Blue Wings Nature issue Summer 2013

FINLAND’S CASTLES

CROWD FUNDING PIONEERS

Nature issue

ANCIENT EIN KEREM

SUMMER IN CHICAGO

Trends, destinations and insights for travellers • Summer 2013

90 YEARS OF SERVICE

Your l na perso y cop

AT FINNAIR

TRACING THE SILK ROAD

IN XI’AN

TOP5 TEL AVIV KITCHENS

A future for Borneo’s

orangutans

Skogsö Jacket

Lantiopituinen, G-1000 Litemateriaalista valmistettu takki, huppu ja hartiaosa g-1000-materiaalia. Kaksi pystysuuntaista rintataskua ja kaksi käsitaskua.

Keb Jacket

Hyvin hengittävä ulkoilutak ki stretchiä ja kestävää G-1000 Eco-kangasta. Myrskytasku, tuuletusaukot, kaksi rintataskua ja hihatasku.

Paras vaelluksesi ® G-1000 vaatteissa retkelle, g-1000-kankaasta valmistetut vaatteet ovat erinomainen matkakumppani. Tiheän kudoksen ja luonnollisen Grönlanninvahan yhdistelmän ansiosta g-1000-kankaasta valmistetut vaatteet ovat äärimmäisen kestäviä, hyvin hengittäviä, tuulta pitäviä ja vettä hylkiviä. g-1000 suojaa myös hyttysiltä, mikä on erinomainen ominaisuus, kun haluaa tutkia luontoa ilman rajoituksia.

Grönlanninvahan avulla g-1000 vaatteen voit muuttaa helposti sään ja aktiivisuustason mukaan.

Mitä enemmän vahaa lisätään, sitä tiiviimpi JOS O L E T L ÄH DÖSS Ä

Nikka Jacket

Pusakkamallinen vaellustakki G-1000 Lite-kangasta ja liikkuvuutta parantavaa stretchiä, hyvin hengittävä lyhyillä retkillä.

Kiinteä huppu ja kaksi taskua.

vaatteesta tulee ja sitä paremmin se pitää tuulta ja sadetta. Kyllästäminen parantaa myös vaatteen kestävyyttä ja pidentää sen käyttöikää. Vahaa vähentämällä vaatteesta taas tulee vilpoisampi ja sen hengittävyys paranee.

Lue lisää ja katsele video osoitteessa www.fjallraven.fi.

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

Xi’an is synonymous with the Terracotta Warriors.

ART DIRECTOR Miia Taskinen miia.taskinen@sanomamagazines.fi 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 150,000 ISSN-0358-7703

The new Silk Road

A

bout 28 years ago, my sister and her friends took a train to China. The journey took one week from Finland via Siberia.

One of the most memorable places that she visited was Xi’an, where she saw the Terracotta Warriors, the collection of thousands of sculptures that were buried with emperor

Qin Shi Huang in the third century BC to protect him in the afterlife. She bought a small soldier replica, which still resides in her bookshelf.

This summer Finnair opens a nonstop flight from Helsinki to Xi’an, which takes just over nine hours (see our story on Xi’an on page 20).

Travel has changed dramatically from the mid-1980s: flying is more affordable and accessible than ever before.

The world’s most populous country has changed, too. When my blonde sister was in Xi’an, she raised as much interest as the landmarks that she visited. Tourism to and from China has increased, however, and by 2015, Chinese outbound travel is expected to surpass 100 million people a year.

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

Finnair also flies to Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Chongqing, and offers fast connections for travellers to and from China, including 60 European destinations.

This year my sister and I plan to visit Xi’an, and her bookshelf may soon be guarded by two terracotta soldiers.

Wishing you a wonderful journey!

PS Beyond our new summer destinations of Xi’An, Hanoi, Tel Aviv, Antalya and Palma de Mallorca, Finnair begins a partnership with American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia on July 2 that offers access to hundreds of connections in North America and Europe.

YARIS NÄYTTÄÄ SUUNTAA.

TOYOTA YARIS JA YARIS HYBRID. Yaris näyttää suuntaa uuden Style-varustelun tyylikkäällä muotoilulla ja väljillä sisätiloilla. Luokkansa kärkeä ovat myös kosketusnäytöllinen Toyota Touch & Go -mediakeskus peruutuskameralla ja navigaattorilla* sekä täyshybridin taloudellisuus. Portaattoman Multidrive S -automaattivaihteiston valitsemalla ajat vieläkin sujuvammin ja taloudellisemmin, ja Hybrid-mallissa portaaton e-CVT-automaatti on jo vakiona. Aja Yaris ja anna muiden seurata. * Toyota Touch & Go -mediakeskus vakiona Active-varustetasosta alkaen.

Autoveroton suositushinta (€) Yaris-mallisto alkaen 12.430 Yaris Style -mallisto alkaen 15.120 Yaris Hybrid -mallisto alkaen 18.830

Arvioitu autovero (€) 2.592,23 3.822,05 2.667,98

Arvioitu kokonaishinta (€) 15.022,23 18.942,05 21.497,98

EU-yhdistetty kulutus (l/100 km) 3,9-5,5 5,3-5,5 3,5-3,7

CO2-päästöt (g/km) 104-127 121-127 79-85

Vapaan autoedun verotusarvo (€) 445 495 535

Huolenpitosopimus (24 kk/30 tkm) 24 €/kk 24 €/kk 24 €/kk

Takuu 3 vuotta/100.000 km, korin puhkiruostumattomuustakuu 12 vuotta, hybridijärjestelmän takuu 5 vuotta/100.000 km. HSD-akkuturva 8 vuotta/350.000 km.

Hintoihin lisätään jälleenmyyjäkohtaiset toimituskulut. Kuvan auto uudella Style-varustetasolla.

SUMMER 2013

62

20

SILK ROAD LEGACY

27

A VOLUNTEER HOLIDAY IN BORNEO

38

FINLAND’S MEDIEVAL CASTLES

46

CROWD FUNDED CONTENT

52

WELLBEING IN ARUBA

58

TOP 5: TEL AVIV RESTAURANTS

60

IDYLLIC EIN KEREM

62

PLAN YOUR CHICAGO SUMMER

69

A HAPPY ANNIVERSARY FOR FINNAIR

Xi’an offers a mix of cultures and history

A multitude of efforts protect orangutan habitats

Summer traditions in historical surroundings

Finnish publishing projects challenge the status quo

An active holiday on the sustainably-minded island

Laid-back culinary experiences define local cuisine

Biblical history and local lives in the Jerusalem neighbourhood

Our guide to America’s liveliest summer city

The 90-year-old airline reflects on its history

60

REGULARS

27 10

TRAVEL MOMENT

42

ALEXANDER STUBB

72

THIS SUMMER AROUND THE WORLD

80

FINLAND IN FIGURES

ON THE COVER: A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD FEMALE AT SEPILOK ORANGUTAN REHABILITATION CENTRE: PHOTO BY VILLE PALONEN

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46

20 IN THIS ISSUE Hong Kong, p. 8 Australia, p. 10 Prague, p. 12 Ranua & Ähtäri, p. 14 Helsinki, p. 16 Xi’an, p. 20 Borneo, p. 27 Savonlinna, p. 38 Aruba, p. 52 Israel, p. 58 & 60 Chicago, p. 62

38 TRAVEL COLUMNS 8

12

14

16

18

DESTINATION

ZOOS

ARCHITECTURE

BUSINESS

Baroque opera in Prague

Finland’s animal parks

Helsinki stadium turns 75

Innovation at the US embassy

FLYING FINNAIR

NEWS Meet Finnair’s new CEO

New border crossings

82

Before and during the flight

83

In-flight entertainment

85

Helsinki Airport

86

Maps and destinations

88

Corporate responsibility

92

Fleet

94

Frequent flyer benefits

95

72

52

SUMMER 2013

BLUE WINGS

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TRAVEL NEWS

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY KATJA PANTZAR

HONG KONG HIGHLIGHTS

Hong Kong’s Lantau Island is served by the Ngong Ping 360 cable car.

PEKKA VAURAMO was based in Hong Kong as a director with Cargotec for many years before relocating to Helsinki.

Here are his top picks: HONG KONG SOHO (South of Hollywood Rd) in the heart of the city has hundreds of restaurants representing different cuisines.

THE CITY is an excellent place for shopping and has a wealth of specialty shops, but it pays to do some research before you hit the streets if you’re looking for something specific.

NATURE Only about 20 per cent of Hong Kong is built up – albeit very densely. The rest is nature, and there are wonderful trekking opportunities on Lantau Island, for example.

1 ISTOCKPHOTO

2

HONG KONG TO HELSINKI

FINNAIR

F

innair’s CEO as of June 1, Pekka Vauramo, shares his vision for the 90-year-old airline.

Q: What’s the biggest challenge facing Finnair?

A: “Our opportunity and challenge is to respond to growing traffic between Europe and Asia, and especially strong growth in Asian outbound tourism. Finnair has a long history of flying to Asia – we started flying to Tokyo 30 years ago and to Beijing 25 years ago – and Asian traffic is a key part of our strategy. We intend to increase our Asian destinations, and continue to develop our products and services to meet the needs of our different customers from business travellers to backpackers.”

Q: What’s your vision for Finnair?

A: “Our Helsinki hub is the right distance from growing megacities in northern Asia.

With our focus on fast transfers and reliable and comprehensive connections, we are well positioned to build Helsinki into a strong hub for travel between Asia and Europe.”

Q: How will you achieve this vision?

A: “ We will increase the number of Asian destinations, opening Hanoi and Xi’an this year; invest in renewing our fleet and welcoming the new Airbus 350s to our fleet starting in 2015; continue to enhance the customer experience by investing in new menus, inflight entertainment and new Business Class seats; continue to invest in customer service and maintain our excellent operational quality.”

WWW.FINNAIR.COM

SCOUTING FOR IDEAS FINNAIR and Helsinki Airport have launched the third edition of Quality Hunters, an initiative that aims to evaluate and improve the experience of air travel. Anyone can participate in the sharing of ideas at twitter.com/quality-

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hunters. Active members of Finnair’s social media community will also participate in five weekend workshops throughout the year; the first of these was held in late May. Find out more at QUALITYHUNTERS.COM.

3

HELSINKI AIRPORT UPDATES NORTHERN EUROPE’S best airport is Helsinki Airport, according to the World Airport Awards, which bases its surveys on research conducted by international travel research group Skytrax. The group polled 12.1 million passengers over a nine-month period.

AIRPLANES can be viewed and photographed from the re-opened Scenic Outdoor Terrace, atop the office building next to Terminal 2.

GLOBAL BLUE Tax-Free booths have been re-located to Terminal 2, Arrival Hall 2B (landside), which is for goods control only, not refunds. In the same terminal, by Gate 29 (airside), Global Blue Tax-Free accepts forms issued worldwide.

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TRAVEL MOMENT

BY PHIL HILL

SNACK TIME BETWEEN DARWIN and Kakadu National Park in ­Australia’s Northern Territory runs the Adelaide River, home to a high concentration of the world’s most dangerous reptile: the crocodile. The area has become known for its “jumping crocodile” cruises: visitors can watch these animals make an intimidating­leap out of the murky depths and snatch a dangling piece of meat above. Saltwater crocodiles have been a protected species in Australia since 1974. Their population throughout the continent is between 100,000 and 200,000.

SUMMER 2013

BLUE WINGS

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TRAVEL DESTINATION

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY MARJA-LIISA KINTURI PHOTOS COURTESY OF ARCHIV OPERA BAROCCA (TRIGLAW CORP S.R.O)

PRAGUE’S BIG WIGS

T

he massive Clam-Gallas Palace complex in Prague’s old town was built in the mid-1700s for Johann Wenzel, Count Gallas. The roots of its musical tradition were established in its early years, when splendid balls and concerts took place there. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his wife are said to have been among the guests, and Ludwig van Beethoven played a concert in the Marble Hall.

The Clam-Gallas ontinues to be a popular venue for exhibitions and concerts.

Among its most entertaining tributes to history is Opera Barocca, whose aim is to keep the tradition of Baroque music alive. Its summer season, featuring performances in the cobblestone courtyard, runs from mid-August to early September.

The first opera performed in Prague was “Phasma Dionysiacum Pragense”

by Giovanni Vinceno d’Arco in 1617 – a 400th anniversary celebration for Prague’s 2017 carnival is in the works. Roots of the Baroque Opera, meanwhile, go back to 1723, when an open-air wooden amphit­heatre seating 4,000 was built in the gardens of the Prague Castle as part of Emperor Charles VI’s coronation ceremonies.

Opera Barocca was envisioned by local architect and designer Rostislav Maria Muller and his wife, stage designer Zlatuse J. Müller, who also founded the annual Carnevale Praha to resurrect a centuriesold spring carnival tradition. She greets

12 BLUE WINGS

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the audience at the gates, guides them into the courtyard through decorated palace corridors, and introduces the performers.

The courtyard is romantically lit with candles and decorated with garden chairs with festive white covers. A bar is set with candles, crystal glasses and bottles of red, white, rosé and sparkling wine.

Everyone, including the singers, dancers and Carnevale Baroque Ensemble musicians, wears style-appropriate dresses, petti­coats and powdered wigs. Light, gliding Baroque dance steps punctuate the music, which might include both wellknown masters such as Vivaldi, Händel and Mozart, and names outside of the mainstream including André Campra and Henry Purcell.

On the night of our visit in 2012, the performance featured Jean Baptiste Lully’s (1632–1687) “Dance of the Neptune” as well as an aria from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. The 2013 season includes Quand Les Dieux Dansent, a tale of ancient gods Neptune and Mars and “Sonata Venatoria,” or “Hunting Sonata.” Both performances feature music from several composers.

Opera Barocca (August 16 to September 8) is organised by the Institute of Baroque Culture and supported by the city of Prague (OPERABAROCCA.CZ).

SUMMER MELODIES A POPULAR SAYING from the 18th century claims every Czech to be a musician. Virtually every town and village in the country has a musical history, and visitors have a large list of events to pick from.

Prague Proms (June 9 to July 21) presents an annual series of classical and jazz concerts.

WWW.PRAGUEPROMS.CZ/EN

United Islands, (June 20 to 22), representing a variety of genres, takes place in the historical centre of Prague, on islands in the Vltava and the riverbanks.

UNITEDISLANDS.CZ/EN

Bohemia Jazz Fest, Prague (July 10 to 20) is one of the largest summer music festivals in Europe.

BOHEMIAJAZZFESTIVAL.CZ

FINNAIR flies to Prague twice daily.

TRAVEL ZOOS

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY EEVA PUHAKAINEN PHOTOS COURTESY OF RANUA & ÄHTÄRI

FURRY ENCOUNTERS

F

inland’s lynx, wolverines and bears are beloved emblems of the country’s untamed side. Two of the best places to get an overview of Nordic fauna are the wildlife parks of Ranua and Ähtäri; both celebrate big birthdays this year.

Specialising in arctic animals, the 30-year-old Ranua park is the most popular summer attraction in Finnish Lapland.

It is located amidst pristine wilderness and accessible from the airports of Rovaniemi (84 kilometres away), Oulu and Kuusamo (both 160 kilometres). Although Ranua is best known for polar bears, which aren’t part of Finnish wildlife, roughly 50 local animals can be viewed along its 2.5-kilometre wooden bridge route. Among the species are reindeer, wolverines, brown bears, wolves, lynx and elk. The elk are so tame that they sometimes beg for treats.

According to Tommi Hinno of Ranua Tourism, 60 per cent of the park’s guests are families with children. “During the summer four out of five visitors are Finnish, but in winter the ratio is the other way around,” he adds.

About 400 kilometres south of Ranua is Ähtäri Zoo, whose aim is to nurture spe-

cies from Nordic coniferous forests in wilderness-like settings. Visitors walk along designated nature paths. The park is home to about 60 Nordic species: owls, wolves, eagles, badgers and swans – and a family of four brown bears. Last summer Ähtäri became the first Finnish park to witness the birth of European minks, which haven’t been seen in nature since 1967.

