OF SARAJEVO.

IN SEARCH OF

YUGOSLAVIA TEXT BY IIDA RIEKKO

PHOTOS BY KAROLIINA PAATOS

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C

hurches and minarets tower over the roofs of Sarajevo’s old town, Baščaršija, where the scent of roasting kebab meat and coffee lingers on the narrow streets. Two girls walk by, arms linked – one is wearing a headscarf (hijab), the other tight pants and a trendy top. In Sarajevo, a city that spreads out between green hills, East meets West and a fondness for tradition mixes with modern urban culture.

The old town’s souvenir shops are stocked with Turkishstyle coffee pots and embroideries – as well as heaps of ashtrays, magnets, cards and mugs stamped with the stern image of Josep Broz Tito (1892–1980), the communist leader of former Yugoslavia.

I wonder if these pictures of a deceased dictator are an example of campy humour or a display of genuine admiration, and decide that it’s best to run my question past a local.

Acording to Lidija Pisker, employee of Save the Children in North West Balkans, an NGO, the knick-knacks represent a hybrid of both.

“Feeling nostalgic about Yugoslavia is quite mainstream.

Many of us wish that we could return to Tito’s time, because the situation today is extremely difficult,” she says, adding that amidst an uncertain economy and high unemployment figures, many locals sense a lack of rootedness. “I don’t remember Tito’s era personally, but from what my mother has said I understand that back then there was a strong feeling of security, equality and multiculturalism.”

Pisker adds that although nationalism is alive and well in the Balkans, Sarajevo is still a place of cultural diversity. The capital hasn’t divided itself into quarters inhabited by Muslims, Catholics and orthodox Christians; everyone shares the same neighbourhoods, as in the former Yugoslavia. “The best part is that you can simultaneously hear church bells and a mosque’s call to prayer,” adds Pisker.

SMOKE AND SOUND Bars and clubs, many of which play popular Yugoslavian rock from the ‘80s and ‘90s, are prime locales for wistfulness. The most famous live music party is held at the twostorey Sloga club (Mehmeda Spahe 20), but Pisker invites us to join her at Kino Bosna (Alipašina 19), a popular venue that plays Balkan’s folk music on Mondays.

Bosna appears to be taken right out of a film by Serbian director Emir Kusturica: thick cigarette smoke entwines shabby furniture, and an all-male band featuring guitar, harmonica and vocals circles in between tables.

These concerts are just one example of Sarajevo’s surging cultural offerings. The city was Yugoslavia’s unofficial capital 34 BLUE WINGS

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of culture, but the bloody civil war of the 1990s dismantled the nation and suffocated the local arts scene. Now Sarajevo is again known for live music, galleries, and festivals celebrating film and jazz.

A TRIBUTE FOR TITO Guitarist and singer Radosav Čolaković, 52, describes himself as “a genuine Yugo guy.”

“I still remember the day when Tito died. I was going to a nightclub, but everybody had to go home to grieve, so I was sad for two reasons: both because he had passed away and because the party was over,” he says. He adds that a Yugoslavian feel lingers everywhere in Sarajevo, but that one place rises above the rest: Caffe Tito (Zmaja od Bosne 5).

The following day, the bar’s crowded outdoor tables bask in the afternoon sun. Inside, countless photos of Tito giving speeches, meeting citizens and smiling alongside celebrities decorate the red wall. Tito was known to be popular among the ladies, and one image shows him shaking hands with Elizabeth Taylor.

“We get lots of travellers, but most of the customers are locals. Our business concept is simple: celebrating Tito’s life.

He was a good man. Back in his time life was better,” says waiter Sead Grdo, who is in his 30s.

He recommends people visit the bar on Friday nights, when records from the Yugoslavia era are played. Each year on Tito’s birthday, May 25, the venue hosts a festival.

NOSTALGIC SHOPPING On my way from Caffe Tito I see a concrete bunker, Skenderija, whose steps lead to an underground maze of boutiques, hair salons and cafés. Mannequins donning shoulder pads and sequins stand under fluorescent lights. Inside a shoe store, elderly saleswomen enjoy a coffee and a smoke.

Sanja Džeba, who is busy organising stacks of bright hues inside fabric store Profitex, says that Skenderija is a throwback to old Yugoslavian shopping centres.

“This is a remnant of a former time. The mood hasn’t changed one bit, and many of the shops, including this one, are the same as before,” she says.

Outside, I spot a middle-aged gentleman leaning on a faded, yellow Volkswagen, and decide to ask him where I should continue my hunt for Yugo-nostalgia.

“You can’t find it anywhere. The Sarajevo­of former Yugoslavia is gone.

Back then there was no nationalism or sectarianism, and I was paid on time,” says the man, Mirsad Hamzić, who works as a driver.

SARAJEVO IS A MIX OF NATIONALISM AND DIVERSITY.

Sead Grdo works in a trendy Tito-themed bar.

Lidija Pisker’s mother has told her about the strong communal spirit of former Yugoslavia.

Tito gift items abound in Sarajevo’s old town.

The siege of Sarajevo turned a football field near Koševo Stadium into a cemetery.

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5 FOOD TIPS

1

TO BE OR NOT TO BE Delicious Balkan-style cuisine in atmospheric settings: here country charm meets the local art scene.

Čizmedžiluk 5

2

TUNEL The café is known for an old-world atmosphere and the best coffee in Sarajevo.

Baščaršija

3

ŽUTA TABIJA (Yellow Bastion) is a popular spot for picnics. Pack somun bread from a bakery (pekara in Bosnian), fresh fruit from the market, and Sarajevsko beer from the corner shop.

Pod bedemom

4

SARAJEVSKO brewery’s restaurant, which features dark wood paneling and serves hearty meat fare with its brews, takes a visitor back to a time when fresh vegetables played no part in fine dining.

Franjevacka 15

5

AT MARKALE (marketplace) in historical Sarajevo, winking gentlemen and old ladies in scarves sell fruit, vegetables and local foods. The market has a sad history, however, as it was the site of two deadly bombings in 1994 and 1995.

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Markale market offers fresh fruit and traditional ambience.

“THE SARAJEVO OF FORMER YUGOSLAVIA IS GONE.” “The only place I can recommend is the Olympic Stadium,” he says, “and of course there are cafés in which old friends still meet, regardless of the fact that a war came between them.”

A SOMBER REMINDER I take Hamzić’s advice and head to the stadium. The Winter Olympics of 1984 were Yugoslavia’s display of fortitude. Olympic rings still decorate the concrete tower, behind which sprawls a sea of grey, Soviet-style high-rises. It’s Yugoslavian architecture at its purest.

The stadium’s soccer field, however, isn’t a nostalgic but a disheartening sight: the former greenery is filled with narrow gravestones, each displaying the year 1992 or 1993. Sarajevo was under siege for nearly four years, and 11,000 people lost their lives. After old cemeteries filled up, the soccer field was put to new use.

A return to the heart of the old centre, to the cafés and pigeon flocks of the gorgeous Baščaršija Square, provides a sharp contrast to the stadium’s gloom. Perhaps this is exactly what some locals miss about Yugoslavia: the luxury of sitting together without hurry, regardless of citizenship or religion.

While lounging on Baščaršija, you might just hear for yourself as church bells blend into a prayer call from the mosque.

FINNAIR OFFERS excellent flight connections to Sarajevo via Vienna and Munich.

Baščaršija square is Sarajevo’s heart.

SARAJEVO’S TUNNEL OF HOPE A STUFFY TUNNEL, lined with wooden boards, runs beneath Sarajevo – even a short walk makes one feel as if these walls are collapsing. While the city was under siege from 1992 to 1996, this was the only way to travel to the outside world.

An 720-metre tunnel was constructed from the village of Donji Kotorac, located roughly 20 kilometres from the centre of Sarajevo. Up to 4,000 people travelled through it daily, bringing with them food, medications and oil – and transporting the living as well as the dead.

A museum built in conjunction with the tunnel tells the sad story of the violent disintegration of Yugoslavia and the resulting years of siege – but also of the hope that the tunnel offered for the city.

The War Tunnel Museum (Donji Kotorac) is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm. Tourist offices organise trips to the museum.

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GREEN AMBITION

SINGAPORE’S LATEST ARCHITECTURAL SPECTACLE IS GARDENS BY THE BAY, WHERE NATURE AND TECHNOLOGY MERGE TO STUNNING EFFECT. WE PAY IT A VISIT. TEXT AND PHOTOS BY ANTTI HELIN

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A walkway stretches between the 25-metretall supertrees.

T

he feeling of amazement hits early in The gardens get additional energy from burning their my trip, as I make my way from the biowaste in a giant steam turbine. This is new ecological airport to Singapore’s city centre. In architecture. front of me, out of jungle-like greenery ENTER THE CLOUD FOREST next to a tightly packed cluster of skyA waterfall rushes down a steep, jungle-covered hill. The air scrapers, rise futuristic constructions is thick with mist. Far overhead curves a futuristic glass with dome ceilings and supertrees dome. reaching for the skies.

The inside of this dome is home to Gardens by the Bay, a stimulation of a cloud forest, one of which opened in June of the world’s richest and most endan2012 after more than six years of planning THESE STEEL TREES gered ecosystems. Cloud forests grow and construction, are marked by two enorat the height of one kilometre or mous greenhouses and a collection of 18 ARE ACTUALLY more, in the tropical mountains of supertees. At their tallest, they reach 50 VERTICAL GARDENS. Southeast Asia and South and Middle metres in height.

America.

These steel “trees” are, in fact, vertical The 40-metre hill can be ascended gardens covered with ferns, tillandsias and by elevator or via a path made out of metal bridges. The orchids. And like naturally born trees, they too have an ecological function: their funnel-like canopies offer shade to fauna changes according to manmade climate zones, which are achieved with sophisticated air conditioning technology. those strolling through the gardens and collect solar energy Higher up, ferns, orchids and camellias give way to pitcher and rain water for the gardens. They also function as air plants. ducts for the greenhouses.

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Orchids are the fashionistas of the plant world.

A waterfall flows from the top of Cloud Forest’s manmade mountain.

Pitcher plants have adapted to the infertile mountain soil by digesting trapped insects and even small vertebrates. An audio guide tells me how the plants lure in their prey by collecting water. When the insect stops to get a drink of water, the plant closes its lid. Melting down the trapped animal takes roughly ten days.

SCIENCE WITHOUT FICTION While some of the world’s most famous botanical gardens showcase centuries of history – for example, those of Padua in Italy and Oxford in the UK originate from the 16th and 17th centuries, respectively – Gardens by the Bay offers an entirely contrasting experience. This is science nonfiction, through and through.

The giant greenhouses bring to mind a futuristic space colony. These well-oiled ecosystems reflect Singapore itself, whose extreme tidiness and organisation are in stark contrast to the famously chaotic Southeast Asia. Gardens by the Bay also reflects another quintessentially Singaporean quality: everything is possible. Local projects are realised with a grandiose and open-minded attitude.

Gardens by the Bay is part of the enormous Marina Bay

complex. The Marina Bay Sands casino hotel, a hefty landmark that opened in 2011, is located next to the gardens.

Singapore is a model example of how a small country with limited natural resources can base its success on ambition and innovation. For the past five years Singapore has been undergoing a continuous evolution.

Gardens by the Bay were designed by Grant Associates, a British architecture firm that was selected via a competition. Their commission was to design “the most amazing tropical gardens in the world, incorporating cutting-edge environmental design and sustainable development principles.”

GUARDED SPRING Another glass-enclosed garden, Flower Dome, is slightly more traditional than Cloud Forest. The air isn’t filled with cinematic mist, and a manmade, jungle-covered mountain doesn’t dominate the scenery.

But a lack of spectacle doesn’t make Flower Dome any less impressive. Spanning more than an acre, it’s the world’s largest greenhouse standing without the help of columns.

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VISITOR INFO Outdoor areas at Gardens by the Bay are open from 5 am to 2 am. The conservatories, meanwhile, are open from 9 am to 9 pm. Admission is 28 Singapore dollars (about 17 euros) for visitors and 20 Singapore dollars (about 12 euros) for local residents. An audio guide is recommended. Admission to the Skywalk, which traverses between supertrees, is five Singapore dollars (three euros).

Several restaurants are available by the supertrees. Try a Singaporean breakfast – toast and soft-boiled eggs – or char kai teow noodles at Hill Street Coffeeshop (www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/dining/supertreedining.html).

The closest metro stop is MRT Marina Bay, from which bus 400 goes to the Gardens. They are also accessible by foot from the city centre.

Oddball Baobab trees are displayed inside Flower Dome.

mate is mild, and the scent of flowers is heady. They have been gathered from the Mediterranean, Australia, South America and southern Africa. Altogether, the two greenhouses cover about four football fields. Inside them are 220,000 plants from all continents – except the Antarctic.

“This is for Singaporeans who want to see flowers from all over the world,” my audio guide tells me. The guides also tell catchy stories of the various plants, including the story behind the name of the monkey puzzle tree: allegedly scientists thought of the challenge that their spiky structure most likely presented for climbing monkeys.

The oldest specimens here are European olive trees, some of which are 1,000 years old. These wrinkled, crooked seniors have certainly seen a lot, from the Middle Ages to the industrial revolution and now the slick and futuristic Singapore.

MIRACLES OF MAN AND NATURE The two glass domes charge admission, but the surrounding outdoor gardens can be explored free of charge. They are split into two parts: Heritage Garden, which focuses on Singapore’s history and ethnic diversity and incorporates a Chinese, Indian, European and Malay garden, and the World of Plants, which showcases botanical life from around the world.

At Heritage Garden, visitors are educated on the cultural and economic value of plants in various cultures: did you know, for example, that breaking a coconut is symbolic of breaking the ego in Hindi culture? This is why coconuts are broken in sacrificial ceremonies at many Indian temples.

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Flower Dome is home to prickly but sweet cactuses.

growing tree in the world is found in Canada: the white cedar only grows ten centimetres in 150 years. The fastestgrowing tree, meanwhile, is the tropical batai, which can gain seven metres in a year. The oldest tree is the nearly 5,000-year-old bristlecone pine from California.