Wolverines are another area of focus.

“There are only between 120 and 135 wolverines in the wild,” says Ähtäri curator Mauno Seppäkoski. ”We work closely on species protection with Ranua, not forgetting Helsinki’s Korkeasaari Zoo either.”

Zoos and wilderness parks collaborate internationally; over the past year a wolverine from Ähtäri has moved to France, a snowy owl to Latvia and bear siblings to Sweden. A beaver couple was brought here from Germany and the endangered forest reindeer from Sweden. The latter species will be the focus of Ähtäri’s 40th birthday festivities on June 17. ”The summer is a good season for visiting, but I enjoy the autumn, when the deer face off and the rattle of horns fills the air,” Seppäkoski says.

CAPITAL TAILS FOR THOSE who don’t have the time to head north, Helsinki offers opportunities for animal-viewing.

KORKEASAARI ZOO, located a 20-minute bus ride from Helsinki’s city centre, houses 150 species. In summer it’s also accessible by boat from Kauppatori market square.

KORKEASAARI.FI

SEALIFE HELSINKI aquarium in the Kallio neighbourhood is open yearround and accessible by tram 3B. A train from Helsinki to Pasila will also take you there in ten minutes.

VISITSEALIFE.COM/HELSINKI

TROPICARIO, also located near Kallio, features a world of lizards and snakes. Hop on tram 1, 1A, 7A or 7B, or take the subway to Sörnäinen. Open 10 am-7pm daily.

TROPICARIO.COM

INFO RANUA WILDLIFE PARK is open daily yearround and accessible by bus from Rovaniemi, where Finnair flies several times daily. During the park’s 30th birthday on June 15, bus transportation is available from towns including Oulu, Kajaani and Kuusamo.

JARI KÄNSÄKANGAS

ÄHTÄRI ZOO is located roughly 130 kilometres­from Tampere and accessible by train. It’s open daily.

WWW.VR.FI, AHTARIZOO.FI

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HANNU AHONEN

WWW.RANUAZOO.COM

Dangerously Appealing For hunters of elegance, there is nothing that rouses the senses like a high quality magazine. Smoothly stealing trough jungles of jewels and fountains of thoughts, we feast our eyes upon the strikingly beautiful pages.

Pictures roaring with colours so vibrant and contrasts so sharp they are almost an improvement on reality. For every prey to be caught and every story to be told, Stora Enso Press Selection has the paper for the purpose.

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by Yu lia B

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This Blue Wings magazine is printed on our NovaPress brand from Veitsiluoto, Finland. Sold exclusively by Stora Enso sales network worldwide, presented on storaenso.com/press_selection

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TRAVEL ARCHITECTURE

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY KARI PALSILA

ANNIVERSARY FACELIFT

FOR HELSINKI STADIUM

T

WHAT’S ON June 12 Anniversary celebration

(Helsinki Day) June 19 Finland vs. Switzerland

women’s football July 8−13 Helsinki Cup

(youth football) July 20 Concert: Iron Maiden July 27 Concert: Muse August 17 Helsinki City Marathon STADION.FI/VISIT-TOWER

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he showcase of the 1952 Olympic Games, Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium, celebrates its 75th birthday this summer – and gears up for a major expansion. Today the functionalist building is much more than “a venue for great patriotic festivities and noble competition,” as then President Kyösti Kallio envisaged in its opening ceremony on June 12, 1938.

In the 1920s, just a few years after Finland gained its independence, the City of Helsinki joined forces with various sports organisations to bring the Olympics to the Finnish capital.

The stadium was built over four years in the 1930s and spurred Olympic fever. The 1940 Olympic Games were awarded to Helsinki, but the outbreak of the Second World War put the plan on hold.

The Finns had to wait 12 more years for their own Olympics, and although the global political situation was still tense, the 1952 Games were a triumph. The open, friendly mood was referred to as “the Helsinki spirit” – a term that has often been used when the city hosts diplomatic summits. The stadium’s spectator capacity record (about 70,000) dates back to the opening ceremony of these games.

Designed by architects Toivo Jäntti and Yrjö Lindegren – who died just a few months after the Games – the stadium has become an icon. It has cemented its place in local hearts as the scene of many top sporting and musical events: the Rolling Stones have played here five times since 1970.

The building has also hosted two World Championships in Athletics and three Athletics European Championships, and is the home of the Finnish national football teams. Located near the city centre, it attracts nearly 200,000 tourists annually.

The most extensive adjustments

to the stadium came ahead of the 1994 Athletics European Championships. The stadium’s iconic, 72-metre tower was restored in 2011, and planning for the next upgrade, slated to be completed in 2018, began this spring.

Repairs and redesign work at the stadium is connected to a major overhaul of the area, through which the stadium will become part of the new Olympic Park in the Töölö Bay area.

Two architectural firms are carrying out the work: Helsinki-based K2S and NRT, with international consultation from Wessel de Jonge Architecten and White Arkitekter.

“The idea is to renovate and restore this artistically valuable building, making it more useful, approachable and open,” says Kimmo Lintula of K2S. To avoid having to halt sports events because of rain, the architects are looking to extend the stadium’s roof over the eastern stands in both directions toward the main stand.

“There will be narrow gap to preserve the view of the tower and the commentators’ booth," says Lintula.

“The wooden benches in the stands will also be replaced with individual seats with backrests, in line with UEFA regulations.”

The spectator service points will be expanded on an event-by-event basis from 500 square metres to 4,000 square metres if needed. Logistical and technical facilities, as well as sections of the Sports Museum, will be built underground.

According to a needs study that kickstarted the project, the Olympic Stadium’s spectator capacity should be about 35,000 people. Major concerts would bring the maximum audience to 50,000. The repair and upgrading work will be planned so that concerts and athletic events can be staged during the process.

ADVERTISEMENT

“If you have operations in Finland and wish to finance them locally, Garantia may be able to help you.”

MIKAEL ENGLUND

THE ART OF CREDIT RATINGS

One of the business world’s hottest topics is credit ratings and how to use them.

With the ongoing global financial market distress, the role of credit ratings is more controversial than ever before. While credit ratings are essentially opinions on the probability of either due service or default of many types of obligations or issuers ranging from huge sovereign government debt to much smaller corporate bonds, they are taken very seriously.

“We are the only domestic specialist in our niche and we can provide our services promptly and on local terms.

We stand by our customers through thick and thin,” says Mikael Englund, CEO and Managing Director of Garantia Insurance, a Finnish company with a portfolio of 1.4 billion euros of guaranty insurances.

Several global and local rating agencies issue public debt ratings. In addition to these, many banks or trade creditors use their own internal ratings or purchase credit bureau scorings, which they use to manage their customer credit risks.

MAKING THE GRADE In addition to rating its own clients, Garantia is also rated itself. Standard & Poor’s recently affirmed an overall rating of A- for Garantia, which puts the Finnish company in the top ranks of its field.

The Finnish guaranty insurer Garantia uses its own rating methodology. “Our way of rating customers has been developed over several years of persistent effort,” says Timo Lanki, head of Garantia’s analyst and credit rating team. “The numbers and hard facts are available for everyone to crunch – it is the art of reaching the right conclusions and ratings that makes all the difference. Our true craftspeople are the credit analysts, who have been in the business and with Garantia for a long time.”

“It is essential to maintain a credible rating in order to be accepted as a guarantor by major market players,” says Englund. “And indeed, to qualify for a high rating in this business one must have high quality risk management measures in place. The key piece to this puzzle is the internal rating system.”

WWW.GARANTIA.FI

UNIQUE FACTORS “Garantia offers financial guaranties, such as loan guaranties and bonds, which are not offered by other Finnish insurance companies, and indeed rather few insurance companies worldwide,” says CEO Mikael Englund, who has been with Garantia since its inception in 1993 – this year marks the company’s 20th anniversary.

TRAVEL BUSINESS

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY LEENA JOKIRANTA AND SILJA KUDEL

LEADERS UNITE IN HELSINKI

ECO-EFFICIENT EMBASSY

T

his spring, the US embassy in Helsinki moved its offices to a new Innovation Center with an aim to encourage collaboration in an energy-efficient and welcoming space. Constructed in a century-old building, the centre also headquarters the League of Green Embassies, a US State Department initiative led by US ambassador­ Bruce J. Oreck. The project has thus far furthered high-performance energy efficiency projects at nearly 40 embassies across Europe.

“The centre strives to promote trade between Finland and the US,” Oreck says, adding that plans are underway to develop other types of innovation collaboration, for example between Russia and the EU. The US has invested over 125 million dollars in the project, which is certified at the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold level. It’s on target to be the world’s first LEED Platinum level embassy building.

“It is possible to reach an energy-efficient outcome utilising innovative heating and lighting solutions, even in a building that’s almost a hundred years old,” says Oreck.

Energy expenses at the Innovation Center, which uses both district heating and cooling, are only about 47 to 48 per cent of those in a standard office. It applies LED technology and partly the organic OLED semiconductor technology, whose benefits include no mercury, no flicker, higher efficiency and lower carbon emissions.

Lighting fixtures were selected from the US Department of Energy’s Next Generation Luminaires (NGL) programme.

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THE BOOK BIZ WIZ BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING brought the magic of JK Rowling and her Harry Potter books to the world. It is also home to distinguished authors such as Khaled Hosseini, Margaret Atwood and Howard Jacobson, and published three of the six books shortlisted for the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction. This summer its founder and chief executive Nigel Newton shares his formula for success in the digital age at the Northern Light summit in Helsinki.

Newton, the San Francisco-born son of a British paper entrepreneur, is unsentimental about the swan song of print. With e-books already accounting for as much as one-fifth of the book trade, publishers must adapt to radical changes.

“High-street booksellers are being devastated by digital and internet supply, but reading is undiminished. Publishers are reporting good figures. It all depends on finding the right platform and price,” he says. With a vast amount of scholarly material being ingested via online subscription, Bloomsbury is focusing on higher-margin products in academic publishing and e-commerce.

“The idea of paying for books is still intact, whereas people expect to get their music and news for free,” Newton says and predicts that Bloomsbury’s sales will eventually split 50/50 between digital and print. “[In marketing,] the part that used to be played by book reviews is played by social media,” he says.

“The most powerful form of marketing is still word of mouth.”

At the Northern Light summit, Newton will share his views on how publishing can thrive in the digital era: “Adapting, getting others to believe in your vision, and recognising that business is combat.”

BLOOMSBURY

US EMBASSY

CELEBRATING its 10th anniversary, the European Business Leaders’ Convention (EBLC) is an informal forum where business leaders, experts and political decision-makers exchange views on European politics and economics. Organised by the EBLC, the biennial Northern Light summits in Helsinki have addressed present and future challenges and questions facing Europe and the EU. This year’s theme is “Europe’s New Normal: What Does It Mean in Banking, Business and Politics?”

TOPAS Multiwheel®

TOPAS – HANDMADE MEETS HIGH-TECH. Since its introduction in the 1950s, we have continued to further develop the legendary aluminium case. Its fundamental formula has remained the same: highest quality down to the very last detail.

That is why we still conduct many of the assembly stages, in which TOPAS, TOPAS TITANIUM and TOPAS STEALTH are created, by hand.

M-Boxi Airport

Helsinki-Vantaa Airport Gates 27 & 33 01510 Vantaa www.m-boxi.fi

M-Boxi City

Galleria Esplanad Pohjoisesplanadi 33 00100 Helsinki www.rimowa.com

THE SILK ROAD BEGAN WHERE

THE ENERGETIC AND CULTURALLY RICH METROPOLIS OF XI’AN OFFERS A LOOK BACK AT CHINA’S TRADE HISTORY. TEXT BY KIT GILLET

PHOTOS BY TUOMAS HARJUMAASKOLA

In

a small courtyard within the grounds of Xi’an’s Great Mosque, elderly men and women in traditional headscarves and skullcaps wait for the early evening call to prayer.

“Young people are often too busy with their lives to come to pray, but this is the centre of our world,” says 69-year-old Zi Xian as he wraps his prayer scarf around his shoulders. He and the rest of this Muslim group represent a living part of the history that makes up one of the most fascinating cities in China. Once the eastern point of the legendary Silk Road that brought foreign philosophies, technologies, artistic influences and religions into China, Xi’an is founded upon cultural mixing and diversity.

A HISTORY OF TRADE While Xi’an is rightly known for the Terracotta Warriors, created in the third century BC to serve China’s first emperor in the afterlife, it was in later centuries that China’s on-and-off capital reached its cultural peak. A key part of this development was the Silk Road, the vast network of trails that traders took from the Far East through to the gates of Rome. Marco Polo (1254-1324) is said to have arrived in China via the Silk Road.

For more than 2,000 years, up until last century, traders moved goods across the sprawling deserts of Central Asia, linking diverse parts of the world. They brought horses and other tradable goods such as fruits, grapevines and alfalfa east, and took silk, heavily valued, to the West.

By the mid-eighth and ninth centuries, Xi’an, then known as Chang’an, was the capital of a thriving China, a megacity with a population of around one million; it was the largest city in the world at the time. The first glimpse traders would have seen of the metropolis after months on the road were the walls that enveloped and protected the city. These walls stand to this day.

The Silk Road did more than simply allow trade. Both Islam and Buddhism, for example, are thought to have arrived in China via the Silk Road. The Great Mosque, located at the heart of the city’s bustling Muslim Quarter, highlights this cultural mixing.

The city’s oldest mosque, established in 742, is part Chinese temple, part mosque, and part oasis of calm in an otherwise chaotic city. Paths wind through a series of courtyards before leading to the prayer hall at the rear. Arabic writing is displayed on many of the walls and gates, but there are no minarets or other features one would find in mosques in predominantly Muslim areas of the world.

Xi’an’s Muslim Quarter is home to a busy market.

XI’AN WAS ONCE THE LARGEST CITY IN THE WORLD.

EDUCATIONAL TOURS The Great Mosque, however, is just one small hint of the important role Xi’an played as the eastern point of the Silk Road. Around the city many other sites lay testament to the route that once connected large swaths of the known world.

Writing on the wall of the Big Goose Pagoda

The Old City Walls are particularly stunning at night.

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Shoes pile up outside the Great Mosque at prayer time.

The Tang West Market, once the end point of the Silk Road, has been revitalised.

ADDRESSES SHAANXI HISTORY MUSEUM 91 Xiaozhai east road E.SXHM.COM

TANG WEST MARKET Xishi North Rd MUSEUM WEBSITE: WWW.DTXSMUSEUM.COM

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To get a grip on the city’s Silk Road history, most start at the Shaanxi History Museum (Shaanxi is the name of the province, with Xi’an its capital). On the museum’s second floor – the first is dedicated to the Terracotta Warriors – crowds of visitors peer into glass cases. They are filled with valuable stone plinths covered in Middle Eastern designs, pottery sculptures of early Silk Road camel trains, and ancient coins from Rome, Persia and the many other kingdoms the Road passed through. There are also beautifully wrought Buddhist statues.

“Xi’an was six times larger than Imperial Rome and 40 times larger than medieval London during the Tang Dynasty,” (618−907) says Todd Subritzky, a New Zealander who owns a travel company in the city. “I like to think of it as where, long before Hong Kong and Dubai, A-listers would shop, trade and ink deals.”

A short walk from the museum, the Big Goose Pagoda remains one of the city’s chief landmarks. It was constructed in the eighth century just outside of the city walls. The centrepiece of a large monastery, the pagoda was designed to house the Buddhist texts that Xuanzang (602−664), a Chinese monk, brought back to the country along the Silk Road from India. The documents helped kick-start the country’s long relationship with Buddhism that still exists despite the decades of communist rule.

The Big Goose Pagoda is a towering, seven-tiered stone structure that still dominates the nearby skyline. In a small temple beneath the pagoda, young Chinese families place incense and prostrate themselves in front of towering golden statues of Bud-

dha. As one spirals up the winding staircase inside the pagoda itself, the story of Xuanzang’s epic journey across the desert – dodging bandits, going without water for days, and relying on the kindness of strangers – is told in full, and undeniably melodramatic, fashion.

From the top floor of the pagoda, the city stretches out towards the horizon. Down below a twice-daily, music-accompanied water fountain show draws huge crowds who gather to watch plumes of water rhythmically rise and fall, all with the iconic pagoda as a backdrop.

marks the exact spot where city officials have decided the Silk Road officially started.

Xi’an is blessed with the best preserved city walls in all of China; unfortunately many cities have destroyed theirs over the past six decades. The walls, established in the sixth century, are open to visitors throughout the day, allowing them to walk or cycle the entire 13.7-kilometre-long defensive perimeter of the old city.

Entering via the Southern Gate at dusk the walls are almost deserted. As the night falls, red lanterns are turned on to guide visitors along the otherwise dark path. From here one can catch glimpses of life below, and peer inside the now-restored guard towers that dot the wall every few hundred metres.

The area just outside the old city walls is filled with high-rise buildings that attest to the city’s economic strength. Once upon a time guards stationed on the defensive perimeter might have looked out over an empty landscape to see the distant lights of approaching camel trains.

In the daytime a small museum is open at the site of the Huangguang gate, the entrance that was once used by arriving camel trains. Archaeological surveys unearthed the old gate’s granite pillars in 1984, and since then the site has been excavated to allow visitors to take a closer look at the different layers of mud and brick that marked the development of the wall over the centuries.

IN RECENT YEARS XI’AN HAS BEEN PUSHING ITS SILK ROAD HISTORY.

SILK ROAD LEGACY In recent years Xi’an has been pushing its Silk Road history, and in the west of the city a shopping and cultural complex, costing an estimated 352 million euros, is nearing completion. It’s located where the West Market, the bazaar where much of the Silk Road trade in Xi’an occurred, is said to have been.

The Tang West Market, as it is now called, has an impersonal and sterile feel, but on the lower levels traders are once again thriving, sitting on small wooden stools with their goods spread out on the floor in front of them. Among the dozens of stalls, piles of jade and precious stones are beautiful scrolls of calligraphy, antiques of dubious authenticity and statues of both Chairman Mao and Buddha. In the main square a large circular statue

Lianhu Rd

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Yanta West West Rd Yanta Rd

Ci’en West Rd

Tourists and locals rub shoulders at the Muslim Quarter.

Xiaozhai West Rd

2 Cuihua Rd

1. Great Mosque 2. Shaanxi History Museum 3. Daci’en Temple 4. Tang West Market Museum

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S Ring Road (East)

2nd Ring South Rd Chang’an Middle Rd

Ba ish aR d

Ga ox in R d

S Ring Road (West)

Nanguan Main St

Ke ji R d

South St

Youyi West Rd

Xihuamen St

S Guangji St

4

Taibai North Rd

Fengqing Rd

N Guangji St

West St

Xiguan Straight St

Laodong South Rd

Taoyuan South Rd

MiaohouSt St Miaohou

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MUSLIM QUARTER BY NIGHT Back within the safety of the city walls, the Muslim Quarter is alive and buzzing. All through the day the streets and small alleys that make up this neighbourhood, just to the north of the city’s Drum Tower, are filled with stallholders and passersby.

In the evening, steam rises from the many outdoor restaurants that offer Middle Eastern-inspired fried dough filled with vegetables and meats, mutton kebabs and cold spicy noodles (a Xi’an specialty). The restaurants seem to do a brisk trade, as residents and tourists alike step out to enjoy the cool evening temperature. Many stores also stay open late to accommodate the foot traffic.

Like at the Great Mosque, many of those walking around are wearing headscarves and skullcaps. In one of the labyrinthine ancient alleyways, Li Lixia stands enticing visitors to come look at the Arabic calligraphy produced by her husband, an Iman at a nearby mosque. She says that half of the people in the neighbourhood are practicing Muslims, and have been for generations.

Nearby, market stalls and small boutique shops sell silk scarves, ties and dresses as souvenirs – nods to the city’s glorious past.

FINNAIR flies to Xi’an nonstop three times weekly between June 14 and October 25.

MEN OF THE FOREST BORNEO’S ORANGUTANS LIVE ON WILDLIFE RESERVES THAT ARE ISOLATED BY VAST MONOCULTURE PLANTATIONS. THE BEST WAY TO HELP THESE ANIMALS IS TO PLANT A TREE.

TEXT BY VILLE PALONEN AND YAROSLAVA TROYNICH

PHOTOS BY VILLE PALONEN

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Oil palm plantations stretch to the bank of Kinabatangan River.

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H

umidity in the jungle is so thick it could be cut with a machete. A crowd on an elevated platform stares at the jungle canopy, their shirts glued to their sweaty backs and cameras ready. Someone swats a mosquito, others whisper to one another.

A sudden crash electrifies everyone. A treetop starts shaking, then another. When a reddish shape flashes through the thick foliage, the group lets out an excited sigh.

One can only marvel at how effortlessly the orangutan moves through the forest. The furry ape doesn’t leap from a branch to another like monkeys. The only treedwelling ape in the world, she simply sways a tree until she reaches the next one.

The creature’s long arms are useful for pranking, too.

After a while the curious juvenile appears next to the viewing platform. When tourists get closer, she makes her move and snatches a hat at lightning speed. A British gentleman can only look on from below as the rascal starts putting his brimmed hat on her head.

APE ORPHANAGE This baby orangutan, four-yearold Wulan, is being rehabilitated at Rasa Ria Orangutan Centre in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Getting cheeky with humans is amusing to an onlooker, but it doesn’t make the rangers’ work easier.

“Orangutans are like small children, only more unpredictable,” explains Melvin George, a senior ranger.

“Sometimes they venture out and we need to fetch them back from a nearby village.”

Orangutans live with their mothers until they are seven years old. Wulan and her “tutor,” fellow orangutan Katie, wouldn’t survive in the wild on their own. Rasa Ria gives them a chance to learn climbing and foraging in a safe environment. The centre is located a 40-minute taxi ride from Sabah’s capital Kota Kinabalu.

Rangers provide supplements to the orangutan diet − mainly milk and fruits − twice a day, and small tourist groups can visit feeding sessions. The main purpose for tourism is educational: even locals may have never seen an orangutan. The centre takes only 140 visitors daily, and entrance fees are spent on wildlife conservation.

The centre was established in 1996 as a collaboration with Sabah Wildlife Department, Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, and Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort.

The small patch of secondary rainforest is located next to a five-star hotel and a golf course. It couldn’t support a wild population, but suits an orangutan nursery just fine.

Orphan babies are brought to the centre a couple of times a year. They have been kept as illegal pets or found

Babies at Rasa Ria Orangutan Centre depend on human care.

ORANGUTANS ARE LIKE SMALL CHILDREN, ONLY MORE UNPREDICTABLE.

Borneo’s rainforests are home to the brightly coloured lantern bug.

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HUTAN’s field assistants spend each day in the same six-square-kilometre research area.

British volunteer Louisa Roome gets her hands dirty at Ape Malaysia’s tree planting site.

VOLUNTEERING APE MALAYSIA runs 12-day volunteer programmes in Sukau that start on the 21st of every month. You can book a volunteer holiday (or a shorter customised visit) through Stockholm-based Good Travel. Their site is currently only in Swedish, but they’re happy to send information in English upon request.

APEMALAYSIA.COM GOODTRAVEL.SE

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at oil palm plantations after their mothers have been killed. The rescue is carried out by Wildlife Rescue Unit, a 20-strong team funded by Malaysian Palm Oil Council and Rasa Ria Resort.

After a medical check-up and quarantine, apes begin the first stage of their rehabilitation. In a 64-hectare reserve they learn how to climb, find food and build nests. Once they turn six, they are transferred to the much larger Sepilok centre.

The aim of this rehabilitation process is to teach orangutans how to survive in the wild. After they have learned the necessary practical and social skills, which takes years, they are released into Tabin Wildlife Reserve in East Sabah.

“Babies become attached to people, so we try not to spend too much time with them”, says George, who was trained at Sepilok and has worked at Rasa Ria for eight years. “But of course we are fond of them, too. Sometimes I visit Sepilok just to see how our babies are doing in their new home.”

Orphaned orangutans might be well taken care of, but wild populations struggle. Borneo, the world’s thirdlargest island, has lost 80 per cent of its orangutans over the past century.

During the last decade only, the decrease has been 30 per cent. Today only 40,000 endangered apes survive in the wild, about quarter of them in Sabah.

Especially habitat loss − logging and clearing rainforest for plantations − has taken its toll. Surviving orangutans are isolated in small protected areas, separated by a vast sea of oil palm plantations.

One of the last refuges for local wildlife is Kinabatangan River. It’s home to pygmy elephants, proboscis monkeys, orangutans − and humans who try to save them.

projects, such as creating sustainable prawn traps for local fishermen and teaching environmental issues to school children.

For years, Kahar collected data on orangutans as HUTAN’s research assistant. He followed the apes from dawn to dusk, recording their behaviour on a data sheet.

“Field work can get boring; most of the time orangutans are just feeding or resting. But research assistants are motivated,” he says, adding that all 15 are local guys.

For example, researchers learned that even though orangutans can cross smaller oil palm plantations, they get blocked by crocodile-infested rivers. They don’t swim, so HUTAN created rope bridges. The first bridge, made of recycled fire hose from Japan, was built in December 2005. Now there are six of them hanging across the tributaries near the village of Sukau in Lower Kinabatangan.

Kahar says that 20 to 30 years ago the biggest threat to orangutans in Kinabatangan River was poaching and capturing them for pet trade.

Now apes struggle with forest . fragmentation. Huge oil palm plantations have shattered the rainforest into smaller pieces.

“Monocropping is the biggest threat to orangutans,” Kahar says. “Sabah’s oil palm plantations are 14,000 square kilometers – that’s 20 Singapores.”

Environmentalists agree that oil palm is in Borneo to stay, so the most important conservation issue is to unite the remaining forests. When wildlife populations are isolated from each other, a disaster such as a forest fire or a disease outbreak can wipe out an entire population. A few larger plantations fund conservation projects, but Kahar views it as greenwashing.

“Instead of donating money to organisations just to shut them up, they should give land. If a 100-metre strip of rainforest next to a river bank were left undisturbed, elephants and other animals could travel past the plantations.”

OIL PALM PLANTATIONS HAVE SHATTERED THE RAINFOREST

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE “Orangutans can survive in a logged rainforest, too,” says conservationist and wildlife warden Mincho Kahar and points around a batch of forest on the bank of Kinabatangan River. “In this area, all hardwood was felled more than a decade ago. Thirty orangutans still live here.”

The sweltering jungle is a hostile environment for the unaccustomed. Sweat stings the eyes, rubber boots get stuck in knee-deep ponds of mud, and tiny but ferocious mosquitos attack relentlessly.

Borneo’s most unnerving beasts, tiger leeches, lay on ambush along the trail, waiting for the opportunity to crawl inside your clothes and bloat themselves with blood. But bug horror stories are nothing but mild nuances: this forest is the best place in Sabah to encounter a wild orangutan.

Kahar is guiding us through the six-square-kilometre research site of HUTAN, a French non-profit organisation which begun primate research in Kinabatangan in 1998. After the turn of the century their work expanded to wildlife conservation and community development

WILD ENCOUNTER An hour’s walk into the thicket, Kahar points up to a rambutan tree, where a female and her baby are peeling and eating the fruit. These shaggy-haired creatures are completely different from the cute babies at the orangutan orphanage. They look wild. Kahar warns us not to go under the apes. “They usually go to the toilet before moving to a new ‘restaurant’ in the next fruit tree,” he whispers.

Ape diet consists of leaves, flowers, bark, honey, insects and, most importantly, over 300 kinds of fruit.

“Seeds of some fruit trees don’t germinate unless they are first digested by an orangutan,” explains Kahar.

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SEPILOK ORANGUTAN SANCTUARY SEPILOK, THE WORLD’S FIRST orangutan centre, was set up in 1964. The facility’s objective is to rehabilitate orphaned orangutans, whose mothers usually have been slaughtered by poachers during forest clearing or after entering palm oil plantations. Sometimes plantation workers consider orangutans pests, so adults are killed and babies are captured as pets.

The centre, administered by Sabah Wildlife Department, is set on the edge of 43-square-kilometre KabiliSepilok Forest Reserve near Sandakan. The sanctuary’s wild orangutan population is estimated to be between 100 and 200. In 2012, the rehabilitation programme had 47 apes.

In recent years only a couple of rescued babies were brought to the centre. This isn’t necessary good news; it might indicate that there are no more orangutans living anywhere except in isolated wildlife reserves.

Rescued babies stay at the centre for several years and are taught essential skills: climbing, building nests and finding food. About 700 red apes who have “graduated” the programme have been released into the wild, mostly the Tabin Wildlife Reserve in East Sabah.

Sepilok is the most popular orangutan viewing place in the world. Every day it receives hundreds of visitors whose movements are restricted to wooden walkways.

From a viewing platform visitors can observe how rangers give the apes milk, bananas and other fruits. Most of the apes are still learning how to find food in the jungle, so they need supplements for their diet.

Some critics argue that Sepilok pays more attention to tourism than orangutan rehabilitation. Without a question, tourism is a double-edged sword. The presence of hundreds of people doesn’t help the orangutans settle in their natural habitat, but without tourist dollars the rehabilitation centre might be left in despair.

Dozens of travel agencies run tours to Sepilok, but visiting independently is easy, and much cheaper. The rehabilitation centre is located about a 30-minute drive from Sandakan town, and a one-way taxi fare costs about 40 Malaysian ringgit (ten euros). An entrance ticket is equivalent to about nine euros and a camera permit about 2.5 euros. The centre is open daily from 8 am to 5 pm. Feeding is twice daily (10 am and 3 pm) and it’s possible to have lunch at the cafeteria and take short walks along jungle trails.

used by indegenous people as a remedy for malaria or migraine.

Some orangutans use tools for foraging. They learn new skills by watching others, and there are even signs of “cultural traditions.” Different populations may use same tools for different purposes, and skills are passed down through the generations. Some tricks − like using large leaves as an umbrella − may have been copied from humans.

HUTAN has a strict policy that visitors − only 300 per year − can spend a maximum of one hour with orangutans. It’s an exclusive experience: the majority of tourists in Kinabatangan spot wildlife from narrow cruise boats.

On the boat ride back to the village, Kahar points at the river banks. The forest has gaping holes, but some clearings are filled with neat rows of shorter trees.

“One of the most important tools for wildlife conservation is forest replanting,” says Kahar. HUTAN works with environmental organisations including World Land Trust.

They acquire small pieces of land and hire teams of local women to plant trees and maintain the new mini-forests. Tourists, too, can roll up their sleeves.

SAVING SAPLINGS Swinging a rusty two-foot machete is exhausting. It feels like playing tennis in a sauna, but unless the wines and weeds on the clearing are shredded, they suffocate saplings that were planted a few months ago.

Persistent weeds seem to re-unite with their roots very quickly. Finally, though, a fragile fruit tree appears under the creeping wines: in a dozen years, an orangutan might built a nest in this tree.

“Weeding multiplies the survival rate of saplings,” says Mark Louis Benedict, project co-ordinator of Ape Malaysia, a company that has organised volunteer holidays in Kinabatangan since 2008. During a 12-day programme, participants plant trees and become familiar with community projects such as building sustainable prawn traps with local fishermen. They also visit a local elementary school to discuss conservation.

Benedict explains that Ape Malaysia tries to involve as many locals as possible. “We hire boatmen for transportation, and volunteers eat their meals at homestays.

It’s not the easiest or most profitable way to run a business, but we want to contribute to the community.”

Ape Malaysia also buys tree saplings from locals.

Benedict says that 30 per cent of the revenue goes to tree planting: saplings, machetes and grass cutters, hir-

ing locals for maintainance work, and so on. The work is part of the Corridor of Life project, which aims to re-unite forest sanctuaries and other protected areas along the Kinabatangan river. Organisations involved include WWF Malaysia and the Sabah Wildlife Department, NGOs like HUTAN and MESCOT, eco-lodges, and even some palm oil companies.