These worlds underneath their protective glass cases feel perfect, but next to them, the outdoor gardens are a slight disappointment. Many of the flora still feels young and freshly planted. And while the paved paths make it easy for everyone to explore the outdoor areas, the feel of a lush garden is compromised. From close up, even the supertrees look as they are: tall metal structures.

The only thing that makes a walk close to the supertrees worthwhile is the Skywalk, which travels at a height of 22 metres. Looking down from this airborne path, I begin to picture Gardens by the Bay far in the future, as an actual jungle in which birds fly and monkeys jump from one supertree to another.

Becoming informed about the natural extremes of plant life is perhaps the biggest takeaway from a visit to the Gardens. Even the world-domineering human can’t build supertrees equalling the miracles of nature.

But as long as Singapore continues on its trademark track of crowd-pleasing innovation, the garden, like the city, might offer an entirely different experience next time around. Perhaps one day I can wave at live monkeys in the supertree canopies.

FINNAIR flies nonstop to Singapore daily.

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY DANIEL ALLEN

RAW DEAL TOKYO IS HOME TO THE WORLD’S RICHEST – AND CONSTANTLY EVOLVING – SUSHI SCENE.

The Tokyo Sushi Academy teaches the art of innovative sushi creations.

A slice of o-toro (fatty bluefin tuna).

I

t’s just after dawn in the Japanese fishing town of Kii-Katsuura. In a large harbourside warehouse the air is filled with colourful language and the sharp tang of the sea.

Serried ranks of yellowfin tuna gleam under the light of naked bulbs, their silvery-blue bodies manoeuvred across the wet concrete floor by an army of boathook-wielding fishermen. The banter is good-natured, for today’s catch has been a good one.

From Pacific Ocean to dining table, most of KiiKatsuura’s pelagic haul is destined for Tokyo, hundreds of kilometres to the northeast. Fed by an incessant flow of marine species, the Japanese capital’s appetite for sushi is seemingly insatiable. In this seafood-crazed country, there are almost as many words for tuna as the Eskimo have names for snow.

Think of Japanese gastronomy and the first food that comes to mind is sushi. The sea and the paddy field have always been instrumental in feeding the people of this island nation, so the combination of raw fish and seasoned rice seems entirely logical. Tokyo lies at the heart of Japan’s sushi culture - the dish was originally known as edo-mae-zushi, referring to the fish caught in Tokyo Bay – so there’s no better place to explore this iconic cuisine.

“Before I came to this city I assumed ‘sushi’ simply meant raw fish,” says Steve Parker, a long-term Tokyo expat and self-confessed sushi addict. In fact, the term refers to vinegared rice served with ingredients that

may or may not be fish. Raw fish by itself is known as sashimi. “Sushi terminology can get confusing, so I tell visitors not to get too hung up on it,” Parker says.

SUSHI IS VINEGARED RICE SERVED WITH OTHER INGREDIENTS.

CLASS ACT Today the most common type of sushi served up in Tokyo is known as nigiri (“handformed”) sushi. When a chef creates nigiri, the rice is moulded into a small clump, and the finely sliced fish or seafood is pressed on top. In some cases a small strip of nori (toasted seaweed) is used to bind the whole mixture together. If the process sounds simple, it isn’t.

The complexities of creating the perfect nigiri aren’t lost on Francisco Hervas. It’s graduation day at the Tokyo Sushi Academy, and the swarthy Spanish chef has passed his three-month course with flying colours. Still, it hasn’t all been plain sailing.

“Many people think making sushi is easy,” says Hervas. “One of the tests here involves making a precisely weighted piece of sushi every ten seconds for three minutes, without scales. You make a mistake, you start again. Let me tell you, that isn’t easy.”

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knives, about how to clean, prepare and cut the fish, about interacting with customers. Sushi preparation is very ritualistic in Japan, and you need to think about what you’re doing all the time.”

“Nearly everyone can make pretty sushi,” she continues. “The tough part is making it in front of the customer, while you’re interacting with them. This is why we practice role playing.”

“SOME SAY IT SHOULD BE 20 YEARS BEFORE A CHEF IS ALLOWED TO MAKE SUSHI IN FRONT OF A CUSTOMER.” Established in 2002 and located in the capital’s Shinjuku District, the Tokyo Sushi Academy takes in both Japanese and non-Japanese students. Many aspiring Japanese chefs now attend the academy hoping to fast-track their route into the capital’s sushi-making elite. In the past sushi chefs would begin their careers by serving as apprentices for more than a decade; the first years would be spent collecting plates, washing dishes, making deliveries and cleaning toilets.

“Some of the old guard say it should be 20 years before a chef is allowed to make sushi in front of a customer,” says Kazuyo Yoshida, director of the Academy’s Teaching Department. “One reason the Academy opened was because we wanted to accelerate the process.”

REVOLUTIONARY ROAD While a third of the Tokyo Sushi Academy intake are women, the world of sushi cuisine hasn’t always welcomed the fairer sex. Many traditionalists thought (and still think) that women’s make-up and perfume can “contaminate” sushi, and that their hands are too small and warm to create the perfect nigiri.

It was a sign of the changing times when, in late 2010, Tokyo’s first sushi restaurant featuring female-only chefs opened its doors in the city’s Akihabara district. Every day at Nadeshico Sushi an array of beautiful young women line up behind this cosy eaterie’s 17-seat counter, carefully shaping individual nigiri while they chat with the customers. The sushi

might not earn Nadeshico any Michelin stars, but that doesn’t seem to perturb the mostly male clientele.

Another growing trend is the rise of the kaiten (or conveyor belt) sushi restaurant in Tokyo, which are now becoming so automated that many feature sushi-making robots. Despite a reputation for poor quality sushi, many offer great value for money, and are a good way for less experienced diners to find their culinary sea legs.

“Going to a kaiten sushi restaurant is actually a lot of fun,” says Tokyo-based sushi aficionado Keiko Nagamatsu.

“Eating sushi in Tokyo can be seriously expensive, so they’re a good budget option. Plates are colour-coded according to price, so you won’t be hit with a massive bill at the end.”

A CUT ABOVE Many fish species are used to make sushi in Japan, but the bluefin tuna has long been the epicurean’s choice. Tokyo’s most expensive sushi is made with fatty meat known as o-toro - from the belly of the bluefin. The best cut is pinky orange, and can sell for over 30 euros a piece.

“In Japan we have many different words to describe the exquisite nature of fresh bluefin,” says Keiko Nagamatsu. “The best quality bluefin are caught in the late autumn or winter when the water is colder and the fish have more fat.”

Marine produce for sale at Tsukiji, the world’s busiest seafood market.

Students learn by chef-customer role playing at the Tokyo Sushi Academy.

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“For many Tokyo residents, o-toro is the equivalent of white truffles or caviar,” Steve Parker adds. “This cut is the piece de resistance of sushi cuisine. It simply melts in your mouth. Of course, as stocks of bluefin in the world’s oceans become rarer, the cachet of the fish rises.”

Over the past few years, as quickly declining bluefin populations in the Atlantic and Pacific have become part of the international conservation discussion, the breed has also come to represent the darker flipside of sushi’s popularity.

Environmental organisations have promoted stricter fishing quotas on the endangered species. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas has set quotas for the Atlantic, but a quota for the Eastern Pacific Ocean was set only last year.

SUPER MARKET Japan is the world’s largest consumer of tuna. Almost all of the tuna served up in the nation’s capital passes through the largest, busiest fish bazaar in the world Tsukiji Market. Early each morning, the worlds of hi-tech and pre-tech trade noisily converge as tens of thousands of tons of seafood change hands in Tsukiji’s auctions and surrounding stalls. From shrimp, crabs, blowfish and eels to sea urchin, mackerel, salmon and oysters, the market’s 55 acres boast a mind-boggling

cornucopia of marine life. Only 120 visitors are admitted daily, and registration starts at 4:30 am.

It was at Tsukiji that the world’s most expensive tuna went under the hammer in January. In the first auction of 2013, the giant, 222-kilogram bluefin sold for 155.4 million yen (more than 1.2 million euros), nearly three times the previous record set in 2012.

That equates to 700,000 yen per kilogram, or 5,700 euros per pound.

“The tuna auctions at Tsukiji in January are all about publicity,” says Steve Parker. “A guy who buys a fish for [1.3 million euros] is probably not going to make his money back selling the sushi, but may figure all the media attention is worth the expense.”

Tuna conservation is a growing part of the conversation in Japan. No country has more of a cultural and economic stake in the future of this fish, especially the mighty bluefin. As long as sustainability initiatives continue to be prioritized, sushi will remain a cornerstone of contemporary Tokyo cuisine.

Ask five Tokyoites to name the best sushi restaurant in town and you’ll get five different answers. The sushi experience is highly personal, taking into account taste, service and ambience, not to mention price. Despite the changing face of Tokyo’s culinary scene, it remains the best place to go sushi sampling.

Just don’t expect any California rolls.

FINNAIR flies nonstop to Tokyo daily.

SUSHI SAMPLING MAKOTO SUSHI Managed by the Tokyo Sushi Academy, Makoto makes a great place to kick off an exploration of the capital’s sushi offerings. The bilingual menu includes plenty of familiar staples, with prices starting at just 157 yen (1.2 euros) per piece. Staff speak English.

SUSHIMAKOTO.JP

SUKIYABASHI JIRO Tokyo’s legendary 10-seat sushi temple, this is the kind of restaurant sushi lovers book months in advance. Boasting the world’s oldest three-star chef, not to mention three Michelin stars, Sukiyabashi is indeed a sushi institution. Ask a Japanese speaker to make your reservation well in advance, and confirm on the day. The restaurant was featured in a 2011 documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi.

SUSHI-JIRO.JP

DAIWA SUSHI Located in the centre of Tsukiji Market, Daiwa serves up some of the tastiest and freshest sushi in Tokyo. This pint-sized café offers a great lunch and dinner menu, but is most popular for its superb breakfasts.

Tel: +81 (0)3 3547 6807

GINZA KYUBEY

Food sampling is part of the experience at Tsukiji Market.

Right in the heart of the Ginza district and dating all the way back to 1936, this is one of Japan’s most established sushi restaurants. The restaurant’s omakase lunch (where the chef selects the sushi) consistently wins rave reviews.

KYUBEY.JP

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LADY AND GENTLEMEN Pall Mall Barbers has stood in Nelson’s Column’s shadow since 1896, but a modern outlook here sees Erin Wentworth, 27, among the staff. She learned the shaving ropes in her lunchtimes as a receptionist at eminent barbers Trumpers of Mayfair. She learned well; one delighted American gentleman gave her a £100 (120 euros) tip and returned with tea and biscuits for all from the famed Savoy Hotel.

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PALL MALL BARBERS

FINNAIR flies nonstop to London several times daily.

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CLASSIC SHAVES IN LONDON LONDON’S BARBERSHOPS ARE A CUT ABOVE, WITH OLD AND NEW ESTABLISHMENTS OFFERING WORLD-CLASS WET SHAVES. TEXT AND PHOTOS BY SIMON FRY

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THE GRANDDADDY Truefitt & Hill, established in 1805, is known as the world’s oldest barbershop. Steeped in history (Charles Dickens wrote about it, artefacts from it have been retrieved from the Titanic), its inviting grandness has welcomed Sir Winston Churchill, John Wayne and Frank Sinatra among other innumerable luminaries.

Regulars include everyone from taxi drivers to Formula One drivers.

The barbers, meanwhile, visit either Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle to attend His Royal Highness, The Duke of Edinburgh.

SHAVEN, NOT STIRRED Praised by GQ among other publications, a mood of international playboy chic prevails at Melogy, housed in the breathtaking St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. In true James Bond style, you can enter through one door and exit through another after getting tidied up, directly into the hotel’s decadent Chambers Club. The design is modern and the standards are high; the current UK barber of the year is among the experts providing up to 30 shaves weekly.

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5 THE REFINERY

REFINED RESIDENTS If Lamborghini built barbershops, they would look like this. The Refinery is hidden away with speakeasy-like seclusion in Harrods’ depths, its décor remaining unchanged since the 1920s. Clients have included a Middle Eastern prince bringing his own security and Knightsbridge-residing Russians bringing their credit cards. Shaving products are stocked in a former waiting room in which ticker tape kept patrons abreast of the latest movements in the stock market.

SHARPS BY NAME… Sharps’ shop in the Fitzrovia neighbourhood features a New Yorkstyle deli, befitting an operation with a branch in Manhattan’s Le Parker Meridien Hotel. Special touches include TV screens above mirrors and a 20-minute quick shave option for those cutting it fine. Owner Rory McParland is a wet shave connoisseur. He has logged the 400-plus shaves he has had himself, ensuring those provided by his barbers are among London’s sharpest.

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ACCORDING TO INNOVATION MANAGEMENT EXPERT LIISA VÄLIKANGAS, PRODUCING AND DEVELOPING IDEAS SHOULDN’T BE VIEWED AS A PRIVILEGE.

TEXT BY JORMA LEPPÄNEN

ILLUSTRATIONS BY KASPER STRÖMMAN

COLLECTIVE

SMARTS I

nnovation is often associated with new technologies: new smartphones or ship propellers. Professor Liisa Välikangas’s favourite example of innovation, however, is the clever use of a familiar product. She offers an example of something she saw while travelling in Africa years ago.

“A man came home from the fields, washed his spade and used it as a frying pan,” she says.

Välikangas, who works as professor of innovation management at Helsinki’s Aalto University School of Business, says that a lack of resources often spurs people to come up with creative solutions that don’t always earn enough respect.

“Using a shovel as a pan is a stroke of genius. True creativity is something that enables you to build the future, whether it’s in an African village or a multinational corporation,” she says. Välikangas, who has worked closely with corporations as well as educational initiatives, has become a spokesperson for encouraging large-scale innovation through participation across all levels of a community.

MOBILISING YOUTH IN AFGHANISTAN Välikangas has consulted with leading companies in the US and Europe for two decades, and authored a 2010 book entitled The Resilient Organization. Her work has also appeared in journals including the MIT Sloan Management Review, Harvard Business Review and The Wall Street Journal. During the past few years, she has channelled her expertise into Innovation Democracy, Inc, a MARCH 2013

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California-based non-profit organisation that helps students in Afghanistan turn their ideas into income.