“If forest corridor is not connected, it’s almost impossible to see a future for Kinabatangan’s wildlife,” says Benedict. “But I believe that 15 to 20 years from now we will have a healthy forest.”

SWINGING A TWOFOOT MACHETE IS EXHAUSTING.

RAINFOREST REWARD Benedict emphasises the importance of volunteers.

“When a forest is good enough for orangutans, it’s good for all the other species, too. We’re even helping the sea turtles on Selingan Island, because forest buffers on river banks prevent erosion and help filter water.”

On the way back for lunch in a village homestay, we spot a faded sign on the river bank that warns against

Monocropping or monoculture (the cultivation of only one type of crop) has turned Sabah’s forests into ecological deserts.

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The orangutan is a key species, like India’s Bengal tiger: what is good for orangutans is good for the whole ecosystem.

TOURS AND ACCOMMODATION SABAH HAS HUNDREDS OF travel agencies that organise almost identical tours. Below are some of the more environmental-conscious (and thus recommended) agencies and lodges. One euro is about four Malaysian ringgit.

Red Ape Encounters (RAE) is working in close co-operation with HUTAN in the village of Sukau. RAE can organize a visit to orangutan research site (about 120 euros) and arrange accommodation with a local family (10−20 euros with meals). You can also book directly with Balai Kito Homestays.

REDAPEENCOUNTERS.COM HUTAN.ORG.MY SUKAUHOMESTAY.COM

S.I. Tours runs the remote Abai Jungle Lodge along Kinabatangan River, halfway between Sandakan and Sukau. Guests can take short jungle walks and river cruises, and there’s a good chance of spotting wild orangutans. An overnight package costs 240 euros.

SITOURSBORNEO.COM

An unforgettable way to experience Borneo’s rainforests is to stay at the spartan Uncle Tan’s Wildlife Adventures camp. A three-day, two-night package costs about 110 euros and includes transportation from Sandakan, river cruises and jungle walks, and meals.

UNCLETAN.COM

The fanciest resort around Kota Kinabalu is Rasa Ria Resort, which has an orangutan nursery attached. Non-residents, too, can visit the babies. Rates for double rooms start at 200 euros.

SHANGRI-LA.COM/KOTAKINABALU/RASARIARESORT

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IN THE CANOPY, AN ORANGUTAN MOTHER IS FEEDING. swimming: crocodiles lurk in these waters. A group of proboscis monkeys know the danger and cross the 50-metre-wide tributary via a rope bridge. Potbellied males with huge noses go first and adolescent monkeys follow. An extremely rare Storm’s stork sits on a branch above the water, and a flock of hornbills, their majestic beaks silhouetting against the sky, glide across the river.

We speed up as we reach the main river, but after zooming by an oil palm plantation our boatman slows down and steers the boat towards a majestic assam-assam tree.

In the canopy, an orangutan mother is feeding.

A tiny baby, not more than a couple of months old, clings onto her fur. He stares at us, eyes round with amazement. On a nearby branch a third orangutan, a juvenile, watches our boat. The rare opportunity to see these wild apes is a volunteer’s reward.

This reportage was partly sponsored by the ­Finnish Ministry of the Environment.

FINNAIR FLIES to Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong daily. From there you can continue to Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan with oneworld partners.

Sandakan has a daily minibus connection to Sukau village.

Polttoväli: 18mm Valotus: F/16, 1/20 sec, ISO 320

Polttoväli: 270mm Valotus: F/6.3, 1/250 sec, ISO 320

Yksi objektiivi kaikkiin tilanteisiin

18-270mm

F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Tämä Tamronin megazoom-objektiivi on voittamaton yhdistelmä joustavuutta ja suorituskykyä.

15-kertaisen zoomin ansiosta joka tilanteeseen löytyy oikea polttoväli. Tehokas VC -kuvanvakaus ja nopea, lähes äänetön, pietsosähköinen automaattitarkennus täydentävät paketin. Objektiivin kompakti koko ja pieni paino jättävät laukussasi tilaa myös matkamuistoille. Saatavilla APS-C –kokoisille järjestelmäkameroille Canon, Nikon ja Sony* –kiinnityksillä. * Sony-kiinnitys ei sisällä kuvanvakaajaa.

Tamron-objektiivit myynnissä hyvin varustelluilta jälleenmyyjiltä www.tamron.fi / www.focusnordic.fi

Kun rekisteröit ostoksesi: www.5years.tamron.eu

EISA-palkittu Fotoalan ammattilaisten palkitsema.

TEXT BY FRAN WEAVER

ROCK STEADY B

ack in the Middle Ages Finland was a sparsely settled backwoods region, located between two major northern European powers. The Swedes, who ruled Finland until the early 1800s, and the Russians battled for influence over these wild borderlands and their natural resources. During crusading waves of expansion, Swedish knights and nobles built grand stone castles in strategic lakeside and coastal sites around Finland to serve as administrative centres and defensive bastions against invaders from the east.

Frontiers have shifted in this part of Europe over the centuries.

One of the region’s finest Swedish-built castles today lies in Russian territory in the formerly Finnish city of Vyborg (Viipuri). The once proud castles at Kajaani and Kuusisto in central and southern Finland, respectively, have sadly fallen into ruin.

But four fine old fortresses still stand in modern mainland Finland in the towns of Turku, Hämeenlinna, Savonlinna and Raseborg. As well as being important tourist attractions, they serve as stunning venues for events ranging from locally produced amateur theatre to world-class international opera.

The construction of Olavinlinna (St Olaf’s Castle) began in 1475.

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ISTOCKPHOTO

BEYOND THEIR HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE, FINLAND’S FOUR SURVIVING MEDIEVAL CASTLES STAGE VARIED SUMMER EVENTS IN SPLENDIDLY ATMOSPHERIC SETTINGS.

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St Olaf’s Castle sits in the middle of Finland’s famed lake district.

SAVONLINNAN MATKAILU OY

OPERATIC SETTINGS Olavinlinna (St Olaf’s Castle) in Savonlinna in the heart of the Finnish Lake District is widely considered to be the most spectacular of Finland’s surviving medieval castles. The formidable fort’s three tall towers overlook strategic straits that are still busy today with vessels, from kayaks and old-time steamboats to large timber freighters. First founded in the late 15th century, the castle soon had to resist bloody sieges launched by Ivan the Great.

Great views of the castle can be enjoyed from Savonlinna’s lakeside promenade, or the pleasure cruises that regularly set out from the town’s lively harbour during the summer. To infiltrate the castle on foot, visitors must cross a pontoon swing bridge and join a guided tour group.

The castle is also well known as the venue for Savonlinna’s renowned, 101-year-old international opera festival, held in its covered courtyard (July 5 to August 3 this year). Opera productions often take advantage of this historic backdrop to dramatic effect. This summer’s festival features top singers and classic works by Verdi, Wagner, Tchaikovsky and Saint-Saëns.

OPERAFESTIVAL.FI

Finnair’s codeshare partner Flybe flies from Helsinki to Savonlinna twice daily.

ESKO KESKI-OJA

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A CAPITAL CASTLE Turku Castle stands in a small park by the mouth of the River Aura, guarding the waterway into the city, which was the capital of Finland during the eras of Swedish and Russian rule until 1812.

First founded in about 1280, the castle endured many fires, sieges and bombardments over the following centuries. Its roof has sheltered all classes of people, from kings to convicts. Extensive restoration and modernisation work was carried out during the 20th century, making the castle safe and comfortable for visitors, but also preserving its medieval ambience in much of the interior. The castle and museum are open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6pm.

This largely plastered and whitewashed stone castle today houses a well-curated historical museum. The castle’s chapel is a popular place for weddings. Other parts of the castle can be hired for conferences and banquets where guests can feast on medieval fare. Casual invaders can stroll through the courtyard and down into Duke Johan’s Cellar for lunch.

The three-kilometre walk from the castle along riverside promenades to Turku’s grand medieval cathedral makes for a nice afternoon stroll. In August a series of classical concerts will be held in the castle courtyard.

TURUNLINNA.FI

Finnair flies to Turku several times daily.

Turku Castle receives roughly 109,000 annual visitors.

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CITY OF HÄMEENLINNA

CITY OF HÄMEENLINNA

The Häme Castle complex is largely built of red brick.

A spacious park surrounds Häme Castle.

3

LAKESIDE STRONGHOLD About 90 minutes north of Helsinki by road or rail, Hämeenlinna is a pleasant town of about 67,000 inhabitants. In Middle Ages it was the capital of a vast province of forests and lakes. The imposing Häme Castle was first erected in the 13th century by Swedish rulers to keep marauders from the east at bay, but it has often been extended and rebuilt.

The most recent refit has made the castle a popular venue for banqueting and conferences, but visitors are still reminded of life in days of yore in its museum. The lakeside castle complex also has museums featuring local history, artillery weaponry, savings banks, and prison life through the ages. A prison operated on castle grounds from the mid-1800s until the late 20th century.

Each summer the castle and the surrounding park are invaded by hordes of medieval knights, minstrels, jesters, craftsmen, traders and ordinary peasants for Häme Medieval Fair (August 16−18 this year). A free jazz concert, part of the international Linna Jazz festival, is held in the park on July 14.

At any time of year picturesque views of the castle can be enjoyed from nearby lakeside paths, summer lake cruises, and trains heading along the main line north from Helsinki. Hämeenlinna is the birthplace of composer Jean Sibelius, whose childhood home is open to visitors. This summer the local art museum also displays works by beloved early 20th century children’s book illustrator Rudolf Koivu.

MEDIEVAL FAIR: KESKIAIKAMARKKINAT.NET JAZZ FESTIVAL: WWW.LINNAJAZZ.FI HAMEENLINNA.FI/ENGLISH

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4

HIDDEN IN THE MEADOWS To find Raseborg Castle, the least famous of these four sites, you must head into the countryside east of the small coastal town of Ekenäs (“Tammisaari” to Finnish-speakers). As you drive down a lane, this medieval bastion suddenly looms in the midst of grassy pastures and leafy woodlands.

When it was built in the 14th century the castle stood on a coastal inlet, but local land uplift has since left it high and dry. Perched on its smooth bedrock pedestal, the fort overlooks peaceful meadows, but in its heyday Raseborg had to resist bloody sieges, marauding Danes, and fierce pirate gangs. Its sturdy outer walls have been well restored, but the interior is largely in ruins.

A local theatre company puts on Swedish-language performances in a pleasant outdoor arena in the shadow of the ruins each summer. This year author Astrid Lindgren’s play Mio, min Mio, will be shown four days a week from June 27 to August 4. The castle and café are open from May to September.

VISITRASEBORG.COM

CITY OF RAASEPORI

RASEBORG.ORG/SLOTT

Raseborg Castle’s next medieval fair and tournament will be held in 2014.

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EUROPEAN VOICES

BY ALEXANDER STUBB

It’s the calendar, stupid!

I

often get asked about time Secondly, do not procrastinate. If there ma­nagement. How do I have is something you can do now, then do it. time to be a dad, husband, friend, There’s no point in leaving it for tomorrow. minister, columnist and exercise Something else will land on your desk, and freak? My answer is simple: it’s all suddenly you will be swamped with too about the calendar. much stuff and stress. I believe in quick Now don’t get me wrong, I am decision-making. It’s important to reflect not a control freak with a planon a decision, to look at the pros and cons, ning fetish (well, perhaps a littlebit of the but you also have to make the bloody decilatter), but I could not sion; it won’t get any lead the life that I do easier in the long run. without proper calendar Finally, in order to be PLAN EACH DAY, management. energetic you need rest.

WEEK, MONTH AND I travel approxiIf you take on too much, mately 120 days a year. it will catch up to you YEAR CAREFULLY. My weekly calendar has in the long run. If you some 50 entries, anytravel for six days, don’t thing from meetings to be afraid to take a couspeeches, from interviews to parliamenple of days off. If you don’t sleep enough, tary duties. you won’t be able to perform.

I’m fortunate to have a fantastic team I personally try to follow the 8+8+8 and the best secretary in the world. philosophy, i.e. eight hours of rest, eight They pretty much decide what I do, hours of work and eight hours of play. Easy and, most importantly, what I don’t! in theory, more difficult in practice, but If we said yes to every appointdefinitely worth a try. Start by cutting out ment request, I would be engaged all pointless evening engagements; they 24/7/52/365 − and probably burned are a thing of the past, and often bad for out by the end of the year. your liver...

I firmly believe that the calendar is one SUCCESSFUL TIME MANAGEof the most important ingredients for a MENT has three key ingredients. balanced life. It all starts with proper time First, plan each day, week, month management. If you try to do too much, and year carefully. Take 30 minyou won’t able to prepare properly. If you utes every morning to check out do not prepare, you get stressed. And if your calendar and prepare your you get stressed, you do not perform. So appointments. fix you calendar!

Set an objective for the day, and come back to it at the end of Alexander Stubb is Finland’s the day. Did you achieve what you minister of European affairs wanted? Apply the same idea to and foreign trade. long-term planning.

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be global. be one.

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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.

TEXT BY KATJA PANTZAR

THE

ILLUSTRATIONS BY PIETARI POSTI

ONG

TALE FINNISH PUBLISHING AND JOURNALISM PIONEERS ARE MAKING HEADLINES BY COMBINING ORIGINAL CONTENT WITH NEW BUSINESS MODELS SUCH AS FAIR TRADE AND CROWD FUNDING.

A

midst much talk about the demise of the printed word and quality journalism, it may come as a surprise that one of today’s top publishing success stories is Wired magazine.

Marking its 20th anniversary, Wired boasts a healthy print circulation of 800,000.

The former upstart, now part of the Condé Nast empire, was a pioneer when it started, setting out to cover the digital generation. That, back in 1993, was very forward-thinking. Under the auspices of then editor Chris Anderson, Wired went on to coin the terms “crowdsourcing” and “long tail,” which are part of business vocabulary today.

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NORDIC MODELS In Finland – recently ranked number one by the World Economic Forum’s Global Information Technology Report and fourth most innovative country in the world by financial news provider Bloomberg – several promising publishing concepts have started up. Innovative crowd-funding business models have also arrived on the scene.

Earlier this year, one of the country’s most compelling news stories concerned a 700,000euro report on Finland’s future that was commissioned by the government – untendered – from celebrity philosophy professor Pekka Himanen.

The story gained extra traction when newly launched digital long-form journalism site Long Play (longplay.fi) published an in-depth investigation by Anu Silfverberg and Johanna Vehkoo.

In the three months following Long Play’s initial February posting of its Himanen expose, the piece was purchased 4,000 times. Each Long Play story is sold as a single at 3.90 euros, which in this case equals 15,600 euros.

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“We felt that there was a market for good, long, indepth digital journalism in Finland, contrary to the idea that an online story has to be short and superficial or it won’t draw in readers,” says Hanna Nikkanen, one of the co-founders of Long Play, which launched in early 2013. In addition to Nikkanen, Silfverberg and Vehkoo, the other founders are journalists Antti Järvi, Ilkka Pernu, Reetta Nousiainen, Riku Siivonen, and Ilkka Karisto.

The site is based on a fair trade model of journalism, which means writers directly receive profit from the downloaded sale of each story they produce. The concept bears some similarities with the US-based Atavist, which launched in 2011 and allows readers to purchase individual pieces of long-form journalism. The Atavist, whose backers have included Google executive Eric Schmidt, has also licensed its multimedia publishing software to organisations including the TED conferences.

THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES The announcement last autumn that Pekka Himanen had received 700,000 euros for his newest research project caught the attention of many journalists.

“It turned out to be more interesting than we expected – academic institutions started complain-

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ing that there was this significant political pressure to fund projects that seemed very unscientific,” says Nikkanen. “There was a lot of talk about Himanen among the academic community – and not just him, but this general tendency to hire consultants to do what used to be a researcher’s job, especially when this ‘research’ was expected to have a specific political tone.”

THERE’S A MARKET FOR LONG, IN-DEPTH DIGITAL JOURNALISM IN FINLAND. Nikkanen adds that the fact that Long Play’s story received so much attention helps prove the power of the narrative. “People weren’t outraged by those shorter articles, but reading this full story arc, with all those little revelations put in a greater context, made a much bigger impact,” she says.

WORKING TOGETHER In the current economy, traditional financiers such as banks are less willing to lend. However, there are more private, small-scale investors ready to participate in funding good ideas such as start-ups. Popular crowd funding platforms such as American Kickstarter, now the world’s largest funding platform, have provided financing for small and medium-sized companies and the creative industries in the US and the UK, for example, but have proven difficult for the Finnish marketplace.

When Helsinki-based communications executive Senja Larsen became interested in learning Swedish, she started a Facebook group where members could learn together using a mix of Finnish and Swedish to discuss ideas. Sweden is Finland’s other official language, which Larsen hadn’t learned at school because she attended school in the UK. After 15,000 members had signed on to the Senja opettaa sinulle ruotsia (“Senja teaches you Swedish”) group by the fall of 2011, Larsen started planning a printed book version of the project. It was the first Finnish book with a zero-euro budget that raised all its funds using Kickstarter.

“Everything in the book was crowd sourced,” says Larsen. “As social media suffers from both ADHD and dementia, everything falls into oblivion after 24 hours. Our book represents a completely new type of literature, which combines a traditional book and new digital media.”

With 11,000 euros raised via Kickstarter, the printing presses were set to roll. Then the Finnish Police Board stepped in to investigate. According to Finnish law, crowd funding is not illegal, but it is illegal to publicly ask for donations unless you are a charity holding a fundraising license.

It was particularly the wording of Larsen’s promotional campaign, which included the words “donate” and “give,” that were problematic.

Printing went ahead, but due to the Police Board interpretation − it concluded that the crowd funded book project was a case of non-regular trading and therefore illegal money collection − Larsen had to return to backers the 11,000 euros she had raised. But she sent the book to them anyway. Then she received a phone call from the Finnish Fair Corporation saying that the Fair would step in and purchase the books for the lost amount of money and give them out at exhibitions. All’s well that ends well.

“It was a big surprise that the book project became the national subject of discussion in Finland,” says Larsen. “But given the publicity that was generated, at some point we thought the National Police Board should be awarded marketing deed of the year.”

FUTURE FUNDING “I don’t think that crowd funding has had the chance to change the media landscape in Finland yet,” says Hanna Nikkanen. “The current legislation makes it difficult to actually raise a significant sum of money.”

Nikkanen remains optimistic that the media landscape will slowly change with the combined power of crowd funding platforms and different kinds of “directly from the producer” ways of funding journalism. “Our readers seem to be very aware of the fact that they are buying straight from the writers instead of a big media company, and they value that,” she says.

Funds from the sale of a well-selling story on Long Play help support other stories. “We’re setting up a system where the writer will benefit if their story sells particularly well, but some of the extra profit will go to a common pool that will help us take on particularly challenging new stories. Not every story has to be a bestseller – I don’t think we could do very good journalism if we obsessed over sales with each piece,” says Nikkanen.

Long Play is one of the five teams that made the final round of Uutisraivaaja competition, a Finnish innovation contest for sustainable business models for journalism.

“THERE AREN’T MANY PUBLICATIONS LIKE OURS IN EUROPE.”

“When we made the Uutisraivaaja finals we got 10,000 euros to play with, but that’s the only external funding we’ve received so far. Everything else has come from the readers, and fortunately that’s enough to keep us running at the moment,” says Nikkanen.

Winning Uutisraivaaja in November would give the site up to 250,000 additional euros.

The team’s dream is to build its own publishing platform. “Right now we don’t sell anything on our own website; we’re outsourcing that to e-bookstores. But that solution is far from perfect,” says Nikkanen.

“It’s been a surprise, to be honest, to see how immature the e-book market is,” she says, citing clumsy file formats and the large amount of time spent troubleshooting problems. “If we had our own publishing platform and a store, we could at least try and fix those bugs and perhaps help speed up the general development in this field. It would also suit the fair trade journalism ethos: cutting out yet another middleman.”

Another dream is to start publishing internationally. “There’s a lot of interest in digital long form, and our Finnish experience so far has been fantastic, but there aren’t many publications like ours in Europe.

This might be a good moment to start looking outside Finland’s borders.”

LONGPLAY.FI SENJAOPETTAA.FI

THE NEW BUSINESS ANGELS INVESDOR BILLS ITSELF as “the first open equity-based crowd funding platform in Northern Europe.”

The company aims to find a method with which to turn the partners of growth companies into small shareholders. “We realised that the process is too cumbersome with traditional methods and there were no equitybased crowd funding platforms available in northern Europe,” says Invesdor chairman Lasse Mäkelä.

Mäkelä says that existing players in the UK and the Netherlands weren’t able to help. “We realised that if we have a need, there must be other people who have the same need.”

According to Mäkelä, Invesdor, which officially started operations in Northern Europe in May 2012, has not experienced difficulties with Finnish legislation. “As we are working with equity offerings, the Finnish legal framework is well formed and the management team is experienced in this field. As new shares are always offered in return for cash, there is no issue with the Finnish Money Collection Act either.”

One of Invesdor’s biggest Finnish success stories to date has been the Joyride Games Oy (Climbstation) offering. The company raised 64,000 euros from 46 investors with an average investment of 1,400 euros per investor.

“Climbstation now has investors from four European member states and can rely on its ‘expanded advisory

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board’ of investors for advice and help in its international growth path,” he says.

Taaleritehdas, a listed Helsinki-based wealth management company, recently invested in Invesdor. “We are excited about the opportunity to start building a bridge between traditional money and growth company financing,” says Mäkelä.

Swedish Fundedbyme.com has recently expanded their equity crowd funding platform into Finland. Another new Finnish crowd funding platform is Mesenaatti.me, which started up sooner than intended, partly due to the interest and discussion raised by Senja Larsen’s book project.

Among the successful Mesenaatti.me campaigns has been raising just under 10,000 euros for Finnish eco-lifestyle magazine Huili. Aalto University’s Musta Taide (“Dark Art”) photography books publisher is also launching a crowd funding model to enable photographers to find funding for their book projects.

MESENAATTI.ME INVESDOR.COM FUNDEDBYME.COM MUSTATAIDE.AALTO.FI

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TEXT BY KATJA PANTZAR

PHOTOS BY KATJA PANTZAR AND RACHEL BRATHEN

ACTIVE ARUBA KNOWN AS A ROMANTIC HIDEAWAY, THIS SMALL CARIBBEAN ISLAND IS FAST BECOMING A FITNESS HAVEN AND FORERUNNER IN SUSTAINABILITY.

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Coral and limestone formations on Andicuri Beach form one of Aruba’s few non-sandy stretches of shoreline.

Indigenous reptiles include the Aruban whiptail lizard.

upside down on a paddleboard – that’s a surfboard anchored in the water – with my hands and feet at opposite ends of the board, doing a yoga pose called a downward-facing dog.

From this perspective, I can see where the Aruban sea meets the sky on the horizon. Seawater gently laps against the board and the warm sun heats my back.

What I’m trying to practice in between falling into the water is paddleboard yoga, taught by Rachel Brathen, who introduced this practice to the Caribbean island.

Originally from Sweden, she moved to Aruba in early 2010 and works as a yoga instructor and retreat director at the island’s Manchebo Beach Resort & Spa. “I wasn’t the first person in the world to think of yoga on a paddleboard,” she says. “But I had never seen it done before when I first tried it.”

Inspiration struck as she watched her boyfriend, a surfer, take their dogs long boarding. “I thought to myself, ‘If he can take the dogs with him onto the boards, I should be able to do a downward-facing dog out on the water,’” she recalls.

The first time she practiced SUP (stand-up paddleboard) yoga, the response was overwhelming. “Before I knew it I had done a whole 90-minute class, and there was a big group of people on the beach cheering me on.

When I came back to shore people started asking me

if they could try it too,” says Brathen. “So I went from teaching once or twice a month to sometimes teaching 25 or more classes a month during high season.”

Practiced in warm coastal climes, SUP yoga, nicknamed “flo yo” (floating yoga) has been growing in popularity since American actors Matt Damon and Jennifer Aniston were snapped by the paparazzi om’ing on boards. Brathen says there are several advantages to this type of yoga as strength, flexibility and balance are all magnified.

“Finding your balance is hard, and moving from pose to pose is tricky – in some ways, it’s like practicing yoga for the first time,” she says. Falling off the board provides a refreshing break, as the temperature often climbs to 30 degrees Celsius by late morning.

BEYOND SUNBATHING Aruba, immortalized by the Beach Boys in their song “Kokomo,” which topped charts around the world in the late 80s, is known as a romantic hideaway. Today it’s also a diverse, active getaway destination that focuses on sustainable tourism.

“I feel that the island generally has a much healthier vibe these days - more people are biking, running and doing yoga,” says Brathen. “And the government has built some beautiful new bike and walking paths, which is great.”

An independent country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Aruba is one of the ABC (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) islands, and one of the world’s largest producers of aloe vera. Some 500 different types are cultivated here, and aloe vera figures on the country’s official coat of arms. The island is located 27 kilometres north of VeneSUMMER 2013

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The California Lighthouse on the northwest tip of the island was named after an 1891 shipwreck.

“THE ISLAND HAS A MUCH HEALTHIER VIBE THESE DAYS.” zuela and accessible by a two-and-a-half hour flight from Miami and a four-hour flight from New York City. Being 12 degrees north of the equator ensures tropical weather year-round.

SUSTAINABLE AMBITION An Aruban whiptail lizard darts by as Arikok National Park’s Jimmy Mijer tells me that sustainability is crucial for the small island, which is just under 75 square miles (193 square kilometres) with a population of 110,000 people.

“We need to be a forerunner,” he says. “Aruba is moving to 50 per cent in renewable energy. We have restrictions on the number of resorts built, on how many rooms are allowed. Now we need to look at how many people the island can support, as there are already traffic problems.”

About 18 per cent of Aruba is protected National Park and 80 per cent of island is protected. Last year the island 54 BLUE WINGS

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Fresh coconut is a popular snack and one of the most common ingredients in Aruban skincare lotions.

announced a partnership with Sir Richard Branson’s Carbon War Room with a goal of generating 100 per cent of its resources from renewable energies by 2020. The government of Aruba will co-host the 2013 Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum in October.

“We started 50 years ago with nature conservation, and have specific campaigns and goals,” Mijer says. For example, a 10,000-florin fine (about 4,300 euros) is issued to those who drive over a turtle nest. “Every turtle counts – some nests have as many as 300 turtles,” he says.

Endangered mammoth sea turtles annually travel thousands of miles to lay their eggs on the beaches of Aruba – Eagle Beach, Palm Beach and Andicuri Beach – and then return to sea.

The park was established in 2000. In addition to a variety of walks through the scrubland, there’s an onsite visitor information centre made of South American hardwood, a low maintenance building material. Certain sections of the foundation are built into a water-filled basin to cool the rooms above without the need for air conditioning.

AQUATIC ADVENTURES Palm Pleasure, our 65-foot catamaran sails across the sea taking a group of about 40 people to the Antilla

HOLIDAY MEALS ONE OF THE ISLAND’S most exquisite upscale dining experiences is Papiamento, run by the Ellis family in a 19th century Aruban manor furnished with Dutch-style antiques and family history. Named after the creole language that is one of the official languages of Aruba, this Chaîne des Rôtisseurs restaurant in the island’s Noord area features fresh seafood such as Mahi-Mahi fish and Caribbean shrimp, and meat selections such as succulent New Zealand braised lamb. The house specialty is “Eduardo’s Seafood Pot,” a handmade clay pot filled with seafood, herbs and garden vegetables. It’s possible to tour the mansion and extensive wine cellar after eating dinner indoors or under a canopy of trees on the outdoor patio surrounding the swimming pool.

Yoga instructor Rachel Brathen introduced paddleboard yoga to Aruba.

PAPIAMENTOARUBA.COM

RACHEL’S RECOMMENDATIONS LOCAL YOGA INSTRUCTOR Rachel Brathen recommends three of her favourite Aruba restaurants: IKE’S BISTRO “Really fresh, healthy foods with a Caribbean twist” at Manchebo Beach Resort & Spa. MANCHEBO.COM/IKESBISTRO

YEMANJA “A woodfire grill that usually has some organic options, amazingly talented chefs and always good service.” Located in downtown Oranjestad, the restaurant is known for its Black Angus beef and locally caught seafood prepared over a wood fire using mesquite.

YEMANJA-ARUBA.COM

MARANDI “You sit on a dock in the middle of the ocean - the ambiance is amazing.” Located at the former Laguna Pier right next to Reina Beatrix Airport, Marandi was recently voted one of the world’s ten most romantic restaurants by Triposo.

MARANDI-ARUBA.COM

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Kuvateksti, Kuvateksti, Kuvateksti, Kuvateksti, Kuvateksti, Kuvateksti

Tamarijin Aruba resort is located right on the beach.

Divers take off from a clipper at the Antilla shipwreck.

shipwreck, a 400-foot German cargo freighter during the Second World War. Aruba’s relatively shallow, calm waters are a good place to try snorkelling for the first time.

Soon after I jump into the water, I’ve mastered the technique of breathing in and out through the snorkel, keeping my hands at my sides and using my fins to kick forward. Plenty of fish including the ubiquitous yellow and black angelfish swim right up to me as I make my way towards the Antilla.

De Palm Tours is the largest tour operator on the island, but there are many tour operators who offer halfday catamaran trips. These include snorkelling stops, lunch, and drinks such as the famous Aruba Ariba – a potent mix of vodka, rum, pineapple and orange juice.

The waters off Aruba are rich with marine life such as seahorses, stingrays and eels, and there are also dozens of dive sites for more advanced scuba divers. Back on land, numerous outfitters dot the shoreline – Aruba has 21 beaches – offering equipment rentals and instruction for those who want to go sailing, windsurfing, kite surfing or water-skiing.

THE SEAFOOD IS SO FRESH THAT YOU CAN WATCH IT BEING REELED IN.

GOOD TO KNOW ARUBA’S CAPITAL is Oranjestad, named after the Dutch Royal House of Orange. Many of the large luxury cruise ships dock in Oranjestad’s port district, where much of the international shopping is concentrated.

Aruba’s currency is the Aruban Florin but US dollars are accepted just about everywhere.

Prices are often listed in both florins and dollars.

Every Thursday evening there’s a Carrubian festival on the main street of San Nicholas, southeast of Oranjestad, with local food, live music and dancing in the street.

There’s a wide range of accommodations available for every budget including several allinclusive resorts such as Divi Aruba and adjacent Tamarijn Aruba, and Manchebo Beach Resort & Spa, with its Spa del Sol, a Caribbean-Balinese spa on the beach.

DIVIARUBA.COM TAMARIJNARUBA.COM MANCHEBO.COM ARUBA.COM DEPALMTOURS.COM

PIRATE SHACK While there’s no lack of wow-worthy fine dining on the island (see sidebar), one of the most authentic, downto-earth experiences is a casual meal at local favourite Zeerover, near the small town of Savaneta, once the island’s capital.

The seafood here is so fresh that you can watch it being reeled in. Generous baskets of the day’s catch, shrimp, fried plantains and chips, washed down with the national beer, Balashi, cost about 10 American dollars per person (about 7.5 euros). This is equal to less than half the cost of an entrée at a more upscale island eatery.

The Dutch word zeerover means “pirate.” This familyowned business started out from a small shack and has grown over the years to accommodate local demand.

Two brothers involved in running the restaurant are Roly Bislik, a former elite swimmer who once swam from mainland South America to Aruba, and his brother Eric Bislik, a retired physical education teacher. On a typical Sunday afternoon, Eric, who is just as comfortable on the shop floor prepping fresh fish as he is chatting with the locals over a beer, says that he wants to keep things the way they are: “undeveloped.”