Innovation Democracy, which was set up in 2006 with Välikangas as its president, has organised courses at Kabul University that teach young people to serve themselves and their community through innovation. “[These innovations] could mean starting businesses or just generally improving the standard of life,” Välikangas says. “Afghan young people are mostly used to just memorising what they’re taught at school and university. Information only flows in one direction. We encourage students to produce new ideas and develop them in teams,” she says.

Välikangas stresses that peace and stability in poor, war-ravaged countries depends on young people having faith in the future and being able to see prospects for themselves. Afghanistan, for example, has a median age of 18, and people aged 15 to 24 make up 21.6 per cent of the population, but literacy rates are low, and those in higher education represent only a tiny fraction of the population.

The organisation plans to expand to other countries.

“Young people have begun to see that they can have an impact on things,” Välikangas says.

COMPANY DYNAMICS IMPROVE IF EMPLOYEES RETAIN THEIR ABILITY TO GENERATE IDEAS.

OPEN INNOVATION The idea of democratic innovation may sometimes seem threatening to communities or companies with hierarchical structures. If thousands of people start freely presenting their ideas, won’t there be a loss of direction? The same question can apply to both countries and big corporations.

In her work with several Fortune 500 companies, Välikangas has observed that encouraging the entire workforce to produce

new ideas can significantly improve a company’s competitiveness and ability to reinvent itself.

“Of course processing tens of thousands of initiatives is a major challenge. You have to create a new kind of management model for that,” she says.

Innovation is not only aimed at new products and services, but also at rejuvenating organisations. These goals may sometimes be at odds with each other.

“The problem of organisational reform was one of the focuses of the Woodside Institute, which [US management expert] Gary Hamel and I set up. Generally, success steers companies to focus on too narrow an area. As a result, the innovation process is only targeted at developing existing products and services, and everything else is seen as irrelevant,” she observes.

Particularly in large organisations, processes are set up in such a way that leadership is unable to cope with difficult new questions from customers.

“Customers often come up with solutions that companies haven’t thought about. Companies blinded by success often suffer from a ‘not-invented-here’ syndrome and don’t participate in open innovation,” Välikangas says.

BOUNDARY-FREE WEB Whether it’s a student at Kabul University or an employee at a large corporation, everyone deserves a chance for idea-sharing, Välikangas asserts.

“Most ideas don’t lead to new businesses or operational models, but a company’s dynamics improve if employees retain their curiosity and ability to generate ideas.”

The prevalence of social technologies enables open innovation, both within an organisation and outside of it. “When innovation happens on digital platforms, the company no longer has walls. This is a huge structural change,” says Välikangas.

She offers the example of New York-based Quirky, a social product development start-up. Members of the Quirky community bring ideas to the platform and develop them together. Each week they vote on which products should be moved into production and onto the market.

Within a few years, Quirky has gathered more than 280,000 developers. An average of two products are launched weekly. Developers are paid according to how much they contribute.

“The strength of Quirky and other innovation communities lies in their architecture of contribution. Even though thousands of ideas are brought in, they don’t create chaos on digital platforms.

Ideas are arranged by theme and developed. These kinds of models invite crowdfunding. The role of banks and venture capital may then diminish,” says Välikangas.

FEARING FAILURE After a long stint in California’s Silicon Valley, Välikangas returned to Finland in 2007. For

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Finns, she says, innovation has a nearly mythical status.

“Innovation in Finland is viewed like the magical cape that turns Donald Duck into the Duck Avenger.

Whenever there are problems, innovation is called in to help. From a societal standpoint, this is a useful myth, but there is also a downside to it,” she notes.

“We should accept the fact that innovation activities do not always produce results. If you don’t know how to analyse failure and process it on the emotional level, so-called ‘innovation trauma’ can result. This leads to cynicism and can even destroy the atmosphere at a company,” she says, adding that she encountered this phenomenon in Silicon Valley.

One example studied by Välikangas and her colleagues was innovation activity at Sun Microsystems, an IT company that was acquired by Oracle in 2010 after its profits plummeted. “It became clear that learning from failure is not as easy as we usually want to believe. This is an area on which innovation management should concentrate more deeply,” she says.

COOPERATIVE COMPETITION In Finland, Välikangas has noticed that companies – particularly small ones – don’t often cooperate with one another. Various kinds of alliances could produce new kinds of business. By collaborating, companies

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could also find customers in the international markets.

“Innovation is often created in networks where experts from different fields meet,” Välikangas says.

“The interfaces between companies are a fruitful area. The work is challenging, though, because people are forced out of their areas of know-how.

Presenting one’s own idea may even seem scary.”

In order to create the setting for collaboration, Välikangas has developed the “strategy kinkeri” concept, based on traditional Finnish Lutheran parish meetings.

“The tradition still lives on in Kangasala near the city of Tampere, for instance,” she says. “I began to think that people could gather in the same way to discuss the development of their towns and business communities.”

Strategy kinkerit were launched in Kangasala in November of 2012. “The idea has been enthusiastically adopted, and there are now strategy meetings involving representatives of parishes, firms, entrepreneurs’ groups and ordinary Kangasala residents,” Välikangas says. The concept may expand to other towns as well.

“It’s interesting to see how different players approach each other and begin to work together to develop a town and its ecosystems. There are tremendous opportunities here.”

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HUMOUR-PRONE DESIGNER ERIK BRUUN DRAWS UPON HIS DECADES OF EXPERIENCE TO COMMEMORATE FINNAIR’S 90TH ANNIVERSARY.

PAPER PLANES TEXT BY LAURA PALOTIE

Bruun’s trio of flying salmon (1958) was inspired by Lapland’s fishing tourism.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ERIK BRUUN

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t started with a newspaper carried by a gust of wind.

Erik Bruun, Finland’s arguably most recognisable graphic designer, kicked off his career in 1953 with a poster for the Swedishlanguage newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet. The ad, which depicted two newspapers fluttering around the publication’s headquarters against a blue sky, was named the year’s best poster in a national competition.

Since then, Bruun has kept busy designing everything from logos to currency. Among his creations are the symbol of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, the Saimaa ringed seal, and banknotes of Finland’s pre-euro currency, the markka. Artistry, playfulness and an affinity for Finnish nature have characterised Bruun’s work for more than half a century. Now the designer, who turns 87 this spring, has created a poster in honour of Finnair’s 90th anniversary.

AN ACCIDENTAL REBEL Bruun grew up on a chicken farm near the town of Vyborg, which became part of Russia after World War II. “When I was 12, we were given an assignment at school to create a map of Denmark,” he says. “I got really into it – my grandfather was a surveyor, so we had a lot of maps around the house.”

After his class turned in their maps, the teacher proceeded to give a short lecture on cheating and held up Bruun’s entry as a warning example.

“I received failing grades in geography, plant study and animal study, and was held back a grade – all because I had drawn too good of a map,” he says.

Despite the early setback, Bruun went on to study at the University of Helsinki’s school of industrial arts, and began making a living as a freelancer after his 54 BLUE WINGS

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Below: Bruun’s Hufvudstadsbladet poster (1953) and white-tailed eagle (1962). Right: Finnair’s new poster shows a whooper swan.

­ ufvudstadsbladet commission in the H early 1950s. One of his earliest designs, and subsequently most famous, was a stylised orange to advertise beverage company Hartwall’s carbonated Jaffa drink. Soon he also created promotional posters for Finland and an advertisement for leisure voyages to Sweden.

Almost accidentally, Bruun became a visual narrator of Finland’s post-war economic growth: treats such as orange soda were now freely available, families could take vacations abroad, and Finland could be marketed to foreign travellers for its nature and cuisine.

“There were times when, sitting on the tram, I would spot my own poster every 100 metres,” he says with a chuckle. “I

started feeling sympathy for graffiti artists.”

Inspired by French poster artist Raymond Savignac’s playful approach, Bruun set out to evoke a happy mood with his creations. Smiles and bright colours are almost ubiquitous in his work – even the endangered Saimaa ringed seal (1974), perhaps Bruun’s most identifiable image, has its mouth drawn upward.

NATURE BOY Beyond his humour, Bruun has become synonymous with his depictions of Finland’s flora and fauna. He and his wife, Sinikka, moved to the UNESCO-protected fortress island of Suomenlinna with their five children in 1970. Their wooden home is bordered by the rocky coastline, and MARCH 2013

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His favourite entry in his portfolio – a grin spreads across his face when he locates the original poster in his study – is a trio of flying salmon that he drew after flying to Finnish Lapland in the late 1950s. Sitting on the plane, Bruun noticed that many of his fellow passengers were carrying fishing rods. This poster was also named best of the year in Finland, and became part of Finnair’s marketing campaign.

LAURA PALOTIE

SKETCHING A BIRD FROM BELOW IS LIKE DRAWING THE INSIDE OF A JACKET.

ERIK BRUUN BORN IN 1926 in Vyborg, which has been part of Russia since 1944 CREATED posters and logos for companies and organisations such as Finnair, soft drink company Hartwall, Fazer candies, the Finnish Tourist Board, the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation and the Savonlinna Opera Festival CO-DESIGNED banknotes for the Finnish markka currency before Finland’s transition to the euro in 2002, as well as Finnish stamps AWARDED several prizes for his work, including international awards for his tourism promotion posters, the prestigious Pro Finlandia medal in 2007 and the Design Helsinki Award during the 2012 World Design Capital year

Bruun likes to leave out food for mallards who gather outside of his kitchen window at night. His studio looks out into the lush front yard, and Bruun adds that he sometimes becomes so distracted by the scenery that he has to pull down the blinds in order to concentrate.

In Bruun’s imagination, natural elements sometimes take fantastical shapes.

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Bruun, who built and flew glider planes as a boy and dreamed of joining the Finnish air force (he ended up doing his military service in the signal regiment), has utilised wings and flight as recurring themes in his work. Among the most notable of these has been his depiction of the white-tailed eagle, which became a conservation symbol in the 1960s and is found in many classrooms to this day.

“It was in danger of going extinct at the time, so I wanted to bring attention to it,” Bruun says. “I went to the Finnish Museum of Natural History with a piece of cardboard and painted a taxidermy eagle from below, while lying on my back.”

Most of the time, however, he captures his flying birds from an overhead perspective. “Sketching a bird from below is like displaying the inside of a man’s jacket,” he explains. For several of his bird posters, which include species such as the snowy owl, the black-throated loon and the albatross, he has visited natural history departments around the Nordic region to find taxidermy birds frozen in flight.

FINNISH WINGS Upon receiving Finnair’s 90th anniversary poster commission, Bruun first experimented with the deep blue and shiny white found in mallard feathers, but later returned to the idea of a large, white bird with spread-out wings.

He had drawn an albatross some years before, encouraged by three of his sons who had spent time sailing in the Pacific Ocean. For this model, however, he used the wing of a whooper swan, Finland’s national bird, which he had borrowed from the Finnish Museum of National History some months earlier and carried

back across the water to Suomenlinna in a plastic bag.

“An elderly woman on the ferry had asked if I had an angel wing in that bag,” he says with a smile.

As a whimsical touch to his final draft, which depicts a white swan against a blue background, Bruun added an orange beak resembling the fore of a paper plane.

According to Jarkko Konttinen, Finnair’s vice president of global brand and marketing communications, Bruun’s poster effectively illustrates the comingof-age story of the fifth oldest airline in the world.

“Erik has created designs for us since the 1950s, and we wanted to highlight modern Finnair with his distinctive style,” Konttinen says. “Bruun has been able to crystallise the essence of Finnair’s ideology – Nordic nature, the power of flying and the importance of defining one’s own path.”

Bruun’s Saimaa ringed seal is Finland’s most famous conservation symbol.

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NORWAY’S FRESH CROP OF DESIGNERS TIE THEIR ARTISAN HERITAGE WITH GLOBAL DESIGN TRENDS SUCH AS SUSTAINABILITY.

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NORWAY’S DESIGN SUPERSTARS TEXT BY LAURA IISALO

I

PHOTOS BY ESPEN GRØNLI

n Norway, like elsewhere in Scandinavia, a long history of craftsmanship has put its stamp on local design. Quality materials, functionality and simplicity are valued here, and go hand in hand with changes that have recently taken place in the international design world. Terms like sustainability and social responsibility are affecting the way design is evolving.

According to Leif Steven VerduIsachsen, head of design at the Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture, Norwegian design does not have an easily identifiable persona. “We don’t have a design identity like Finland or Denmark have,” he says. “The Danes have Arne Jacobsen and the Finns have Alvar Aalto, but Norwegians don’t have [a similar] stereotype,” he says.

Verdu-Isachsen thinks that design in Norway is becoming a lot more userfriendly. “At the moment Norway is the

only growing economy in Europe with a high level of education. Norwegians spend the most money in DIY and home decorations in the whole world,” he says.

But design is not just for dressing and decorating. “Design thinking can be applied to solve many problems including environmental and social challenges.

Designers need to offer desirable solutions that convince people to do things differently,” he says. A good example is the ecological Oslo city bike that is favoured by both locals and visitors.

Luckily for Norway, there is plenty of design talent to take on the task of designing a more sustainable future. In 2000, a group of young graduates, calling themselves Norway Says, changed the international perception of Norwegian design.

The founding trio has since split, and each of them has gone on to make an impact on the scene. They have also inspired other young artists.

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Hand-blown Woods sculptures are a collaboration between Norwegian design studios StokkeAustad and Andreas Engesvik.

PROUD TO BE NORDIC ANDREAS ENGESVIK, one of the founding members­of Norway Says, went solo in 2009 but remembers the early days well. “When we graduated in 1999, we realised that we had to go abroad if we wanted to find work,” he says, adding that the international design scene was welcoming to new voices and undergoing a period of evolution.

“The focus was very much on Scandinavia.

Although Norwegian design was not very well known, we wanted to say out loud that we came from Norway. We felt that it was important to be part of an emerging movement.”

The press went mad about the young Norwegians and many successful collaborations followed. The Moomin-inspired Mhy pendant lamp and the colourful Plus salt and pepper mills were designed for the Nordic design company Muuto. “There was a lot of positivity in what we did and it formed a blueprint for young designers to follow,” Engesvik says.

These days the Oslo-based designer works with many international manufacturers designing a variety of commercial objects: lamps, glasses, trays, chairs, sofas, vases, dining tables, carafes and blankets.

Engesvik is also the first Norwegian designer working with Finnish glassware company Iittala.

“They were looking into other areas and materials.

The brief was to do something from cast iron, which is a typical Scandinavian material,” he explains.

Engesvik has also launched a range of colourful folklore-inspired blankets for Bunels, a Norwegian manufacturer.

“The biggest threat to us is mass consumption and products without any responsibility or thought ‒ when we buy things without awareness. We don’t need more terrible designer stuff, we need products that are locally made and well done,” he says. “We are going to need new guidelines on how we consume things.”

Engesvik says that the Norwegian heritage has made locals quite practical. “Our grandparents were farmers and fishermen who fixed things,” he says.

“Stereotypical Norwegian design may not exist, but there are Norwegian designers that share common attitudes.”

According to Engesvik, Scandinavians possesses qualities that a lot of people admire. “Scandinavia is like a person who is always friendly and punctual, and never says anything negative about anyone,” he says with a laugh. “When you add the fact that we are practical, you get quite a good mix.”

WWW.ANDREASENGESVIK.NO

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Andreas Engesvik’s Gloria candlestick.

Engesvik designed Allas, a reinvented candelabrum, for Finnish Iittala.

Torbjørn Anderssen and Espen Voll’s projects include the Lynild blanket for Røros Tweed.

Anderssen and Voll’s MONO sofa for furniture firm LK Hjelle

DESIGNING EXPERIENCES TORBJØRN ANDERSSEN AND ESPEN VOLL sit in their studio surrounded by a giant construction site. Mathallen – a new food hall – has opened across the river in autumn of 2012, and the whole neighbourhood is being regenerated to add a dose of culture to the up-and-coming Vulkan area. The duo is designing a restaurant that will be located in this building.

The two original members of Norway Says credit their success to their first years in the industry. “[Norway Says was] the first in the country to understand the whole design thing. When we first went abroad in 2000, our expectations were met tenfold and more. We got huge attention from the press and manufacturers. That definitely sparked a motivation and ambition in us,” Voll explains.

The start of a new studio Anderssen + Voll in 2009 marked a new beginning. Today the studio employs four people and two interns. Anderssen and Voll work together on each project, which include collaborations with many Norwegian and international manufacturers. A collection for a Norwegian blanket company Røros Tweed, for example, combines the traditional with the new. A new sofa for Muuto will be launched in Milan in April. Then there’s a recoloring fabric project for Kvadrat, a new lamp for the Italian Foscarini and cast iron fireplaces for Jøtul.

“These days designers are more and more working in a way that involves an experience; mirrors, blankets and lighting are an opportunity for emotional innovation, more than just products,” Anderssen says.

For Anderssen, the choice to become a designer wasn’t an obvious one at first. “I studied languages, but didn’t see where it was going. I like design because want to [be able to] start a project and finish it.”

In their future projects, Anderssen and Voll want to continue keeping busy and maintaining a balance between big and small projects. “Sometimes the pace has been hectic, but we love our work. We don’t plan what we do too much,” Voll says. “Once a year we do a small independent project just for fun. Last October we went to Tokyo and did a food-related installation with eight other designers. That kind of stuff gives us lots of energy.”

Both designers say that sustainability comes to them instinctively. ”It isn’t something you have to think about too much if you focus on quality. Making something last long is a design issue: how you use materials, construct products and so on. If you design it properly, the product will probably last for 50 years,” Andressen says.

ANDERSSEN-VOLL.COM

Anderssen and Voll’s designs include the REST sofa for Denmark-based Muuto.

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STAR PUPIL

Caroline Olsson Top: Caroline Olsson’s Bambi, which can be used as a dining room table or coffee table, brings to mind a foal with its knees bent.

Olsson’s design, Tuba, made of mouth-blown glass, can be used as a clothes hook and a place to store your keys.

CONSIDERING THAT CAROLINE OLSSON is still a student, she has an impressive resume. Financed by funding from her local bank and the Norwegian design establishment Norsk Form, she has already been able to show her work in Milan and other international design fairs. She has even launched a green Skog lamp series that is now being manufactured by traditional Norwegian glass factory Magnor Glasswerk.

Olsson was inspired by Strek Collective, a design group whose members started showcasing their work as students in 2008. “The boys were good at promoting themselves. I thought ’why not;’ I have good products too,” she says.

Combining work and her studies is not always easy, but Olsson says that her school is being supportive: “They let me go to the fairs and exhibit my work because I gain important experience. I want to work like I’m already a designer, so it won’t be so hard to go professional when I finish school,” she says with a smile. Olsson hopes to work with international and Norwegian manufacturers. “We have great furniture companies like LK Hjelle and Fora Form and some glass and ceramics companies too.

I want to try and find local producers in Norway or Sweden. Maybe by collaborating with young designers these companies can reinvent themselves.”

Olsson has always liked drawing and creating things by hand. Instead of pursuing fine art, she wanted to do something more functional.

“I think design has more rules than art. I want to create products that people can use and not just look at,” she says. Her Bambi table, for example, has folding legs so that people with small apartments can use the same product as a dining table in the kitchen and a coffee table in the living room. She uses a lot of local wood in her designs. “The way we work and use materials in Scandinavia can be very simplistic. Every part of the product is needed, and if not, we take it away.”

Olsson has been inspired by Norwegian designers such as Petter Opsvik and the former Norway Says.

“We are a young design nation. I think people aren’t anticipating so much, so you have room to create things without too many expectations,” she says.

Olsson is working through the last year of her master’s degree, and wants to start her own company when she is finished with school.

“All of us on the Norwegian design scene support each other,” she says.

“Young people today are more eager to be themselves and create their own styles. I hope that they will want to get to know Norwegian design, buy things that have an identity and get attached to these products.”

CAROLINEOLSSON.NO

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SKIP THE BEACH IN WITHIN DRIVING DISTANCE OF THE SEASIDE DESTINATION OF BENIDORM LIES SOME OF SPAIN’S MOST EXCITING CUISINE, MAKING AN OFF-SEASON VISIT ESPECIALLY WORTHWHILE. TEXT BY TREVOR BAKER

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PHOTOS BY KARL BLACKWELL

BENIDORM

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Crowds enjoying an evening “paseo” or pre-dinner stroll in the centre of Benidorm.

S

ince the 1960s, the Spanish coastal town of Benidorm has had a reputation as a brash tourist trap frequented by rowdy crowds from the UK and Central Europe. But anyone still holding on to this image should try visiting the area on a warm evening during off-season – in the early spring or late autumn. Standing in front of Poniente Beach, with the sun setting behind the skyscrapers, I sense a relaxed, unhurried atmosphere similar to any other Spanish town. Despite the fact that this place has more hotel rooms than anywhere in Europe, except Paris and London, most of the people around me are Spanish and there’s none of the hustle or hard sell that you find in some resorts.

When I walk up the golden, limestone steps at the end of Poniente Beach and look out across Levant Beach, I’m struck by an admittedly different view.

Aside from a glorious crescent of sand, I can see cafés offering all-day English breakfasts and one or two British pubs. These days, however, many of them have a gentle, nostalgic air. Vincent’s bar, for example, has a sign boasting that it opened in 1965.

Beyond Benidorm’s retro charms, though, within an hour’s drive north, thrives a vibrant and modern culinary scene – one that I’ve come to the region to sniff out.

STAR APPEAL There are acclaimed modern Spanish restaurants in Benidorm, such as the popular Taita, but the real revolution is going on in the wider province. A couple of years ago Spain’s best-known chef, Ferran Adriá of El Bulli fame, told his biographer, acclaimed American food writer Colman Andrews, that the province of Alicante “is where you eat best in Spain.” It might not have as many Michelin stars as the Basque country, but it boasts globally acclaimed chefs and some of the best fish, fruit and vegetables you can find.

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Off-season Benidorm offers tranquility and sunshine.

Kiko Moya is the Michelinstarred head chef at L’Escaleta.

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The medieval village of Guadalest is located on the way from Benidorm to Cocentaina.

ADDRESSES

TAITA Calle Primavera 8, (+34) 965-852-148 TAITARESTAURANTE.ES

QUIQUE DACOSTA Carretera Las Marinas, Km. 1 Calle Rascassa, Denia, (+34) 965-784-179 QUIQUEDACOSTA.ES

NOU MANOLIN 3 Villegas, (+34) 965-200-368 NOUMANOLIN.COM

MONASTRELL 7 Rafael Altamira, Alicante, (+34) 965-146-575 MONASTRELL.COM

L’ESCALETA 205 Pujada Estació Nord, Cocentaina, (+34) 965-592-100 LESCALETA.COM

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About 40 minutes north of Benidorm by car, in the small town of Denia, is the restaurant of chef Quique Dacosta, whose culinary inventiveness has won him two Michelin stars and the admiration of adventurous gourmets the world over. In Alicante city itself, establishments such as Nou Manolin, which is chef Adriá’s favourite place when he’s in town, have long been iconic. María José San Román’s fashionable Monastrell restaurant, meanwhile, is regularly visited by stars from the nearby City of Light film studios (most recently director Ridley Scott and the leads in his new film The Counselor, Cameron Diaz and Michael Fassbender).

A CULINARY HIDEAWAY However, to those in the know, a restaurant called L’Escaleta, hidden away in the mountains 45 minutes from Benidorm, is considered the secret jewel of Alicante. Writer Colman Andrews has declared that it serves “some of the best contemporary cooking in Spain L’ESCALETA’S CHEF HAS ALREADY today.”

To get there I take ACQUIRED A MICHELIN STAR. the scenic route, eschewing the motorway for the winding road up through the mountains, past the extraordinary, eagle’s-nest town of Guadalest to the medieval village of Cocentaina in the Sierra Mariola national park. This was once the capital of an Arab province.

As I pull into the carpark in front of L’Escaleta’s imposing gateway, I’m overlooked by the one remaining tower of the 13th-century Cocentaina castle.

Everything around me is lush and green. In winter it often snows up here. It’s hard to believe that I’m so near to the year-round sun of Benidorm.

It’s the food, though, rather than the beautiful surroundings, that makes L’Escaleta a destination restaurant. Young head chef Kiko Moya has already won his first Michelin star, but his cooking, while adventurous, is all about flavour rather than innovation for its own sake. His father, Paco Moya, started the restaurant in 1980. Our friendly waiter wryly admits that he’s been working there for over 30 years.

Some of the best dishes of the wonderful tasting menu include atún marinado, marinated tuna with “black garlic” – garlic cloves baked for 20 days at 60 degrees to give them a gorgeously sticky consistency, like baked fruit. A savoury reinvention of the traditional dessert tocinillo de cielo is equally typical of Moya’s love of playing with texture. Instead of a typical egg tart it’s a chunk of pancetta glazed with orange juice and spices, firm yet yielding, almost like jelly at the top but wonderfully chewy at the bottom.

Moya studied for a couple of months at El Bulli, and his cooking has the mixture of seriousness and playfulness that you associate with chef Adriá. A dish that you might expect to be moist or sticky, like the intimidatingly mountainous dessert of supermousse, crumbles in the mouth to almost nothing. It leaves behind little more than the taste of chocolate and the memory of one of the best meals I’ve had in Spain.

There’s an irony to the fact that, while Benidorm once represented the future of Spanish tourism, it now offers a quieter, nostalgic kind of holiday, seemingly as beloved by Madrileños as it is by Brits, Germans or Finns. Meanwhile, if you want a taste of the future of Spanish cuisine you’ll find it in places like Cocentaina, where centuries of tradition are brought deliciously up to date.

FINNAIR offers excellent flight connections to Alicante and Valencia via Barcelona and Madrid.

BRITISH NOSTALGIA Ray’s Fish & Chip Shop advertises itself as “the oldest chippy in Benidorm.” This is the kind of place that would feel charmingly anachronistic even in England, where fish & chip shops aren’t as ubiquitous as they used to be. The patterned blue tiles on the walls are very Spanish but the crisp, salty crunch of the chips, giving way to a hot, meltingly soft interior, would give any British person a flashback to his or her childhood.

Calle San Vincente 4

Tomatoes, basil and parmesan strike a chord at L’Escaleta.

Ray’s serves Brit-approved fish and chips.

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TEA

OUTOTEC

FOR TWO

GREENER

METAL

CAN BIG COMPANIES PUT SUSTAINABILITY AT THE TOP OF THEIR AGENDAS AND REMAIN PROFITABLE? TO FIND OUT I MEET WITH PERTTI KORHONEN, CEO OF OUTOTEC. THE FINNISH COMPANY OPERATES IN THE MINERALS, METALS, ENERGY AND WATER PROCESSING INDUSTRIES, AND HAS IDENTIFIED SUSTAINABILITY AS ITS CORE MISSION.

How do we tackle the dilemma between a growing need for material resources and the need to protect the environment?

This is my one big worry, but I believe that there is a solution. Metals can be a key contributor to a sustainable society if we ensure three things: first, the primary production of metals should be done in a sustainable manner so that minimal emissions are created and minimal energy is consumed. Secondly, recycling has to be taken into account in product design, whether it be cars, mobile phones or buildings. Finally, metals have to be given a new life through a sustainable recovery and purification process.

How do you cope with the fact that global competition often results in the cutting of corners and the widespread use of less sustainable but more affordable technologies?

I’m an optimist. I see concrete signs that there is a big change going on. If I look at rapidly growing markets in Latin America, Africa or China, sustainability is becoming an important part of the agenda. In most cases, local people stop putting put up with industrial pollution. Authorities are taking note and tightening environmental regulations. It no longer makes economic sense to be wasteful. Sustainability and economic interests are no longer seen as being in conflict.

Can business actually be improved with a sustainable agenda?

Yes. Through sustainable technology solutions, we can reduce life-cycle costs and thus improve business and have a positive impact on our present and future economy. If you recover valuable materials more efficiently while spending less energy and water, you improve the resource efficiency and your environmental footprint is reduced.�

What role do consumers play?

We are going to see a big trend in which consumers will stop buying products from unsustainable companies. Social media, and the internet in general, play an

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important role because of their transparency. Irresponsible practices are easily exposed.