“My business is to sell fresh fish to the locals,” he says.

“When everybody’s happy, I’m happy.”

FINNAIR offers oneworld connections to Aruba via New York and Miami.

TEL AVIV RESTAURANTS

1

WELCOME TO MY KITCHEN Self-taught chef Haim Cohen, who has actively worked to promote the identity of local cuisine, is a bona fide celebrity in Israel: he has authored books and been a television chef. Each night Cohen keeps busy at Yaffo-Tel Aviv (98 Igaal Alon Street), whose most defining characteristic is a large, open heart of a kitchen. Cohen says he prefers socialising with patrons to hiding from them in the kitchen. The dĂŠcor incorporates recycled materials, and only local ingredients are used in the food.

YAFFOTELAVIV.COM FINNAIR flies to Tel Aviv nonstop twice a week between June 7 until October 25.

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TEL AVIV

TOP STILL FINE-TUNING ITS OWN FLAVOUR, ISRAELI CUISINE DRAWS INSPIRATION FROM AROUND THE WORLD. SEVERAL SPIRITED CHEFS HAVE BEGUN DEFINING THE CULINARY CHARACTER OF TEL AVIV. TEXT BY MILA PENTTI

PHOTOS BY OFER AMIR

2

SIBLING COLLABORATION Adi Strauss and his sister Irit established Herbert Samuel (6 Koifman Street) six years ago, with Yonatan Roshfeld serving as head chef. In an otherwise laid-back city, this stands out as an establishment where patrons wear their best. The menu is Mediterranean-inspired, and portions are intended for sharing. The founders’ new project is Alma, a boutique hotel with 15 uniquely decorated rooms.

3

NSPIRED BY GRANDMA Chef Rafi Cohen’s first culinary influence was his Moroccan-born grandmother. At 13 he got a job at King David Hotel, and went on to work at such Michelin-decorated establishments as L’Arpege in Paris. In 2001 he opened Raphael (87 Hayarkon/King David Tower) along Tel Aviv’s beachside promenade. The secret to its prevailing crowds is unpretentious local food mixed with ethnic flavours and served with an international twist.

RAPHAELTLV.CO.IL

HERBERTSAMUEL.CO.IL

4

COUNTRY CHARM Kimel (Hashanar 6) is located in the trendy Neve Tzedek neighbourhood, also home to galleries, boutiques and the most expensive apartments in Tel Aviv. The restaurant is named after Turkish sheik Kimmel who used to own the 129-year-old building. Both its décor and seasonal menu is reminiscent of a French village − with an Israeli twist. Kimel is an optimal spot for lunch or dinner, which doesn’t kick into gear until roughly 9 pm. Only tourists dine early in Tel Aviv.

KIMEL.REST.CO.IL

5

ACK TO MANHATTAN Social Club (45 Rothschild Blvd/54 Ahad Ha’am Street) opened in Tel Aviv’s Bauhaus quarters three years ago. One of the founders is Uri Raz, who formerly owned a restaurant in New York’s TriBeCa neighbourhood. Social Club is like a piece of New York City, defined by its bustling mood and DJ-led soundtrack. Try the white sangria by Moshe Budnik, internationally respected mixologist.

SOCIALCLUB.CO.IL

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BENEATH

THE

VINES GREEN, ANCIENT LANDSCAPES ARE LOCATED WITHIN A SHORT DRIVE FROM TEL AVIV IN ISRAEL. THE VILLAGE OF EIN KEREM, PART OF JERUSALEM, IS AN EXPLORER’S GEM. TEXT BY NINAROSE MAOZ PHOTOS BY UZI VARON

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Aalto PRO Continuing Education from Aalto University

E

in Kerem, meaning “The Spring of the Vineyard,” is located at the base of the Judean Mountains. This small, historically rich area of Jerusalem, more lush than its surroundings, seems to crystallise the description attributed to Israel since Biblical times: “the land of milk and honey.” Despite the three million visitors that come here yearly for a pilgrimage or relaxing escape, a calm mood prevails amidst the terrace gardens, almond trees and vineyards. A new open house project gives access to local lives.

RELIGIOUS HISTORY Because Ein Kerem is John the Baptist’s birthplace, the village is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Israel. The famous spring in the middle of the village is said to be the place where the Virgin Mary and Elizabeth, John’s mother, met. Both ladies were pregnant, Mary in her third month and her cousin Elizabeth in her sixth.

The theme of Mary and Elizabeth is depicted in the church of John the Baptist and the Church of Visitation at Ein Kerem. The Magnificat, or Song of Mary, has been immortalised on a massive exterior wall at the latter church in 30 different languages. The Church of Visitation also offers a sweeping view of the surrounding mountains. On the opposite hill is the monastery of Notre Dame de Sion, which accommodates sisters from seven different nationalities. Their aim is to advance the dialog between Judaism and Christianity as well as between the Jews and Palestinians.

Overnight accommodation is available in simple guestrooms, starting at 270 new Israel shekels, or 57 euros (see SION-EIN-KAREM.ORG).

MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME Along a small uphill road, artist Jacqueline ­Havilio opens the door to her home and gallery, a century-old Arab house made of Jerusalem stone.

She grew up in Paris with Polish parents, both of whom were Holocaust survivors and saved because of Schindler’s list.

“My parents didn’t feel safe in Europe and looked for a better life in Argentina, but I never felt at home there,” says Havilio, who moved to Israel at 18. She found her niche in Ein Kerem.

“I love the views here; they are the source of my inspiration,” she says.

Havilio has recently kicked off the Open Houses concept with a group of other Ein Kerem women. The project comprises a network of houses that lets guests visit a local home and take part in an activity. These include cooking courses, a visit to an ancient olive oil press, jewellery workshops and coaching in historical make-up. In some houses you can order a meal or rent a room or zimmer, bed and breakfast style. Those paying a visit to Havilio’s gallery can hear stories of Ein Kerem’s past. Her film director husband offers

Diploma in Global Sourcing Jacqueline Havilio is a painter in Ein Kerem.

visitors a colourful journey through the times, starting from thousands of years ago. Email her at jabaumha@hotmail.com or call +972 (0)54 3241949 to inquire about open houses or arrange a gallery visit.

DINE AS THE LOCALS Although Ein Kerem can be considered a holy site, one certainly shouldn’t ignore his or her earthly needs. The village boasts several cosy, restaurants that often become packed, so reservations are strongly encouraged, especially on weekends: Fridays and Saturdays. One of the top choices is the family-owned Brasserie (15 hamaayan St, 2EAT.CO.IL/ENG/BRASSERIEJER), whose rooftop terrace is a great place to wrap up the day with some scenery-gazing.

FINNAIR flies to Tel Aviv twice a week from June 7 to October 25.

GETTING THERE EIN KEREM is located about a 45-minute drive (roughly 65 kilometres) from Tel Aviv.

Bus transportation is available from Tel Aviv’s New Central Bus Station to Jerusalem (45−60 min, six euros for a return ticket), from which you can continue by light rail to Mt. Herzl (about a 15-minute ride) and take a cab or walk the two kilometres down to Ein Kerem. Note that there is no public transportation during Shabbat, from Friday afternoon until Saturday evening. A shuttle service, sherut taxis, runs during Shabbat between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

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THE CITY OF CHICAGO

Oak Street Beach is one of several beaches by Lake Michigan in Chicago.

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FROM DANCE AND CLASSICAL MUSIC EVENTS TO GALLERIES AND ARCHITECTURAL TOURS, CHICAGO’S CULTURAL OFFERINGS ARE GOLDEN DURING THE SUMMER SEASON. TEXT BY SCOTT BERMAN

BASKING IN THE

CHICAGO

D

uring a summer break from its famously cold temperatures, Chicago in midwestern US basks in cultural diversity. And the locals know what they have.

“What Chicago may lack in duration of warm weather, it makes up for in its abundance of free and easily accessible opportunities during the summer,” says long-time area resident Kate Cichon. “The beaches are all public, there are neighbourhood festivals every weekend, and the city takes very good care of its public spaces to make those experiences comfortable and inviting.”

Here’s what to check out during an urban summer holiday.

ARCHITECTURE, GALLERIES AND JAZZ Lake Michigan – the understandable first impression is that the magnificent fresh water giant is an ocean – offers an entry to Chicagoland, a local term for the metropolitan area. Start your visit with a sightseeing tour by boat in and around the harbour.

Standouts include the architectural cruise along the lake’s adjoining Chicago River, (CHICAGOTRAVELER.COM/ARCHITECTURERIVER-CRUISE), which presents the grandeur but also the variety and accessibility of the city for less than 30 dollars (25 euros).

The water taxi ride has great views of the bustling Loop and the wider city. There are stops close to the Magnificent Mile shopping district and the Willis Tower, which is still known by its SUMMER 2013

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THE CITY OF CHICAGO

An event at Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park

RENT A BIKE. It’s a great option for the Lakefront and elsewhere.

BIKECHICAGO.COM

FOR A PURE summer experience, check out the city’s beaches. A good bet is Oak Street Beach on N. Lake Shore Drive. The beach is close to the John Hancock Center, whose Signature Lounge offers great views – and margaritas.

CHICAGO.ABOUT.COM/OD/ SPORTS/A/CHICAGO-BEACHES. HTM.

SEE the city’s architecture from every angle.

ARCHITECTURE.ORG/TOURS

RIVER TOUR information: CRUISECHICAGO.COM , SHORELINESIGHTSEEING.COM, CHICAGOTRAVELER.COM/ BOAT_TOURS.HTM

TAKE the river taxi and jump on and off. Be sure to ask about passes: CHICAGOWATERTAXI.COM

FOR an overview, see CHOOSECHICAGO.COM, which also offers an events calendar and a free mobile app.

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koko 84% TRAFFIC PR & MARKETING

SUMMER IN THE CITY

original name, the Sears Tower. Its famous 103rd floor Skydeck is touristy, but the views are irresistible.

In addition to architects, artists have achieved greatly in Chicago. Travellers can get a sense of today’s scene in the city’s gallery districts and take part in gallery walks (CHICAGOIST.COM/2012/04/01/CHICAGO_ ART_WALK_GUIDE.PHP).

Local artist Meg Peterson recommends the galleries of the West Loop, and the art scene along Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park. “Chicago is brimming with arts, culture and enriching activities. There’s not enough hours in a summer day,” she says.

Elsewhere in the arts, Chicago and music are synonymous. The Windy City has a rich heritage of blues, jazz, rock and hiphop. Take the L (the local term for the city’s rail system) up to the north of the city, not far from Lake Shore Drive, for a grownup, funky vibe at the Green Mill (4802 N. Broadway Ave, GREENMILLJAZZ.COM), a mostly jazz club teeming with history.

Gangster Al Capone hung out there – and you may be able to hear some mean Hammond organ, just the right note on a simmering summer night.

JOIN THE PARTY The Chicago summer festival scene is bustling as well. “It’s evolving to meet the demands of a city that is growing as a major

destination,” says David Kennedy, deputy director of Chicago’s Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The organisation produces legendary happenings such as the annual Taste of Chicago (July 10 to 14). “In recent years there has been a rise in the number of neighbourhood festivals and sporting events, such as biking, runs and walks throughout the city.”

THE SUMMER FESTIVAL SCENE IS RICH HERE. One of the largest summer events is Lollapalooza, the annual music extravaganza, to be held this year in Grant Park in August, and the Pitchfork Music Festival, which has grown in popularity in recent years. Taking place from July 19 to 21 in Union Park in Chicago’s Near West Side, Pitchfork has an edgy program ranging from punk to electronica. Björk is scheduled to be a headliner.

No summer in Chicago would be complete without lounging on the lawns of Millennium Park, enjoying one of the numerous Free Concert Series programmes, including the Grant Park (classical) Music Festival. You may hear the sounds of classi-

cal music, indie rock, jazz or electronica wafting through the Loop any evening – just follow the sound to the park and join the crowds.

Chicago’s SummerDance events at Grant Park and elsewhere are open-air dance lessons with participants as diverse as the musical variety. Drawing a mass of people, the events are held from late June into September (CITYOFCHICAGO.ORG/CITY/EN/DEPTS/DCA.HTML).

If you want to keep moving, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Mini Marathon on July 21 (RUNROCKNROLL. COMPETITOR.COM/CHICAGO) entices runners and spectators with a festive party atmosphere and live bands. The Sheffield Garden Walk from July 21 to 22 (SHEFFIELDFESTIVALS.ORG), meanwhile, offers self-guided tours of local gardens and live entertainment.

Among Chicago’s summer music happenings is Wicker Park Fest (July 27-28).

NEIGHBOURHOOD ACTION Chicago is known for the strongly defined character of its neighbourhoods. In warm weather, many become destinations for events and leisurely nights out. Several areas are particularly energetic: Andersonville, Lincoln Square, Wicker Park, and River North.

The hip, laid-back Andersonville boasts diverse eateries and shops. Check out the deli-

cacies, jewellery and antiques at Galleria (5247 North Clark Street) and the classic Swedish Bakery (5348 North Clark), which opened in the 1920s.

Another North Side neighbourhood, Lincoln Square, perks up in summers. This section has German roots and the bakeries and shops to prove it, in addition to Middle Eastern, Thai and other wonderful additions. One cool option this summer is the Square Roots Music Festival from July 12 to 14. There’s also a free concert series until August 29 and a weekly farmers’ market until October 24, both on Thursday evenings.

For more information on the area’s summer events, see LINCOLNSQUARE.ORG. Wicker Park, northwest of the Loop, had its coolness verified by a Forbes survey last year, which reportedly named this area one of the “Hippest Hipster Neighbourhoods” in the United States. Wicker Park and its neighbouring Bucktown have all the ingredients, from fun commercial walking streets including North Milwaukee and North Damen avenues to nightlife, vegetarian restaurants, and, as noted, art galleries. The popular Wicker Park Fest, benefiting local not-for-profit organisations, draws music fans in late July. River North, meanwhile,

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Vendors sell summer-appropriate merhandise at Chicago’s Wicker Park Fest.

just north of the Loop, offers easy access to the storied Magnificent Mile. There are galleries, fashion and plenty of restaurants.

And that’s just a small sample.

Chicago’s plethora of things to do extends to its wondrous buildings, in the Loop as well as elsewhere in the city, such as Hyde Park, for example. There’s the built drama of the University of Chicago, and the nearby Frederick C. Robie House, a Prairie style marvel by the architectural giant Frank Lloyd Wright. Tours are available here as well.

Speaking of giants, head back north to the towering John Hancock Center, preferably in the late afternoon. Go up to the 95th floor for cocktails at the Signature Lounge and the adjacent Signature Room for dinner (SIGNATUREROOM.COM). Frequented by visitors, it’s a great way to wind up a day or get fuelled up for a night out in what is, simply stated, a terrific summer destination.

FINNAIR’S codeshare partner American Airlines flies from Helsinki to Chicago daily from June 13 until August 26.

Julkisivuratkaisut

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Kun rakennat, tee elämäsi diili ja valitse tiili. www.wienerberger.fi

No more

into the sea.

Reducing discharges of the chemical element Phosphorus [Latin: phosphorus, symbol P] to the Baltic Sea is currently the most efficient way of improving the status of the sea. This is why Sanoma and the John Nurminen Foundation work together to reduce phosphorus discharges. Already, the renewal of the three largest wastewater treatment plants in St. Petersburg and the activities of the Foundation’s partner, EuroChem, in blocking discharges from the Kingisepp gypsum mountain have reduced the eutrophication-inducing phosphorus load permanently by nearly 60 per cent. The reduction is so significant that its impact will be visible in the status of the sea in the next few years. Although we have done a lot, we have still not reached our goal. This is why, in addition to St. Petersburg, we have initiated projects that curb the phosphorus emissions of 16 other cities in the Baltic area. These projects like all Clean Baltic Sea projects focus on project sites where the greatest result can be achieved for each euro spent. To be able to finalise the project, we will continue to need support from stakeholders who want to join the effort of improving the status of the Baltic Sea, a sea that belongs to us all.