Is there a reliable global sustainability certification that consumers can follow?

A universal certification for sustainability doesn’t yet exist, unfortunately. At Outotec we help manufacturers calculate the sustainability footprint of the materials they use through scientific, mathematical models.

We can, for instance, help a car company determine and disclose its metal footprint.

Can you mention some examples of products and innovations that you have brought into the market?

We have been active in China for 30 years. In recent years, China has significantly increased its copper production. Its copper smelting capacity has grown fivefold while sulfur dioxide emissions have been cut to less than half of what they were in 1995. Some of the cleanest copper smelters in the world today are operating in China with our technology. In Australia, meanwhile, eight per cent of the country’s energy consumption goes into the grinding mills of local mines. That’s a big fraction. We have developed new grinding technologies through which we can reduce their energy consumption by 20 per cent. Today, close to 90 per cent of our business is categorised as “Environmental Goods and Services” according to the OECD definition.

How do you bring sustainability and ethical behaviour into your day-to-day operations?

Sustainability is the core of what we do, not just something we take into account. Our mission as a company and the reason why we exist is very clear: sustainable use of the earth’s natural resources.

Where do you get your inspiration?

This is very simple. I’m concerned about what kind of planet we leave for future generations. I am inspired to make a difference, to change things for the better.

How do you relax?

We have a hunting dog that needs to be taken for a run every morning. I find running and being in nature very relaxing. Also, whenever I’m creating something with people, that’s an amazing feeling.

What are you reading?

Stephen Hawking’s biography, two psychology books and Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink. A book that impressed me is Fearless Leadership by Loretta Malandro.

You love wines and cooking. If you were a food, what would you taste like?

Maybe a red wine. I’m a bit serious, and red wines are more serious than whites. Maybe I could be a Barolo.

Barolos are not so straightforward – they take time to mature and I, too, am becoming better with age!

Which historical figure do you most admire?

[Finnish military leader and wartime president] Mannerheim. He led the nation in a seemingly hopeless situation and safeguarded Finnish independence in World War II. What’s the most overrated virtue?

Money. Of course one needs a certain amount of money for basic living. But beyond that, people run after money thinking it will bring them happiness. This belief can lead to the wrong behaviours.

What is the most underrated virtue?

Respect and protection of the environment. Global warming is a fact, and we are causing it.

What is your motto?

Few things are impossible.

Blanca Juti is a marketing and sales professional who blogs for fun.

BLANCAJUTI.COM

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OVER 70 FLIGHTS A WEEK

TO ASIA Fly the faster, shorter route from over 60 European cities via Helsinki to 13 destinations in Asia. See our daily prices and book your flights at finnair.com

THIS MONTH AROUND THE WORLD WHERE TO GO, WHAT TO DO AND SEE COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY MIRVA LEMPIÄINEN

FOR THE LOVE OF BOOKS UNESCO-designated World Book Day promotes books and reading for children in over 100 nations. The date varies by country, but kids in the UK and Ireland will delve into their novels on March 7. Students can choose a free book out of eight options, including Horrid Henry’s Guide to Perfect Parents.

March 7 WORLDBOOKDAY.COM

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THIS MONTH AROUND THE WORLD

Aussie Mardi Gras

Dubai motors

Finnish folklore

Green and proud

Engine-revving Dykes on Bikes group and shirtless Aussie men in skimpy costumes kick off the Sydney Mardi Gras Parade, showing off their LGBTQI pride (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex). Australia’s most iconic street carnival is now organised for the 35th time. This year’s theme is “Generations of Love.”

The fifth Emirates Classic Car Festival fills downtown Dubai’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard with retro automobiles and motorbikes. The family event features colorful parades and is regarded the best of its kind in the Middle East. Over the weekend, historic cars compete in various categories, including a Public Choice Award.

The Finnish Studies program at Columbia University in New York City hosts its seventh Kalevala Marathon. From 5 to 9 pm., guests are invited to recite chapters of the Finnish folklore in multiple languages. The old wizard Väinämöinen and other characters from the Finnish epic also come alive through music and theatre.

Irish-Americans and others in the mood for a raucous spring party celebrate Irish heritage on March 17 throughout the US by donning “Kiss me, I’m Irish!” -shirts and other bright green accessories. In Chicago the St. Patty’s festivities start a day earlier: the city’s river is mysteriously dyed emerald green at 10 am, just in time for the Irish parade at noon.

March 2 MARDIGRAS.ORG.AU

March 7–9 WWW.EMIRATESCLASSICCARFESTIVAL.COM

March 6 COLUMBIA.EDU/EVENT/SEVENT-MULTILINGUAL-KALEVALA-MARATHON-63665.HTML

March 16 CHICAGOSTPATSPARADE.COM

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BMW, ART CARS. PHOTO BY JOHANNES ROMPPANEN

THIS MONTH AROUND THE WORLD

The Greek Halloween

Helsinki confidential

Mallorca’s Holy Week

Festival of colour

Dubbed Greek Halloween, Apokries is the Orthodox tradition of playing masquerade for three weeks before Lent starts. The day before Julian calendar’s Clean Monday, the town of Patras hosts an extravagant satirical parade.

Some 40,000 revellers dress up as clowns, transvestites, popes and the like.

Virka (meaning “office” or “post”) gallery, an exhibition space inside Helsinki City Hall, showcases poetic polaroids and black-andwhite shots of Helsinki by artist Martti Jämsä. A simultaneous exhibition takes a backstage look at Helsinki’s 2012 World Design Capital Year through the lens of Johannes Romppanen.

Holy Week commemorates the death and resurrection of Jesus, and is celebrated widely in Roman Catholic Mallorca. Churchgoers at the Cathedral of Palma decorate themselves with green leaves on Palm Sunday, and on Maundy Thursday, a crucifix procession begins at the church of Sant Crist de la Sang.

India’s holy city Varanasi is also an excellent Holi city - this festival of colours is taken very seriously along the Ganges River. Holi is the celebration of spring, and good winning over evil. People toss coloured powder and water at each other and burn bonfires to eradicate bad spirits. It’s a literal explosion of colour.

March 17 WWW.CARNAVAL.COM/ GREECE

Until March 28 VIRKA.FI/EN

March 24–30 WWW.SEEMALLORCA.COM/ EVENTS/MAIN.HTML

March 27 THECOLORSOFINDIA.COM/ HOLI.HTML

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be welcomed. be one.

Malaysia Airlines has joined the ONEworld alliance. As a Finnair Plus member, you can experience more destinations, more rewards, and more of the level of service you've come to expect around the globe. To learn about the exclusive privileges that await you on Malaysia Airlines, visit oneworld.com

member of airberlin American Airlines British Airways Cathay Pacific Iberia Japan Airlines LAN Malaysia Airlines Qantas Royal Jordanian S7 Airlines ONEworld benefits are available only to passengers on scheduled flights that are both marketed and operated by a ONEworld member airline (marketed means that there must be a ONEworld member airline's flight number on your ticket). For information on ONEworld visit www.oneworld.com. Air Berlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines, and ONEworld are trademarks of their respective companies. LAN Colombia is currently not part of ONEworld.

Members of Malaysia Airlines' Enrich and LAN's LANPASS programmes will experience reciprocal frequent flyer rewards and benefits when flying on each other's airlines from 1 April 2013.

ISTOCKPHOTO

Classic Broadway theatres sit side by side on 45th street.

Actresses frequent the affordable Monarch Boutique.

TEXT BY LAURA PALOTIE PHOTOS BY LAURA PALOTIE, AARON BAWOL AND ISTOCKPHOTO

TIMES SQUARE HIDEOUTS

MANHATTAN’S INFAMOUS EPICENTRE ISN’T ONLY FOR TOURISTS.

F

or more than a century, Times Square has represented New York City’s aggression and aspiration, its grime and its glitz. While the legendary Broadway theatres have encapsulated the hopes of stage performers since the early 1900s, the area has also been a symbol of urban corruption: Times Square’s time as a hub for prostitutes, peep shows, hustlers and drug dealers was most memorably depicted in Martin Scorsese’s 1976 film, Taxi Driver.

Today the area is a much-cited example of New York’s gentrification: during a redevelopment project that spanned 30 years, movie theatre complexes, chain restaurants, tourist-geared museums such as Madame Tussauds and giant retail stores took over the area. Ranked the most visited tourist sight in the world (Travel + Leisure magazine), today’s Times Square is a place in which promoters of comedy shows and bus tours heckle slow-strolling crowds.

They rub shoulders, literally, with hurried office workers and Broadway performers.

Most locals claim to never enter the area unless they are taking their families to the theatre – and although visitors are best advised to focus their tours of New York to other areas, Times Square is also worth a closer look. The neighbourhood’s hidden gems range from watering holes of the 1970s to hideaways of the Broadway community.

BOXING GLOVES AND OXTAIL Perhaps the best-known establishment to retain a local clientele through the neighbourhood’s radical changes is Jimmy’s Corner (West 44th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues), a boxing-themed dive bar. It’s just a stone’s throw away from the massive chain store Toys “R” Us, in front of which Elmo and Mickey Mouse solicit hugs from visitors, but feels like part of a bygone world. The walls of the oblong space are lined with newspaper clippings starring owner Jimmy Glenn, who opened the bar 41 years ago to help finance his career as a boxing trainer and gym owner.

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Cinnamon-topped Cuban coffee at Margon

Jimmy’s Corner has remained a true dive bar for four decades.

Unpretentious Kodama is a popular sushi spot.

Francis Mareno works at the family-owned Margon: manager Getty Rivas is his uncle.

evergreens by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Barry White. Claim a seat at the bar and listen to regulars banter about everything from baseball scores to politics.

Two blocks up from Jimmy’s is another spot with a 40-year history: Cuban eatery Margon (West 46th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues), which fills to the brim during lunch hour and has been in operation since 1969. Rice and beans are scooped onto plastic plates and aluminium foil containers in rapid succession as patrons shout out orders for Cuban sandwiches, roast chicken and daily specials such as oxtail.

For a less frantic experience, stop by Margon in the morning.

A sweet café con leche topped with cinnamon pairs surprisingly well with a pressed Cuban sandwich that, manager Getty Rivas says, is so flavourful because of the addition of salami (a typical Cuban sandwich includes roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese and pickles). Rivas’s father started at Margon as a dishwasher after moving from the Dominican Republic, and eventually took over its ownership. Today most of the employees are family members.

SPARKLES FOR PERFORMERS With one’s mind lulled by beer and belly satiated with meat, it’s as good a time as any to cross Times Square again. While the blocks between 6th and 7th avenues are packed with restaurants, the western side of the square is more defined by its theatres. The block of 45th street between Broadway and 8th Avenue, where the names of closely crammed theatres are spelled out in yellow lights, looks particularly like the Broadway of dreams.

Tourists still abound near 8th Avenue, but it’s also not uncommon for a daytime stroller to overhear a heated conversation about a dance step or song arrangement. Hundreds of actors and other artists make a living on Broadway, and many rehearsal spaces and studios are located in the neighbourhood.

Drew Tessier, who co-founded a small boutique called Monarch (47th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues), says that the majority of his clientele is made up of women performing on Broadway. “They come here on Wednesdays between matinee and evening performances and say I need an outfit for this and this type of event,” says Tessier, who also designs and sells a line

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ADDRESSES JIMMY’S CORNER 140 West 44th Street, FACEBOOK.COM/JIMMYSCORNERNYC

MARGON 136 W 46th Street, +1(212 )354-5013

Uuden sukupolven kivitalot

MONARCH 326 W 47th Street, FACEBOOK.COM/MONARCHBOUTIQUENYC

BETTIBAR 373 West 46th Street, HOURGLASSTAVERN.COM

U-arvo 0,12 W/m2K

SCHMACKARY’S 362 West 45th Street,

www.hbkivitalot.fi

SCHMACKARYS.COM

KODAMA A no-frills sushi joint with a pre -and posttheatre clientele (get a seat by the window at 45th street and watch Broadwaygoers assemble in front of the Al Hirschfeld Theatre). 301 West 45th Street, +1(212) 582-8065

of jewellery at Monarch. “I view this place more as a showroom with a stylist than as a clothing store.”

Tessier keeps his prices reasonable - many dresses are less than $100 (about 75 euros), and rings, earrings and necklaces cost between $20 and $75 (between 15 and 55 euros). “High prices scare people away from supporting local businesses,” he says.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Tourists and performers exist in an amusing symbiosis here. Elmo and other characters lingering around Times Square in hopes of a photo op and a tip can sometimes be spotted taking smoking breaks with their heads dangling from their free hands. Star sightings aren’t unusual either: on a recent afternoon at popular Schmackary’s café on the corner of 45th Street and 9th Avenue, moments after a group of teenagers on their way to a Broadway show had shuffled out, the actress Judy Greer came in to buy an assortment of cookies (Greer was appearing in Dead Accounts alongside Katie Holmes).

One Broadway hangout is the triangular Bettibar, located upstairs from the more tourist-frequented Hourglass Tavern (46th street between 8th and 9th Avenues). While enjoying a “mystery beer” in a paper bag or a martini during daily happy hour, one can eavesdrop on conversations about scripts, rehearsals or auditions. A concert featuring local talent is held on the last Wednesday of every month.

“I’m one of the few people here who isn’t in the industry,” Bartender Kelly Toth says.

Like almost anywhere, one is likely to get the most out of Times Square by blending in with the locals. Contrary to its reputation of artificiality, it is, in fact, home to unchanging aspects of New York: artists chasing their dreams, visitors marvelling at the scale of this city, and individuals finding ways to manage the madness.

Huvila kokouksiin, kalastukseen ja vapaa-aikaan. www.villabergholmen.fi Taalintehdas

www.kuumalahde.fi

jalometalli-

harkot ja

ULKOPOREALTAAT

-kolikot

sijoitakultaan.fi Puh. (09) 2764 2750

FINNAIR FLIES nonstop to New York daily.

Asiakaspalvelu, puh. 0207 710 800 Ilmoitusmyynti: Oy Suomen Myyntitieto Ab | Mirja-Liisa Vuorenmaa | P. 09-7742 3316

ECONOMIC STRUCTURE Employed persons by industry, 4th quarter 2012

FINLAND IN FIGURES

Miscellaneous services

4%

13

Electric and electronics

Agriculture

10%

16%

Financial and business services

14

Machinery and equipment

Transport and communications

15

Other industries

IMPORTS BY USE IN 2011: 60,261 MEUR (per cent of total)

MAX

6.9 16.8

34.6

Intermediate goods

MIN RAINFALL AVERAGE 1971-2000

19.8 21.8 Energy

EXPORTS AND IMPORTS EXPORTS

56,615 6,730 5,622 5,330 3,810 3,026 2,911 2,904 1,756

POPULATION 5.4 mil­lion, giv­ing an av­er­age den­sity of 18 people per sq. km of land area; an­nu­al g ­ rowth ­ rate 0.5% ­ Life ex­pec­tan­cy: men 77.2 and women 83.5 years. The dem­o­ graph­ic pyr­am ­ id re­sem­bles ­that of ­most oth­er in­dus­tri­al coun­tries, ­with the middle-aged ­groups predominating.

Av­er­age house­hold ­size: 2.1 persons. 55% of the households ­live in single-family hous­es; 44% in apart­ment b ­ locks. 84.4% are urban-dwellers, ­with 1 mil­lion in the Hel­sin­ki Area, which includes Es­poo and Vantaa.

Oth­er ma­jor cit­ies in Finland

MARCH 2013

Metal and engineering products 47%

Trade and hotel

MONTHLY TEMPERATURES AND RAINFALL IN HELSINKI 2012 MEAN

Durable consumer goods

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Forest products 14%

13%

16

Metals and metal products

Manufacturing

14%

22

Chemical ind prod

(MEUR) TOTAL 2011 SWEDEN GERMANY RUSSIA NETHERLANDS CHINA GREAT BRITTAIN USA FRANCE

Other manufactured goods 25%

8%

34%

20

Forest industry prod

Capital goods

Food prod. and textiles 14%

Construction and energy

FOREIGN TRADE 2011 EXPORTS BY PRODUCTS

BY ACTIVITY: 56,615 MEUR (per cent of total)

Non-durable goods

MANUFACTURING

IMPORTS

60,261 6,044 7,490 11,246 3,112 4,447 1,774 2,218 1,963

in­clude Tam­pere, Tur­ku, Ou­lu and Jyväskylä.

Languages: 90% ­speak Finn­ish; 5.4% Swedish.

Religion: 78% are Lu­ther­an; 1% Orthodox.

Education: 78% of the pop­u­la­ tion aged 25 to 64 ­have com­ plet­ed upper secondary or tertiary ed­uc­ a­tion and 35% (the highest percentage in the EU countries) ­have uni­ver­sity or other tertiary qualifications.

Wired: 82% of Finnish households own a personal computer, and 73% broadband; 91% own a digital television and 98% of households have cell phones, of which 46% are smartphones.

C F C F C F mm mm

I

-3,4

II

-6,8

III

0,8

25,9 19,8 33,4 4,6 3,9 9,3 40,3 39,0 48,7 -15,9 -26,2 -14,3 3,4 -15,2 6,3 90 61 36 52

36

38

4,1

IV

10,9

V

13,7

17,7

VII

VIII 16,0

12,5

6,7

4,2

-5,3

39,4 14,8 58,6 -5,5 22,1 55

51,6 22,5 72,5 3,5 38,3 65

56,7 24,5 76,1 5,6 42,1 88

63,9 26,6 79,9 10,2 50,4 54

60,8 24,2 75,6 8,0 46,4 39

54,5 19,8 67,6 5,3 41,5 160

44,1 14,0 57,2 -6,2 20,8 93

39,6 8,9 48,0 -7,5 18,5 80

22,5 2,5 36,5 -16,2 2,8 85

32

37

57

63

80

56

76

70

58

AREA 390,920 sq. kil­o­me­tres or 150,900 sq. ­miles, of ­which 9% is fresh water; land area is 303, 909 ­sq. kil­o­me­tres or 117,337 sq. miles. There are 188,000 lakes.

6% of the ­land is ­under cul­ti­va­tion, ­with bar­ley and ­oats the ­main crops. Fo­rests (main­ly ­pine and ­spruce) cov­er 68% of the country.

GOVERNMENT Sove­reign par­lia­men­tary re­pub­lic ­since 1917. From 1809– 1917, au­ton­o­mous ­Grand ­Duchy with­in the Rus­sian Em­pire; be­fore ­that ­part of the King­dom of Swe­den for centuries.

The pres­i­dent is elect­ed eve­r y six years. The new president of Finland, Sauli Niinistö took office in March 2012.

The 200 mem­bers of Par­lia­ment are elect­ed for four-year terms. The ­most re­cent gen­er­al elec­tion (April 2011) pro­duced the fol­low­ing re­sult: Na­tion­al Co­ali­tion Par­ty 44; So­cial Dem­o­crat­ic Par­ty 42; The Finns 39; Finn­ish Cen­tre 35 seats; Left Al­li­ance 14; Greens 10; Swed­ish People’s Par­ty 9; ­Chris­tian Democratic Party 6; Åland 1.

Finland has been a member of the European Union since January 1995.

VI

IX

X

XI

XII

WORKING LIFE 85.0% of wom­en aged 25–54 are employed outside the home. Av­er­age month­ly earn­ings, 4th quarter 2012: men 3,535 euros; women 2,920 euros. Un­em­ploy­ment r­ ate 6.9% in December 2012 according to Labour Force Survey.

ECONOMY GDP 2011: 192 billion euros, the annual change in volume +2.9%.

Annual inflation rate as of December 2012: 2.4%.

Currency: Euro.

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT PER CAPITA 2011* (EUR)

NORWAY USA DENMARK SWEDEN GERMANY FINLAND FRANCE UK EU27

Nominal

Adjusted for Purchasing Power Standard

70 500 34 700 43 000 41 000 31 700 35 200 30 600 27 800 25 100

47 500 37 100 31 400 31 700 30 300 28 900 27 000 27 300 25 100

Source: Statistics Finland

Eurostat

Tervetuloa / Välkommen/ Welcome / Bienvenue / Willkommen / Добро пожаловать / Tere tulemast / ようこそ / Bienvenido / 欢迎 / Benvenuti / Velkommen / 환영 / Witamy /

www.finnair.fi

www.finnair.se

www.finnair.fr

www.finnair.de www.finnair.com/ru

www.finnair.ee

www.finnair.com/jp

www.finnair.es

www.finnair.com/cn www.finnair.it

www.finnair.dk

www.finnair.kr

www.finnair.com

www.finnair.fi/pl

Flying Finnair AUTOMATED BORDER CONTROL

82

BEFORE AND DURING THE FLIGHT

83

IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT

85

FLEET

87

HELSINKI AIRPORT

88

MAPS

90

CORPORATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

94

FREQUENT FLYER BENEFITS

96

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FINNAIR INFO HOW TO USE THE AUTOMATED BORDER CONTROL GATES

Place your passport with the info page face down on the reader. Please wait while your passport is being read for biographical and biometric data. When the scan is complete, the gate will open.

Enter through the gate and turn right.

Remove your glasses and hat. Look directly at the screen keeping your face visible. The camera will compare your facial image with the biometric feature scanned from your passport.

Wait until the second gate opens.

The border check for EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals is completed when the gate opens.

Third country nationals must now move towards the border guard, who will check your entry stamp and mark your passport with an exit stamp. After that the border check is completed.

Have a nice journey!

日本人で、ICパスポート（※）をお持 ちの方は、2012年5月から試験的に、 出入国審査場において自動化ゲートを ご利用頂けます。 ヘルシンキ空港のシェンゲンエリアか ら、日本に向けて出国される際にお使 い頂くことが可能です。 まず、パスポートの顔写真ページを読 み取ります。該当ページを開き、読み 取り機に向けて置いてください。

二番目のゲートが開いたら、出入国審 査官のカウンターにお進み下さい。 パスポートの入国スタンプを確認した 後、出国スタンプを押印致します。 ご協力頂きまして有難うございます。 ※ ICパスポートとは、2006年3月20日 から申請受付を開始したIC旅券、つま り冊子中央にICチップ及び通信を行う ための

こちらで個人情報と生体認証データを 読み取ります。

アンテナを格納したカードが組み込ま れているバイオメトリック・パスポー トのことです。

ゲートが開いたら中に入り、右を向い てください。カメラで顔認証を行い、 パスポートの顔写真と照合します。

www.finnair.com/jp

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Smooth crossings PASSENGERS AT HELSINKI AIRPORT can now use the 25 automated border control gates, which are for arriving and departing passengers. Ten of these are located in the departure hall; the rest are located at arrivals.

Previously only EU, EEA and Swiss nationals with biometric passports have been able take advantage of the automated border control gates.

As of May, the Finnish Border Guard is launching a trial that will expand the scope of eligible users. Third country nationals, who are exempt from the visa requirement and hold a biometric passport, may use the automated border control upon departure.

First the service will be available only for Japanese citizens. Other vise exempt nationals will be eligible to use the service in the near future.

The increase in passenger volumes at Helsinki Airport requires that border control be organized in a smooth and efficient manner. The Finnish Border Guard’s automated border control fulfils this objective.

The automated border control is monitored by a border guard ensuring secure border crossings.

Please note that passengers travelling with an infant or wheelchair must use the manual border control line.

FINNAIR-INFO

FINNAIR INFO BEFORE THE FLIGHT

BEFORE DEPARTURE

Speed up your takeoff!

Checking in to your Finnair flight is quick and easy.

You can save time and reduce hassle by checking in at a self-service kiosk at the airport, online or by text message.

Find out more about our check-in services at WWW.FINNAIR.COM.

ONLINE CHECK-IN Check in over the internet at your convenience, 24 hours a day, for all scheduled Finnair departures from Finland or destinations abroad (except from Ljubljana, where check-in can be completed on the airport’s own website), as well as connecting flights. Online check-in is also available for leisure flights departing from Finland. The service opens 36 hours before departure.

AUTOMATIC CHECK-IN Save time before departure and leave the check-in to us: if you haven’t completed online check-in, we will automatically take care of it for you and send your boarding pass to your mobile phone. If your flight departs in the morning, you will receive a check-in confirmation between 5 pm and 7 pm the previous evening. If your flight departs in the afternoon, you will get a confirmation approximately three hours before the flight takes off.

This service is available for Finnairoperated flights and Flybe-operated AY2000 series flights departing from Helsinki and other airports in Finland, Amsterdam, Bergen, Brussels, Budapest, Copenhagen, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Gothenburg, London, Madrid, Manchester, Munich, Milan, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Riga, Stockholm-Arlanda, Stockholm-Bromma, Tallinn, Toronto, Vilnius, Warsaw and Zurich.

CHECK-IN VIA A SELF-SERVICE KIOSK To check in at an airport selfservice kiosk, all you need is your passport or your Finnair Plus membership card or credit card. Finnair check-in kiosks are available at the following airports: Helsinki, Amsterdam, Beijing, Brussels, Budapest, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Manchester, Munich, Oulu, Prague, St Petersburg, Stockholm-Arlanda, Tallinn, Vienna, Warsaw and Zurich.

The kiosks at Helsinki Airport can also be used when departing on a leisure flight.

Finnair in a nutshell • Finnair is Number One in air traffic between Northern Europe and Asia.

BAG DROP SERVICE If you only have carry-on baggage, proceed directly to security control. After selfservice check-in, checked baggage should be left at the Bag Drop desk within the normal check-in times.

ONLINE CHECK-IN is available for leisure flights departing from Finland, and at check-in kiosks for departures from Helsinki.

• In 2011, Finnair carried 8 million passengers.

• Close to one and a half million passengers fly between Asia and Europe via Helsinki each year.

• In 2011, the number of passengers on scheduled flights totalled 7.3 million. Domestic travel accounted for 1.5 million passengers.

The total on leisure flights was nearly 740,000.

• In 2011, Finnair transported more than 145,000 tonnes of cargo.

• Established in 1923, Finnair is one of the world’s oldest operating airlines.

• Finnair’s route network includes more than 50 international destinations.

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FINNAIR INFO DURING THE FLIGHT

IN THE AIR

Welcome aboard!

SAFETY

PERKS FOR KIDS

• Safety information is presented by the cabin crew at the start of each flight. The same information is also listed on the safety instruction card in the seat pocket.

• Children are offered puzzles or colouring books on intercontinental scheduled flights and leisure flights.

• Safety belts must remain fastened when the “Fasten safety belt” sign is on. For safety reasons we recommend keeping them fastened even when the sign has been switched off.

• During the flight, passengers may use MP3, CD or DVD players as well as laptop computers when the “Fasten safety belt” sign is off.

• Music and video entertainment is available on intercontinental scheduled flights and leisure flights.

• On the Airbus A340-300 and Airbus A330-300 aircraft, games are available as part of the personal entertainment system.

MEALS • Meals or snacks are served on most international flights.

• Complimentary non-alcoholic beverages are available on scheduled flights.

ENTERTAINMENT • Inflight entertainment on intercontinental scheduled flights and leisure flights includes music, movies and an Airshow programme, which allows passengers to track their flight on a map.

• On scheduled flights, headphones are available free of charge. On leisure flights, the entertainment fee includes headphones.

• Alcoholic drinks are for sale in Economy Class on European scheduled flights, except on routes to and from Riga, St. Petersburg, Stockholm and Tallinn.

• In Economy Class on intercontinental scheduled flights we serve a hot meal with complimentary wine and beer.

• On European and intercontinental scheduled flights coffee, tea, juice and soft drinks are complimentary.

• In Business Class all drinks are free of charge. On leisure flights, there is a charge for all beverages.

• On flights to and from northern Finland, alcoholic beverages are sold after 9 am.

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FINNAIR INFO IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT

Hitchcock

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Water for Elephants

MOVIES, TV, MUSIC AND GAMES TO ENTERTAIN YOU

Life of Pi

The Grand Heist

S

it back, relax and enjoy your flight with your personal entertainment system. Using your handset or touchscreen makes it easy to choose from more than 40 movies, 100 TV shows, 24 music channels, up to 200 CD albums and 20 games. Whether you like action, comedy, news, sports, pop or classical, there’s always something for you to enjoy, including programs from Hollywood, Asia and around the globe. We also offer films and cartoons

suitable for children and families on all international and leisure flights.