If you want to join the effort, make a donation at www.puhdasitameri.fi

Quality Hunters 2013 On the hunt for better travel?

Talk to us.

Do you want to have a say in the future of air travel?

Quality Hunters 2013 is an open initiative that makes travel better for everyone.

Join the conversation

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What’s important to you when travelling?

What bugs you? Join our global online community and let us know.

Share your best ideas with us. Read on our blog how travel pros from Finnair and Helsinki Airport see the future of air travel.

´Wow´ us with your ideas and get chosen to take part in our exclusive workshops and a memorable weekend in Helsinki.

Finnair and Helsinki Airport implement ideas created by the initiative. It could be your idea making travel better for us all.

Make a difference by guiding our service development process. Join the conversation online.

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Captain Camilla Sommar flew her first commercial flight in 1986.

90 YEARS

OF NEW HORIZONS TEXT BY TIM BIRD

PHOTOS BY ANNA HUOVINEN AND TIM BIRD

TURNING 90 IS CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION AT ANY COMPANY. FINNAIR STAYS FOCUSED ON THE FUTURE – BUT SOME NOSTALGIA IS FORGIVABLE.

T

he history of Finnair, founded in 1923, runs almost parallel to the history of Finland, which gained its independence in 1917. Relatively isolated geographically, separated from most of Europe by the Baltic with sea ports hampered (though never closed) by winter ice, Finland has always relied more than most countries on air links to the rest of the world.

As Finland’s national airline, Finnair has played a role in national life ever since the first maiden commercial flight on a Junkers F13 carried 162 kilos of mail from Helsinki to Tallinn in Estonia on March 20, 1924. Founded by Bruno Otto Lucander, Aero, as Finnair was known until 1953, carried 269 passengers in its first year of operations.

From that modest number and a single route, Finnair’s resources have evolved into today’s state-of-the-art and fuelefficient fleet of Airbus and Embraer aircraft. The airline serves around 60 destinations in Europe and over a dozen long-haul hubs in Asia and North America. That’s not counting the numerous code-share destinations operated with the airline’s oneworld global alliance partners. Its passenger numbers have mushroomed to not far short of nine million –well over 70 per cent of whom bought their tickets outside of Finland in 2012.

Among those nine million is Ilkka Mannikainen, Finnish businessman and one of Finnair’s most frequent flyers. “My first Finnair flight was in 1984 to Munich with my parents when I was ten,” he says. That first flight left a slightly surprising but indelible impression.

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Markku Remes began his career at Finnair as a messenger in the 1960s.

“I think it was a DC9 or MD80. When arriving in Munich, I saw that there were many cars with damaged roofs – there had been a massive hailstone downpour a couple of weeks before,” he recalls.

Mannikainen thinks company heritage is an important consideration for customers. “A long history when you’re in the airline business is a huge advantage, and especially for Finnair in its important market area, Asia. Finnair started flying to Asia decades ago [the first flights to Bangkok were in 1976] so it has plenty of experience in the Asian market.”

I grew up,” he says. He fondly remembers an era when the human connections might have played a stronger role in all walks of life, but marvels at how things have changed in terms of working conditions.

“When working my first spring as a check-in officer in early 1970, I remember guys coming with saws and starting to cut holes in the check-in desks. I asked them what they thought they were doing, and they replied that they were going to install computers at the desks. I was going to be connected in my work for the first time,” he says.

INTO AN E-ERA Looking back, it’s also easy to see that Finnair has always looked forward.

“Finnair has always been a pioneer with new electronic service portals, for example, and I like that,” says Mannikainen. “E-check-in, e-tickets, SMS information before the flight, selecting or changing your seat and meals online − and most recently, they are very actively making the most of social media like Facebook and Twitter.”

Finnair’s personnel have learned to appreciate the unique loyalty of the company’s customers – and none more than Markku Remes, Manager for VIP & Lounges services at Helsinki Airport.

“I started with Finnair on 28.8.68. That’s lots of eights, a lucky number in Asia!” he recalls, describing his career as a progression through almost every aspect of aviation from messenger to manager, only breaking for national service in the Finnish Air Force.

Aviation is a passion for Remes. He saw his first Finnair Convair Metropolitan aircraft at 13, during a school field trip to the city of Turku: “I knew what I wanted to do when

MATCH MADE IN THE HEAVENS Remes also has Finnair to thank for his marriage. “When working as a flying traffic officer, during a particularly busy transfer between flights, my uniform jacket got caught in a fire extinguisher and all the gold buttons flew off. The ground hostess, Anneli, who was greeting the arriving flights, came up with the idea of fixing the buttons with paper clips. It worked fine, and off I flew. This was a wonderful magic moment – I was so impressed that we ended up getting married, all of 35 years ago.”

Finnair holds its own as a medium-sized European airline, and bigger is not necessarily more beautiful. “We can be pretty flexible in everything we do, including smooth customer service. Finnair has the privilege of being one of the preferred European airlines flying many Asian customers. Especially in Asia, heritage and history are highly appreciated when doing business,” Remes says.

For Finnair, that pioneering heritage takes many forms.

Nobody should be surprised to hear a female voice making the announcements from the cockpit, for example, on a Finnair flight. “In the late 1960s and early ’70s there were

70 BLUE WINGS SUMMER 2013

According to captain Camilla Sommar, Finnair has a pioneering role in pilot training.

Ilkka Mannikainen is one of Finnair’s most frequent flyers.

female pilots in a few European airlines, but not so many of the major ones. Finnair’s first female pilot started in 1984,” says captain Camilla Sommar. “I would say that Finnair’s main pioneering role is in pilot training. The company was growing rapidly in the 1970s and in those days most of the airline pilots came from the Finnish Air Force. Getting the required training was expensive and there were not many flying schools.”

It started to look like Finnair would attract all the Air Force pilots, she explains, so the airline started its own flight academy in Kuopio in eastern Finland in 1976. This academy also opened more doors for women to become pilots, as military service for women did not exist in those days. Most of the Finnair pilots employed since 1980 come from that academy, which moved to Pori in 1985.

Captain Sommar remembers her first commercial flight in November of 1986, as a DC9 co-pilot to Kuopio. After a few years she moved on to MD80s and later became the captain in that same aircraft type. “Since the phasing out of the MD fleet I’ve been flying Airbuses, A340s and A320s, which means both long-haul and short-haul flights.”

The joy of flying is undiminished, she says. “You can’t help but be enchanted by fantastic evening skies, by the Northern Lights, or the scenery over the Alps on a clear day. There are so many beautiful things in the world. And I have the best colleagues in the world, true professionals who make the working atmosphere unique.”

NEW PLANES, MORE COMFORT, LESS FUEL From a pilot’s point of view, plotting the course ahead for Finnair has never been more important. Sommar says that she can’t wait for the new Airbus A350 and A321 aircraft,

which Finnair has ordered. “For us it means new technology, which helps eliminate the need for separate laptops, for example, used for manuals, maps and charts. The same information can be transferred to the cockpit instrument screens,” she says, adding that the new planes also use less fuel, making them more environmentally friendly and cost-efficient.

“They also mean better passenger comfort, and in turn that means many new customers and growth for the company, new routes, and new planes and pilots.

We might not be the biggest, but we can be the best,” she says.

Markku Remes has his own vision of Finnair. “In 90 years perhaps we will have merged with one or more of our excellent oneworld alliance partners, but we will retain our name and Nordic dimension of flying to even more destinations in the north. Perhaps we’ll be flying over the North Pole to selected Pacific islands for totally new holiday experiences. It’s even possible that space travel will be offered by some of the economically healthier airlines for wealthier customers! At least the aircraft will be more like spacecraft, flying higher and faster.”

The customer’s view is the most important one, and Ilkka Mannikainen expresses faith in Finnair’s future. “I strongly believe that this airline will survive through hard times as it has before. Finnish reliability and quality will help Finnair become one of the biggest carriers between Asia and Europe − and why not also one of the biggest carriers between Northern Europe and America.”

FINNAIR LAUNCHED ITS OWN FLIGHT ACADEMY IN 1976.

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

ALTITUDE CUISINE Dinner in the Sky hoists a table of 22 guests up to 50 metres to dine in the air for an hour. In Estonia patrons get a birds-eye view of Tallinn to the accompaniment of live music from a raised platform. The summer’s other Dinner in the Sky cities are Helsinki, Tampere, Brussels, Riga and Vilnius.

June 11–16 DINNERINTHESKY.EE

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THIS SUMMER AROUND THE WORLD

Heat waves

Sugary fantasies

Terracotta history

Floating record

With its slogan of “Sun, Sea and Legendary Music,” SunSplash is dubbed the biggest little music festival in Turkey. In its fifth year, this week-long boutique party of 500 people takes place on the Turkish Riviera in Antalya, at the Hillside Su Hotel. World-famous DJs play tunes ranging from soul to house and Afrobeat.

Magnum Pleasure Store serves ice cream in an elegant setting, using ecological ingredients and chocolate certified by the Rainforest Alliance. The pop-up ice cream shop will soon make its Nordic debut at Helsinki’s Old Student House. You can also get your Magnum fix in New York’s Bryant Park starting June 3.

Many travel to the Chinese city of Xi’an to see the famous Terracotta Army, but this summer and fall one can catch a glimpse of them in Finland. Some of the soldier sculptures that protected China’s first emperor’s gravesite for 2,000 years will be on display in Tampere, accompanied by the emperor’s bronze belongings.

Some 600 people will float down the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon in the US with inflated inner tubes to break the Guinness World Record for the longest floating human chain. The record was set in Italy in 2008 with 542 people. The $20 fee includes tubes and life jackets.

Until June 9

June 4–29 MAGNUMICECREAM.COM

June 14 –December 1 VAPRIIKKI.FI/TERRAKOTTA

SUNSPLASH-FESTIVAL.COM

11

57 &

July 5 WORLDFLOAT.EVENTBRITE. COM

12

4 1&6

3

3

2

8

9

10

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ISTOCKPHOTO

THIS SUMMER AROUND THE WORLD

Blonde invasion

Hemingway nostalgia

Muddy Korea

Japan rocks

Created to boost the Latvian economy during the 2009 recession, the Go Blonde Festival is now moving from Riga to the beachside town of Jurmala. Activities include a Marilyn Monroe contest, Miss and Mister Australian Gold pageant, a pink party and a Harley Davidson parade.

Ernest Hemingway’s legacy lives on in Florida’s Key West, the author’s home through the 1930s. The 33rd Hemingway Days features readings, a lookalike contest for stocky whitebearded men, a three-day marlin tournament in honour of Hemingway’s love of fishing, and more.

South Korea’s Boryeong City becomes a dirty place during the 16th annual Mud Festival. With mud wrestling, mud massages, a mud king contest and mud sliding, nobody stays clean. Luckily the mud gathered from the nearby Daecheon beach suppo­ sedly has great health benefits.

Japan’s biggest music festival, Summer Sonic, takes place in Tokyo and Osaka. Big names play in both cities – Metallica, Linkin Park and Cyndi Lauper – but the line-ups aren’t completely identical. International acts from today and yesteryear take turns with Japanese rock musicians.

July 13 GOBLONDE.LV

July 16–21 FLA-KEYS.COM/ HEMINGWAYMEDIA

July 19–28 MUDFESTIVAL.OR.KR

August 10–11 SUMMERSONIC.COM

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THIS SUMMER AROUND THE WORLD

Caribbean crabs

Lapland engines

Celebrating nature

Every August Nicaragua’s Caribbean paradise, the Great Corn Island, throws a huge party marking the day that Queen Elizabeth released 99 slaves during the 19th century.

The festivities include fireworks, a parade and cultural and sports presentations. On Aug. 27, the official day that slavery was abolished, everyone gets free crab soup.

The summer’s finale of Finland’s toughest motorsport series, driven completely on tarmac, takes place in Levi in Northern Finland. Featuring two races, the track runs in the centre of town, in perfect view of the spectators. Fans can also visit the depot to meet Finland’s best rally drivers.

The new Finnish Nature Day honours the forests, lakes and islands of Finland. Activities take place all over the country, including the Finnish Nature Centre Haltia in Nuuksio National Park in Espoo. There you can explore an adventure path and learn about edible mushrooms.

August 27 NICARAGUA.COM/BLOG/ CRAB-SOUP-FESTIVAL-ON-CORNISLAND

August 30–31 FUTURECUP.FI

August 31 FACEBOOK.COM/ SUOMENLUONNONPAIVA

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HOTELLI AVA Karstulantie 6, 00550 HELSINKI puh. 09 774 751 | fax 09 730 090 varaukset@ava.fi www.ava.fi

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2 hh alk. 57 e/vrk

Kodikas Hotelli AVA sijaitsee rauhallisessa ympäristössä Helsingin Vallilassa. AVAsta on sujuvat kulkuyhteydet mm. Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasemalle, Messukeskukseen ja ydinkeskustaan. Tarjoamme asiakkaillemme myös ilmaiset parkkipaikat. Tervetuloa!

Aidosti erilainen!

Kemi

Genuinely different!

Oulu Kalajoki

Ylivieska Kokkola Pietarsaari Seinäjoki Kurikka

Joensuu

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Savonlinna

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Loviisa Helsinki

Utö

www.finlandiahotels.fi

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Have a Meeting and a Holiday!

Day Meeting 44 €/person Stay the Night & Have a Meeting 135 €/person/double room

CONFERENCE AND LEICURE CENTER

Petäys resort

The Midsummer Package 199€/person/double room/2 days Golf Weekend 221€/person/double room/2 days

Petäyksentie 35 14620 Tyrväntö FINLAND

tel. +358 (0)3 673 301 info@petaysresort.fi www.petaysresort.fi

Park Alandia Hotell mukava hotelli Maarianhaminan ydinkeskustassa aivan lehmuspuistokujan vieressä.

Hotellissa on 79 viihtyisää huonetta, ravintola, pubi, kokoustilat ja sauna sekä uimaallas.

Annankatu 1, Helsinki www.hotelanna.fi info@hotelanna.fi puh. +358 9 616 621

Tervetuloa!

Park Alandia Hotell Norra Esplanadgatan 3 22 100 Mariehamn

Puhelin 018 14130 Fax 018 17130 parkhotel@vikingline.com

www.vikingline.fi/parkalandiahotel

Ilmoitusmyynti: Oy Suomen Myyntitieto Ab | Mirja-Liisa Vuorenmaa | P. 09-7742 3316

antiques store r.muuri

MATKOJA VUORILLE VANHEMMILLE JA NUORILLE

antiques.fi risto.muuri@antiques.fi

KESÄ 2013 VAELLUS, PYÖRÄILY, RATSASTUS 6 maata, 14 kohdetta

tel.+358405531378 annankatu 9, helsinki

Helsinki

Pohja Fiskars Mustio

Tammisaari Karjaa Billnäs

Just a short trip (1.5 hours) away from Helsinki, perfectly close for an experience you won’t forget.

UUTTA! Mayrhofen erikoisviikot Sisilia ja Montafon

Laskett elu ja hiihto

w

ww

.alpit

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i

räily Vaellus ja pyö

varaukset puh. 0201 55 11 00 - www.alpit.fi

Take t he train, t he bus or rent a car!

The town of Raseborg features magnificent archipelago views, an idyllic small-town atmosphere, beaches and unique, old ironworks. You will be spoilt for choice when it comes to high-quality, locally–produced food in nice restaurants and cafés.

r aseborg, with love visitr aseborg

raseborg tourist office: +358 (0)19 289 2010

www.visitraseborg.com TROOPPINEN PUUTARHA

GARDENIA ARKKITEHTUURIMUSEO FINLANDS ARKITEKTURMUSEUM MUSEUM OF FINNISH ARCHITECTURE

YOUNG NORDIC ARCHITECTURE 5 JUNE – 22 SEPTEMBER 2013 Tue–Sun 11–18 Wed 11–20 Kasarmikatu 24 Helsinki 6/3/0 €, Combiticket with Design Museum 12 € mfa.fi

Ympärivuotinen käyntikohde.