For music, you can even create your own playlist from a choice of up to 200 CDs (on select aircraft). What’s more, most entertainment systems include a satellite phone for texting and emails, and a power outlet so you can use your own laptop computer or personal entertainment device.

Your system also offers an Airshow moving map that displays the progress of your flight.

Personal entertainment systems are available on Airbus A330 and Airbus A340 aircraft. Headphones are free of charge on intercontinental scheduled flights. On leisure flights (AY1000 series), there is an entertainment fee which includes headphone rental (on Boeing 757 aircraft, €5.00 per person including return flight; on Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft, €8.00 per person per flight). Most Airbus A340 aircraft and all Airbus A330 aircraft are equipped with an electricity socket, telephone and the option to send sms & email messages via the Inflight Entertainment System. The messages cost only $2.00/message and the charge for calls is $7.00/first minute and $3.50/every 30 secs thereafter.

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FINNAIR INFO DURING THE FLIGHT

Inflight shopping Purchases can be made in two different ways on most flights: • You may order products in advance from our large and affordable pre-order assort­ ment at www.finnairshop.com.

• On most flights we also have onboard sales items. The selection varies depending on the route.

Easier business travel BUSINESS CLASS ALLOWS YOU TO TRAVEL FLEXIBLY • Reservations can be changed easily and if a flight is cancelled, the price of the ticket can be refunded.

• Business Class seats can be reserved up to 12 months in advance.

OTHER BUSINESS CLASS PERKS • Menus change frequently, and wines are served to accompany your meal.

• A wide range of snacks and beverages is available.

• Business Class on intercon­ tinental scheduled flights offers modern lie-flat or full-flat seats and lots of personal space to ensure greater privacy for work and sleep.

• Airbus A340/A330 aircraft, operating on intercontinental flights*, are equipped with a personal entertainment system and satellite phones for every passenger, both in Business and Economy Class.

• Passengers are able to send text messages and e-mails to the ground, and receive replies for a small fee. They can also call other passengers on the same flight free of charge.

• Tax-free products, alcohol and tobacco are sold on the aircraft when you fly to and from destinations outside the European Union. These include all intercontinental flights, as well as Ekaterinburg, Geneva, Moscow and Zurich.

• Due to limited space onboard the aircraft, alcohol and tobacco products are not for sale on flights operated with Embraer aircraft, but these products may be ordered through the pre-order service.

• On flights within the EU, products are affordable but not tax-free.

• Gift items, cosmetics, fragrances and confectionary are sold on scheduled flights to and from the following destinations: Am­ sterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Buda­ pest, Dubrovnik, Düsseldorf, Ekaterinburg, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, Ljubljana, London, Madrid, Manchester, Malaga, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Nice, Paris, Prague, Rome, Venice, Vienna and Zurich.

•

* Entertainment/communication systems may vary by aircraft.

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SHOP WITH POINTS Pamper yourself with Plus points at www.finnairplusshop.com

FINNAIR-INFO FLEET

AIRBUS A340-300 Number Seating capacity Length Wingspan Cruising speed Maximum cruising altitude

7 270/269 63.6 m 60.3 m 890 km/h 12,500 m

AIRBUS A330-300 Number 8 Seating capacity 297/271/263 Length 63.6 m Wingspan 60.3 m Cruising speed 890 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 12,600 m AIRBUS A321 Number Seating capacity Length Wingspan Cruising speed Maximum cruising altitude

6 136–196 44.5 m 34.1 m 840 km/h 11,900 m

AIRBUS A320 Number Seating capacity Length Wingspan Cruising speed Maximum cruising altitude

10 110–165 37.6 m 34.1 m 840 km/h 11,900 m

AIRBUS A319 Number Seating capacity Length Wingspan Cruising speed Maximum cruising altitude

9 105–138 33.8 m 34.1 m 840 km/h 11,900 m

EMBRAER 190 Operated by Flybe Number 12 Seating capacity 100 Length 36.2 m Wingspan 28.7 m Cruising speed 850 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 12,300 m BOEING 757 Number Seating capacity Length Wingspan Cruising speed Maximum cruising altitude

4 227 47.3 m 41.4 m 860 km/h 12,800 m

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FINNAIR INFO BEFORE AND AFTER THE FLIGHT HELSINKI AIRPORT

TRANSFER SERVICE

34

33

32

32a

31a-e 30

31x 31

HOW TO TRANSFER • Check your gate and departure time on the airport monitors.

35

• If your baggage has not been checked through to your final destination, collect it from the baggage claim area and go to check-in and security control.

SHOP

Security control

NON-SMOKING Smoking at Helsinki Airport is prohibited outside of designated smoking rooms.

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Transfer Service 3

36 Finnair Tax-Free Shop

FINNAIR LOUNGE

AIRPORT SHOPPING

Finnair Plus members receive special discounts at the Finnair Tax-Free Shop when presenting their membership card.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Finnair Plus loyalty program.

37

2ND FLOOR

37a-d

GROUND FLOOR

Border control

AUTOMATED BORDER CHECKS are available to passengers with biometric EU, EEA or Swiss passports.

Place your passport on the reader with the photo page down, then pass through the first gate, turn towards the monitor, and wait for the second gate to open.

SHOP SHOPPING Receive special offers for airport services when you show your Finnair Plus card. You will recognise our partners by the Finnair Plus symbol.

Helsinki Airport features more than 30 shops and boutiques and various restaurants and cafés.

Borde contro

2ND FLOOR

38

CHILDREN Children’s playrooms offer videos, microwave ovens and baby care facilities.

SHOP

SHOP LOUNGE

• All Finnair and Flybe departures are located in the same terminal.

WIRELESS INTERNET is available free of charge. An eService Bar is located across from gate 21.

Border control

LONG-HAUL AREA NON-SCHENGEN

• If you don’t have a boarding pass for your connecting flight, please contact the transfer service desk.

• Most passengers transferring from nonEU countries to EU countries have to go through security and passport control.

Please note that liquids are restricted in carry-on baggage.

SHOP

LOST AND FOUND INQUIRIES, tel +358 600 41006 WWW.LOYTOTAVARA.NET

SHOP

WALKING TIME GATE 24-30: 7 MIN

CHECK OUT

T2 29

28

Restaurant & Deli Fly Inn

27

FINNAIR LOUNGE 26

Finnair Tax-Free Shop

23

GATE AREA

Security check

er ol

CHECK-IN 240–270

CHECK-IN 201–232 SHOP

SHOP

24

25 Transfer Service 2

SHOP

Security check

22

Finnair Service Desk

GROCERY

21

ARRIVALS 2 B

1ST FLOOR

ARRIVALS 2 A

SHOP 19

OP

20

SH

SCHENGEN AREA

THE LATEST FINNAIR PLUS TAX-FREE OFFERS ON PAGE 98.

LOUNGE 2

Tourist info

18

Pharmacy

17 16

Transfer Service 1

15

CHECK-IN 101–114

14

Security check

Baggage storage GROUND FLOOR

ARRIVALS 1

T1

13

GATE AREA 12

2ND FLOOR

11

BUS CONNECTIONS The Finnair City Bus to the Helsinki railway station leaves from Terminal 2 every 20 minutes, stopping also at Terminal 1. Travel time is about 30 minutes. Price: €6.30

SHOP

1ST FLOOR

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INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS FROM HELSINKI

Great Circle Estimated Distances Flight km Times

ALGHERO AMSTERDAM ANTALYA AQABA ARRECIFE BANGKOK BARCELONA BEIJING BERGEN BERLIN BILLUND BODRUM BRUSSELS BUDAPEST BURGAS CANCUN via Scandinavia non-stop CATANIA CHANIA CHONGQING COPENHAGEN DALAMAN DELHI DUBAI DUBROVNIK DÜSSELDORF EKATERINBURG FARO FRANKFURT FUERTEVENTURA FUNCHAL GENEVA GOA via Sharjah GOTHENBURG HAMBURG HANOI HÔ CHI MINH CITY (Saigon) HONG KONG HURGHADA INNSBRUCK IRÁKLION KAVALA KERKYRA KIEV KOS KRABI KRAKOW LANGKAWI LAS PALMAS LISBON LJUBLJANA LONDON MADRID MALAGA MANCHESTER MARSA ALAM MILAN MINSK MOSCOW MUNICH NAGOYA NEW YORK NICE NORRKÖPING OSAKA OSLO OVDA PALMA DE MALLORCA PAPHOS PARIS PHUKET PONTA DELGADA

2473 1525 2637 3494 4518 7912 2632 6325 1112 1123 1060 2572 1651 1481 1982 9127

2636 2756 6736 895 2639 5229 4537 2027 1512 2098 3480 1543 4578 4310 1994 9214 785 1172 7478 8510 7821 3743 1701 2777 2159 2331 1171 2620 8350 1186 8560 4700 3369 1713 1863 2950 3357 1817 3932 1953 740 876 1577 7780 6626 2202 530 7751 766 3457 2777 2898 1900 8312 4316

03:35 02:35 03:40 05:05 05:55 09:45 03:55 07:55 03:30 02:00 01:50 03:55 02:40 02:20 03:00 13:40 12:05 03:45 03:50 08:40 01:40 03:40 06:50 05:55 03:00 02:25 03:05 04:45 02:35 06:05 05:45 03:00 10:15 01:25 02:00 10:10 10:50 09:35 05:05 02:35 03:55 03:15 03:25 01:55 03:45 10:20 02:00 10:25 06:10 04:50 02:40 03:10 04:25 04:35 03:00 05:10 03:05 01:25 01:40 02:30 09:40 08:45 03:25 01:30 09:30 01:30 04:30 04:00 04:00 03:05 10:05 05:50

Great Circle Estimated Distances Flight km Times

PRAGUE PREVEZA PUERTO PLATA via Scandinavia RHODES RIGA RIMINI ROME SANTORINI SEOUL SHANGHAI SHARM EL SHEIKH SINGAPORE SKIATHOS SPLIT ST. PETERSBURG STOCKHOLM TALLINN TARTU TEL AVIV TENERIFE NORTE TENERIFE SUR TOKYO TORONTO VARADERO via Scandinavia VARNA VENICE VERONA VIENNA VILNIUS WARSAW XIAN ZAKYNTHOS ZÜRICH

1322 2397 8417 2668 382 1993 2235 2660 7050 7410 3664 9272 2353 1956 301 400 101 245 3230 4691 4745 7849 6619 8665 1911 1847 1903 1462 633 940 6421 2526 1781

SCHEDULED DESTINATIONS

02:10 03:25 12:40 03:45 00:55 03:00 03:25 03:40 08:40 09:05 05:00 11:30 03:30 02:55 01:00 01:00 00:30 00:50 04:25 06:10 06:10 09:45 08:50 12:55 02:55 02:55 02:55 02:30 01:15 01:40 07:50 03:55 02:45

LEISURE DESTINATIONS PARTNER-OPERATED CODE-SHARE OR MARKETING DESTINATIONS SEASONAL ROUTE EW SCHEDULED DESTINATION N IN 2013

Atl Oc antic ean

DOMESTIC FLIGHTS FROM HELSINKI ENONTEKIÖ IVALO JOENSUU JYVÄSKYLÄ KAJAANI MARIEHAMN KEMI/TORNIO KITTILÄ KOKKOLA/PIETARSAARI KUOPIO KUUSAMO OULU PORI ROVANIEMI SAVONLINNA TAMPERE TURKU VAASA VARKAUS

900 931 360 235 464 282 609 823 391 335 667 514 214 697 281 143 150 348 259

02:15 01:35 01:00 00:45 01:00 00:55 01:30 01:25 01:05 01:00 01:15 01:05 00:40 01:20 00:55 00:35 00:35 00:55 00:50

Bay of B isca ya

Arct ic

Ocea n

Nor weg ian S ea

Nort

h Sea

Black Sea

Medit erranea n Sea

Arctic Ocean FINNAIR-INFO WORLD MAP

Finnair Plus members earn Plus points from travelling on any scheduled flight with a oneworld airline.

Atlantic Ocean

Cartagena

Pacific Ocean

Ocea n Atlantic Ocean

oneworld:

more than 800 destinations

Arctic Ocean

Taiwan

Indian Ocean

Pacific Ocean

Andrew Libert

FINNAIR INFO CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

Social capital Finnair wants to be the number one choice for quality- and environmentally-conscious travellers.

The airline participates in many environmental and humanitarian projects, and gives its frequent flyers the opportunity to donate Finnair Plus points to various philanthropic initiatives.

Here are just a few examples of Finnair’s societal involvement in a changing world:

• Finnair cooperates with the struck Japan, the airline sent Finnish Association for Nature infant formula to the affected Conservation. Finnair Plus areas, and offered Finnair Plus members have been able to members the opportunity to dodonate points towards a refornate points to the Japanese Red estation project in Madagascar, Cross; about three million points where about 1,500 trees have were donated towards blankets, been planted to date. water bottles and tinned food.

• Finnair has also joined forces • Finnair employees are ofwith the Baltic Sea Action fered continuous training and Group. As part of the collaboradevelopment opportunities. The tion, Finnair Plus members can company conducts an annual donate points towards Baltic 4D survey among its employees Sea cleanup efforts. that measures wellbeing at • Finnair has been a corporate work, identifies trends and pinpartner of UNICEF since 1994, points potential problem areas. participating in its yearly Finnair Group also makes use of Change for Good campaign. virtual meetings to reduce the • As part of the Aircraft Meteoroneed for unnecessary travel. logical Data Relay (AMDAR) pro- • A Suntours (Aurinkomatkat) gram, Finnair provides weather representative serves as the chair measurements to the Finnish of the Tour Operators’ Initiative, National Weather Service and which promotes environmentally to a number of meteorological sustainable tourism. Suntours, institutes globally. which is part of Finnair Group, also • Finnair provides assistance sponsors programmes protecting to areas struck by humanitarwild turtles in Thailand and Greece. ian crises. After earthquakes • Finnair has donated old cabin in Sichuan and Haiti, Finnair crew uniforms, blankets and funded the construction of other textiles to Uusix and infrastructure and delivered GlobeHope, two Finnish commedical equipment. When the panies that turn used materials 2011 tsunami and earthquake into new design items.

94 BLUE WINGS

FEBRUARY 2012

WARM WINGS WITH ITS hub located in the northernmost

capital city in continental Europe, Finnair plays close attention to getting its planes safely off the ground in wintry weather.

Between September and May, an average of 1,200 Finnair aircraft each month undergo de-icing at Helsinki Airport. The process is coordinated with Finavia, the company operating Finland’s airports.

Mixtures of Propylene glycol and water are used to clean aircraft wings of built-up ice. One type of liquid is used for cleanup, while a second, thicker fluid is employed during snowfall to prevent new snow from sticking onto the surface of the wing. ”The toughest weather is heavy snowfall in temperatures close to zero Celsius,” says Pasi Piirainen, Finnair’s de-icing service manager.

De-icing procedures are subject to continuous development. ”We spend about a month each year at various international workshops in an effort to develop more effective and environmentally friendly solutions,” he says. ”My goal is 100 per cent know-how in terms of safety.”

FINNAIR INFO ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

Measures for cleaner air Each year Finnair publishes a corporate responsibility report that provides details on the company’s environmental and social efforts (examples below) as well as corporate culture. The report has been prepared according to Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) guidelines since 2008. Finnair has reported on its sustainability initiatives since 1997.

· F rom 1999 to 2009, Finnair cut its carbon dioxide

emissions per seat by 22 per cent. By 2017, it intends to reduce this number by another 24 per cent; total reductions per seat from 1999 to 2017 will equal as much as 41 per cent.

FACT OF THE MONTH The majority of Finnair’s ground equipment uses sulphur-free fuel, which releases less nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide into the environment than standard gasoline.

· F innair supports the International Air Transport As-

sociation’s (IATA) goal of zero-emissions air travel by 2050, as well as a global emissions trading scheme.

· F innair flies Europe’s newest fleet. The average aircraft

age is six years, and three years on intercontinental routes. Operating with new aircraft cuts back on fuel consumption and emissions by 20 to 30 per cent. The airline also flies the shortest routes between Europe and Asia via Helsinki, reducing fuel consumption. Passengers and cargo are carried on the same flights.

· B etween 60 and 80 per cent of Finnair’s landings in

Finland are continuous descent approach landings that create fewer emissions. Unnecessary circling in the air or taxiway is avoided.

FINNAIR SERVES 10,000 meals onboard daily, with more than 50 per cent of the waste going to recycling or re-use. This represents an eight per cent improvement from 2009.

· F innair’s emissions calculator (at feel.finnair.com/

PLASTIC WINE BOTTLES, mugs, packages and utensils, as well as cardboard cups and paper napkins are burned to produce energy. Aluminium cans and clear plastic bottles are recycled.

· T hrough its collaboration with Nordic Offset, a Finnish

PLASTIC TRAYS are washed and reused. In Business Class, washable dishes and utensils are used.

full) allows travellers to check their personal fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by plugging in their departure and destination cities. Data assurance is done by PricewaterhouseCoopers and updated on a quarterly basis.

company, AREA travel agency offers companies the opportunity to offset their carbon emissions from business travel by donating to renewable energy projects in growing markets such as China and India.

FEBRUARY 2012

BLUE WINGS

95

Enjoy your Finnair Plus benefits FINNAIR PLUS is a frequent flyer program open to all Finnair passengers. Children between the ages of two and 17 can join the Finnair Junior Plus program. Enter your Finnair Plus membership number upon booking or show your card at check-in to earn Plus points on Finnair and oneworld flights.

FINNAIR PLUS POINTS can be collected from more than 300 Finnair Plus partners around the world, including car rental companies, restaurants, hotels, airport shops and more.

Finnair Plus

oneworld

BASIC SILVER GOLD PLATINUM

--RUBY SAPPHIRE EMERALD

Benefits by tier

BASIC BENEFITS:

+ C lassic and Any Seat flight awards

+ T ext message check-in for + + + + +

Finnair flights P ayment for excess baggage charges with points W aiting list priority based on tier P lusShop and partner service purchases with points D iscounts and points for partner services P oints for credit card purchases

award with a set amount of points, or a flight on a oneworld airline. An Any Seat flight award can be purchased on the Finnair Plus site and used when booking a Finnair flight.

MEMBERS can use points to buy services from Finnair Plus partners or make purchases from the online Finnair Plus­Shop, which stocks more than 3,500 items from gadgets More benefits to design classics. Shop with points, money or a combina& offers for tion of both. members!

Join now!

FINNAIR OFFERS its frequent flyers a variety of benefits and flight award options. Purchase an Any Seat flight award with a flexible combination of points and money, a Classic flight

JOIN FINNAIR PLUS at www. finnair.com/plus or by filling out an application in your seat pocket. The Finnair Plus site also includes information on collecting and using points and allows you to check your points balance, book flight awards, and browse special offers.

There are four Finnair Plus tiers: Basic, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Move up to higher tiers by collecting qualifying tier points on Finnair or oneworld flights.

See more information at www.finnair.com/plus.

ADDITIONAL SILVER BENEFITS:

+ B usiness Class check-in with

Finnair -Priority Lane* security checks + O ne extra piece of baggage free of charge and Finnair lounge access when flying with Finnair + 1 0% points bonus on Finnair flights + 1 0% discount on purchases made in Finnair Shops and on flights outside of the EU

ADDITIONAL GOLD BENEFITS:

+ C onfirmed seat 48 hours before + + + + + +

Finnair flights (European or intercontinental for Business Class, intercontinental for Economy Class) Priority Lane* security checks

t ravel class upgrades for Finnair flights U se of a service phone number S pecial baggage free of charge on Finnair flights O neworld Business Class and Frequent Flyer lounge access + 1 guest 1 5% points bonus on Finnair flights

ADDITIONAL PLATINUM BENEFITS:

+ N o expiration of points during tracking period

+ Oneworld First Class checkin and lounge access

+ 25% points bonus on Finnair flights

* For example: Helsinki, Stockholm-Arlanda

Get more out of your Finnair Plus awards It’s now easier than ever to pay for award flights with Finnair Plus points.

THE NEWLY UPDATED Finnair Plus program makes it easier and faster for frequent fliers to earn Finnair Plus points. And the good news doesn’t stop there. It’s now also easier to use your points for Any Seat reservations.

Any Seat reservations can be booked on almost all Finnair codeshare flights. In other words, you can book seats on any flight operated by a partner airline that has a Finnair flight number.

“Before, Any Seat reservations were only available for Finnair-operated flights, but now you can also use your points for almost all Finnair codeshare flights as well,” explains Membership Manager Pipsa Hukka.

“We wanted to reward our loyal customers by offering them more opportunities to use their points.”

F

R

FINNAIR PLUS FREQUENT FLYER BENEFITS

INNAI

PLUS

GO CLASSIC

There are two ways to use your Finnair Plus points for award flights. With Any Seat reservations, you use a combinaThe Any Seat scheme is a unique tion of money and points. With Classic Finnair service, allowing you to pay for award flights, you use points only. flights with a combination of money and Classic flight awards do not include points. taxes, passenger fees and other “The advantage with Any Seat applicable surcharges, so you reservations is that you don’t will need to pay these sepahave to wait until you’ve FOR FURTHER rately. saved enough points to The unchanged Classic cover the entire fare.

DETAILS award scheme offers all It doesn’t matter how on making the most the same great benefits as many points you have before. You can use points in your account – you of your Finnair Plus to purchase Finnair and simply pay the rest with award points, visit: our partner airline flights. money,” explains Hukka.

Simply tick the Award “You can make Any WWW.FINNAIR.COM flights box when booking and Seat reservations for al/PLUS don’t forget to log into your most all destinations sold via Finnair Plus account. our web pages. Simply select the ‘Use points’ link and log into your Finnair Plus account and choose what portion of the fare you wish to pay in points and money.”

MARCH 2013

BLUE WINGS

97

F

R

INNAI

PLUS

FINNAIR PLUS FREQUENT FLYER BENEFITS PARTNERS

FOR FINNAIR PLUS MEMBERS IN MARCH

SEE YOU OPPOSITE GATE 28!

Tax-free offers at the airport THE FINNAIR TAX-FREE SHOP at Helsinki Airport welcomes Finnair Plus members with monthly offers and benefits. Just show your membership card and save up to 20% or more on our regular tax-free prices on certain items.

WINES Pichon Baron 2004, 75 cl / Suduiraut 1999, 75 cl For Finnair Plus members €160 (normal tax-free price €190) Domaine Laroche Chablis Premier Cru Les Vaillons Vieilles Vignes 2006 For Finnair Plus members €21 (normal tax-free price €25) Lenz Moser Beerenauslese 2008, 37.5 cl For Finnair Plus members €14 (normal tax-free price €17)

GATE 28

Earn and redeem

Finnair Plus points on oneworld flights FINNAIR PLUS MEMBERS earn points from qualifying flights on oneworld alliance airlines. These points also count towards advancing or maintaining your tier status. You can also redeem your points by travelling with any oneworld member airline. Choose from over 800 destinations across the globe.

When you provide your card number during booking or check-in, points will be automatically registered to your account.

In addition, Finnair Plus tier members can take advantage of their tier benefits on other oneworld airlines.

RAY- BAN SUNGLASSES -20% Light and well-fitting Ray-Ban model with a comfortably neutral grey lens tint.

Jackie Ohh, Ray Ban’s classic women’s model with an excellent polarized lens.

SELECTED CLINIQUE SKIN CARE PRODUCTS -20%

SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE II 3G White or titan €599+10,000 points

PHILIPS AIRFLOSS TEETH CLEANER €90+3,000 points

PlusShop picks in March 3 EASY STEPS 1. Visit the online Finnair PlusShop.

F

INNAI

R

FINNAIR PLUS FREQUENT FLYER BENEFITS PLUSSHOP

PLUS

SAGAFORM DUO HERB POT AND HERB SCISSORS €30+1,000 points

SUUNTO AMBIT BLACK HR €399+3,000 points

LA DIGITAL IPTV100 ANDROID MEDIA PLAYER €99+1,000 points

2. Choose your products and pay with money, points or a combination of both.

PHILIPS SAECO XSMALL ESPRESSO MACHINE THD8743/11 €299+2,000 points

3. Your purchases will be delivered to your home or to your nearest post office.

The Finnair PlusShop stocks over 3,000 items and delivers around the world. You don't have to be a member to make purchases.

WWW.FINNAIR.COM/SHOPPING

FATBOY THE ORIGINAL BEAN BAG The 6 new colours! €200+2,000 points

Kuten jokaisena kolmen viime vuoden aamuna, näin ensimmäiseksi kuntopyörän. Se törrötti

Kävin Vepsäläisellä ja myin kuntopyörän netissä. Sain siitä 35 euroa ja hyvän mielen,

sängyn ja vaatekaapin edessä uuden, liikunnallisen elämäni muistomerkkinä. Urheilullinen vaihe oli ollut lyhyt. Istuminen epämukavassa satulassa paikallaan polkien, seinällä roikkuvaa maisemaa tuijottaen oli osoittautunut äärimmäisen tylsäksi.

kun näin sitä kannettavan pois. Lampun jätin roska-astian viereen. Eilisiltana laskin kirjan uudelle yöpöydälle, sammutin uuden lukulampun ja nukuin kuin tukki herätyskellon soittoon asti. Tänään avasin silmäni ja näin makuuhuoneen, jossa minun on mukava olla.

Makuuhuoneeseen pyörä oli siirretty samasta syystä kuin jalkalamppukin. Kumpaakaan ei haluttu olohuoneeseen esille. Lamppu palveli nyt lukulamppuna. Teoriassa. Käytännössä sen valossa ei voinut lukea.

Etsiessäni puhtaita alusvaatteita kaapista, jonka ovea ei kuntopyörän takia saanut kokonaan auki, tulin ajatelleeksi, paljonko aikaa tässä huoneessa vietän. Nopea

Enää kodin sisustamista kodikkaammaksi ei tarvitse lykätä parempia aikoja odottamaan.

Vepsäläinen tarjoaa 14.2.-16.4.2013 aidosti korottoman ja kuluttoman luoton, jolla jaat ostoksesi tasaeriin. Jopa 60 kuukaudeksi.

Sen nimi on Nousukausirahoitus.

Koskaan ennen designin hankkiminen ei ole ollut näin helppoa. Nyt on.

Lue lisää: www.vepsalainen.com

päässälasku tuotti vastaukseksi ”paljon”.

Seuraavaksi kysyin itseltäni, miksen tekisi tästä huoneesta miellyttävää paikkaa.

NOUSUKAUSIRAHOITUS

60

jopa

kk

Maksaessasi ostokset Vepsäläisellä TUOHELLA saat ostolle jopa 60 kk korotonta ja kulutonta maksuaikaa tasaerissä. TUOHEN muusta käytöstä maksat korot ja kulut sopimusehtojen mukaisesti.

TUOHI MasterCard on kansainvälinen maksuaika- ja luottokortti. TUOHEN todellinen vuosikorko laskettuna 1500 euron käytössä olevalle luotolle on 21%. Laskennassa on käytetty 3 kk:n euriborkorkoa (01/2013) ja siinä on huomioitu kuukausittainen tilinhoitomaksu. TUOHI on jatkuva luotto, se on voimassa toistaiseksi, ja sen myöntää Nordea Rahoitus Suomi Oy. Luottoraja on 1.000 - 10.000 euroa, korko on 3 kuukauden euriborkorko + 12 % ja tilinhoitomaksu on 5 euroa kuukaudessa, ei vuosimaksua.

Nousukausirahoitus ei ole käytössä Vepsäläisen verkkokaupassa.

ESPOO | HELSINKI | HÄMEENLINNA | JYVÄSKYLÄ | KOTKA | KOUVOLA | KUOPIO | LAHTI | LAPPEENRANTA | MIKKELI | OULU | PORI | PORVOO ROVANIEMI | SEINÄJOKI | TAMPERE | TURKU | VAASA | VANTAA