Kesäisin myös japanilainen kivipuutarha, perennoja, ruusuja...

VALKOISEN TIIKERIN TAIKAA -omatoiminen polku tutustuttaa tiikerin elämään 24.6-25.8.13

WWW.GARDENIA-HELSINKI.FI Koetilantie 1, Viikki, Helsinki puh. (09) 3478 400 Bussi 68 Helsingin Rautatientorilta

Ilmoitusmyynti: Oy Suomen Myyntitieto Ab | Mirja-Liisa Vuorenmaa | P. 09-7742 3316

jalometalli-

harkot ja

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sijoitakultaan.fi Puh. (09) 2764 2750

eMBA in Managerial Leadership

KOIVU.

Tarpeisiisi räätälöityvin.

www.viagroup.fi

Ensirakkauksia

JA TÄHTI: Designed by

Vesa Varrela

www.avantimusic.fi

www.annala.fi

ECONOMIC STRUCTURE Employed persons by industry, 4th quarter 2012

FINLAND IN FIGURES

MANUFACTURING Food prod. and textiles 13%

Construction and energy Miscellaneous services

FOREIGN TRADE 2012 EXPORTS BY PRODUCTS

BY ACTIVITY: 56,777 MEUR (per cent of total)

14%

34%

19%

Forest industry prod

Other manufactured goods 25%

8%

23%

Chemical ind prod

13%

Electric and electronics

Forest products 14%

13%

15%

Metals and metal products

Manufacturing

4% Agriculture

10%

Financial and business services

16%

14%

Machinery and equipment

16%

Other industries

IMPORTS BY USE IN 2012: 59,158 MEUR (per cent of total)

Transport and communications

MONTHLY TEMPERATURES AND RAINFALL IN HELSINKI 2012 MEAN MAX MIN RAINFALL AVERAGE 1971-2000

Intermediate goods Energy Capital goods

Metal and engineering products 48%

Trade and hotel

C C C mm

I

II

III

IV

V

VI

VII VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

52

36

38

32

37

57

63

56

76

70

58

-3,4 -6,8 0,8 4,1 10,9 13,7 17,7 16,0 12,5 6,7 4,2 -5,3 4,6 3,9 9,3 14,8 22,5 24,5 26,6 24,2 19,8 14,0 8,9 2,5 -15,9 -26,2 -14,3 -5,5 3,5 5,6 10,2 8,0 5,3 -6,2 -7,5 -16,2 80

Non-durable goods Durable consumer goods 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

EXPORTS AND IMPORTS (MEUR) TOTAL 2012 SWEDEN GERMANY RUSSIA USA NETHERLANDS CHINA GREAT BRITTAIN FRANCE

EXPORTS

56,777 6,283 5,238 5,688 3,580 3,561 2,961 2,885 1,689

IMPORTS

59,158 6,220 7,282 10,579 1,970 3,327 4,642 1,752 1,808

POPULATION 5.4 mil­lion, giv­ing an av­er­age den­sity of 18 people per sq. km of land area; an­nu­al ­growth ­rate 0.5%­ Life ex­pec­tan­cy: men 77.2 and women 83.5 years. As in most oth­er in­dus­tri­al coun­tries, t­ he middle-aged ­groups predominate.

Av­er­age house­hold s­ ize: 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.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CURRENT TRENDS IN FINLAND, SEE:

80 BLUE WINGS

SUMMER 2013

Oth­er ma­jor cit­ies in Finland in­clude Tam­pere, Tur­ku, Ou­lu and Jyväskylä.

Languages: 90% ­speak Finn­ish; 5.4% Swedish.

Religion: 78% are Lu­ther­an; 1% Orthodox.

Education: 81% of the pop­ul­a­ tion aged 25 to 64 ­have com­ plet­ed upper secondary or tertiary ed­u­ca­tion and 37% (the highest percentage in the EU countries) ­have uni­ver­sity or other tertiary qualifications.

AREA 390,920 sq. kil­o­me­tres or 150,900 sq. m ­ iles, 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, au­ton­om ­ ous G ­ rand D ­ uchy 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 fouryear terms.

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

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 ­rate 9%, in March 2013 according to Labour Force Survey.

ECONOMY GDP 2012: 190 billion euros, the annual change in volume -0.2%.

Annual inflation rate as of April 2013: 1.5%.

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

Eurostat

Source: Statistics Finland

This is Finland at WWW.FINLAND.FI (English, Russian, Chinese, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese) News by Finnfacts at WWW.GOODNEWSFROMFINLAND.COM

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.com

www.finnair.fr

www.finnair.de

www.finnair.com/ru

www.finnair.ee www.finnair.com/jp

www.finnair.es

www.finnair.dk

www.finnair.com/cn

www.finnair.kr

www.finnair.it

www.finnair.fi/pl

Flying Finnair AUTOMATED BORDER CONTROL

82

BEFORE AND DURING THE FLIGHT

83

IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT

85

HELSINKI AIRPORT

86

MAPS

88

CORPORATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

92

FLEET

94

FREQUENT FLYER BENEFITS

95

SUMMER 2013

BLUE WINGS

81

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

82 BLUE WINGS

JUNE 2013 SUMMER 2013

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 most airports in Finnair network.

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 CASE A FLIGHT IS DELAYED OR CANCELLED, Finnair will inform you about the situation via SMS. Please make sure that you have provided Finnair with your mobile phone number. Find out more information on flight disruptions at WWW.FINNAIR.COMMANAGEMYBOOKING.

• In 2012, Finnair carried 8.8 million passengers.

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

• In 2012, the number of passengers on scheduled flights totalled 8 million. Domestic travel accounted for 1.6 million passengers. Passenger total on leisure flights was nearly 813,600.

• In 2012, Finnair transported more than 148,000 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.

SUMMER 2013

BLUE WINGS

83

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.

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 assortment at www.finnairshop.com.

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

• 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.

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.

84 BLUE WINGS

SUMMER 2013

• Due to limited space onboard, 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: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, Dubrovnik, Düsseldorf, Ekaterinburg, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, Ljubljana, London, Madrid, Manchester, Malaga, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Nice, Paris, Prague, Rome, Venice, Vienna and Zurich.

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

FINNAIR INFO IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT

I Give It a Year

Escape From Planet Earth

Beautiful Creatures

MOVIES, TV, MUSIC AND GAMES TO ENTERTAIN YOU

Identity Thief

Stoker

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 (not available for inbound SMS to the US or Canada). The messages cost only $2.00/message and the charge for calls is $7.00/first minute and $3.50/every 30 secs thereafter.

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.

86 BLUE WINGS

SUMMER 2013

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.

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

20

SH

OP

SCHENGEN AREA

THE LATEST FINNAIR PLUS TAX-FREE OFFERS ON PAGE 97.

LOUNGE 2

1ST FLOOR

SHOP 19

Tourist info

18

Pharmacy

17 16

Transfer Service 1

15

CHECK-IN 101–114

14

Security check

Baggage storage

T1

GROUND FLOOR

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

SUMMER 2013

BLUE WINGS

87

INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS FROM HELSINKI

Great Circle Estimated Distances Flight km Times

ALGHERO 2473 03:35

AMSTERDAM 1525 02:35 ANTALYA 2637 03:40 AQABA 3494 05:05 ARRECIFE 4518 05:55 BANGKOK 7912 09:45 BARCELONA 2632 03:55 BEIJING 6325 07:55 BERGEN 1112 03:30 BERLIN 1123 02:00 BILLUND 1060 01:50 BODRUM 2572 03:55 BRUSSELS 1651 02:40 BUDAPEST 1481 02:20 BURGAS 1982 03:00 CANCUN via Scandinavia 9127 13:40 non-stop 12:05 CATANIA 2636 03:45 CHANIA 2756 03:50 CHONGQING 6736 08:40 COPENHAGEN 895 01:40 DALAMAN 2639 03:40 DELHI 5229 06:50 DUBAI 4537 05:55 DUBROVNIK 2027 03:00 DÜSSELDORF 1512 02:25 EKATERINBURG 2098 03:05 FARO 3480 04:45 FRANKFURT 1543 02:35 FUERTEVENTURA 4578 06:05 FUNCHAL 4310 05:45 GENEVA 1994 03:00 GOA via Sharjah 6739 10:15 GOTHENBURG 785 01:25 HAMBURG 1172 02:00 HANOI 7478 10:10 HÔ CHI MINH CITY (Saigon) 8510 10:50 HONG KONG 7821 09:35 HURGHADA 3743 05:05 INNSBRUCK 1701 02:35 IRÁKLION 2777 03:55 KAVALA 2159 03:15 KERKYRA 2331 03:25 KIEV 1171 01:55 KOS 2620 03:45 KRABI 8350 10:20 KRAKOW 1186 02:00 LANGKAWI 8560 10:25 LAS PALMAS 4700 06:10 LISBON 3369 04:50 LJUBLJANA 1713 02:40 LONDON 1863 03:10 MADRID 2950 04:25 MALAGA 3357 04:35 MANCHESTER 1817 03:00 MARSA ALAM 3932 05:10 MILAN 1953 03:05 MINSK 740 01:25 MOSCOW 876 01:40 MUNICH 1577 02:30 NAGOYA 7780 09:40 NEW YORK 6626 08:45 NICE 2202 03:25 NORRKÖPING 530 01:30 OSAKA 7751 09:30 OSLO 766 01:30 OVDA 3457 04:30 PALMA DE MALLORCA 2777 04:00 PAPHOS 2898 04:00 PARIS 1900 03:05 PHUKET 8312 10:05 PONTA DELGADA 4316 05:50

88 BLUE WINGS JUNE 2013

Great Circle Estimated Distances Flight km Times PRAGUE 1322 02:10 PREVEZA 2397 03:25 PUERTO PLATA via Scandinavia 8417 12:40 RHODES 2668 03:45 RIGA 382 00:55 RIMINI 1993 03:00 ROME 2235 03:25 SANTORINI 2660 03:40 SEOUL 7050 08:40 SHANGHAI 7410 09:05 SHARM EL SHEIKH 3664 05:00 SINGAPORE 9272 11:30 SKIATHOS 2353 03:30 SPLIT 1956 02:55 ST. PETERSBURG 301 01:00 STOCKHOLM 400 01:00 TALLINN 101 00:30 TARTU 245 00:50 TEL AVIV 3230 04:25 TENERIFE NORTE 4691 06:10 TENERIFE SUR 4745 06:10 TOKYO 7849 09:45 TORONTO 6619 08:50 VARADERO via Scandinavia 8665 12:55 VARNA 1911 02:55 VENICE 1847 02:55 VERONA 1903 02:55 VIENNA 1462 02:30 VILNIUS 633 01:15 WARSAW 940 01:40 XIAN 6421 07:50 ZAKYNTHOS 2526 03:55 ZÜRICH 1781 02:45

SCHEDULED DESTINATIONS 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 02:15 931 01:35 360 01:00 235 00:45

464 01:00 282 00:55 609 01:30 823 01:25 391 01:05 335 01:00 667 01:15 514 01:05 214 00:40 697 01:20 281 00:55 143 00:35 150 00:35 348 00:55 259 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 JUNE 2013

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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

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Arctic Ocean

Taiwan

Pacific Ocean

Indian Ocean

JUNE 2013

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FINNAIR INFO CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

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

The airline collaborates with many environmental and humanitarian organisations, and invites its frequent flyers to participate in these efforts by donating Finnair Plus points.

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

• From 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.

Finnair supports the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) goal of zeroemissions air travel by 2050, as well as a global emissions trading scheme.

• Finnair flies one of the youngest fleets in the business. The average aircraft age is 8.4 years. 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.

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• As part of the Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR) program, Finnair provides weather measurements to the Finnish National Weather Service and to a number of meteorological institutes globally.

• Through its collaboration with Nordic Offset, a Finnish 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.

• Finnair employees are offered continuous training and development opportunities.

The company also conducts an annual employee wellbeing survey, participates in campaigns promoting equal treatment at the workplace, and places a strong focus on occupational safety.

HOPEFUL JOURNEYS SINCE 1995 Finnair has collaborated with the

Association of Friends of the University Children’s Hospitals (“Lastenklinikoiden Kummit” in Finnish), a nonprofit charity organisation supporting five university children’s hospitals in Finland. In 2012, the organisation donated roughly 1.7 million euros to children’s hospitals and pediatric research. The most important aspect of Finnair’s partnership is the involvement of frequent flyers who donate Finnair Plus points towards flights for young patients requiring treatment outside of their home towns. Over the past three years, frequent flyer donations have purchased more than 1,000 Finnair flights.

“Usually our office receives notice, either via a social worker or nurse, of a patient who needs a flight,” says Anne Knaster, executive director at the Association of Friends of the University Children’s Hospitals. “These families are thankful for having just one less thing to worry about.”

In July and August you can learn more about the partnership via an information booklet in your seat pocket and an inflight video. To make a donation, go to POINTSHOP.FINNAIR.COM.

FINNAIR INFO ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

PARTNER OF THE SUMMER Passenger-donated Finnair Plus points support the efforts of the Finnish Red Cross. After the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, for example, Finnair Plus points helped transport water, canned goods and blankets to disaster victims.

HOW YOU CAN HELP At pointshop.finnair.com, members of Finnair’s frequent flyer programme can donate points to the following organisations: ☛ The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation ☛ The Association of Friends of the University Children’s Hospitals ☛ The Cancer Society of Finland

• Finnair supports groups such as the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation and UNICEF, and has provided humanitarian assistance during environmental crises including the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The airline has also worked with smaller organisations including Tikau and ENO, an environmental education programme.

• Finnair prioritises recycling: for example, the airline has donated cabin crew uniforms, blankets and other textiles to Uusix and GlobeHope, companies that turn used materials into design items.

• Finnair serves 16,000 meals

onboard daily, with more than 55 per cent of the waste going to recycling or re-use.

• 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. The recycling process begins during the flight.

• Plastic trays are washed and reused. In Business Class, washable dishes and utensils are used.

F

· innair’s emissions calculator (at www.finnair.com/emissionscalculator) 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.

☛ The Finnish Red Cross ☛ UNICEF ☛ The Baltic Sea Action Group

FIND OUT MORE Finnair has published an annual overview of its sustainability efforts since 1997. The 2012 Sustainability Report, available online, offers information on Finnair’s efforts in four areas: customers, personnel, operations and safety.

Visit www.finnairgroup.com/

responsibility/index.html to access the report.

BLOGS.FINNAIR.COM

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FINNAIR-INFO FLEET

AIRBUS A340-300 Number 7 Seating capacity 270/269 Length 63.6 m Wingspan 60.3 m Cruising speed 890 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 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 6 Seating capacity 136–196 Length 44.5 m Wingspan 34.1 m Cruising speed 840 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 11,900 m AIRBUS A320 Number 10 Seating capacity 110–165 Length 37.6 m Wingspan 34.1 m Cruising speed 840 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 11,900 m AIRBUS A319 Number 9 Seating capacity 105–138 Length 33.8 m Wingspan 34.1 m Cruising speed 840 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 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 4 Seating capacity 227 Length 47.3 m Wingspan 41.4 m Cruising speed 860 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 12,800 m

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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.

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.

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

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

Finnair Plus

oneworld

BASIC SILVER GOLD PLATINUM

--RUBY SAPPHIRE EMERALD

Benefits by tier

ADDITIONAL GOLD BENEFITS:

+ C onfirmed seat 48 hours before

+ + + + + +

Finnair flights (European or intercontinental for Business Class, intercontinental for Economy Class) P riority 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

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Frequently asked questions:

Q A

Q A

Q A

Q A Q A

How do i recover a lost password?

You can acquire a password online at FINNAIR.COM/PLUS by entering your user ID and last name. Your user ID is your Finnair Plus membership number without the AY-prefix or spaces. You will be sent a new password via email or SMS. I recently joined Finnair Plus. How soon will I get my membership card?

I f all of your membership information is up to date, we will mail your membership card as soon as the first transaction has been registered to your account.

Q A

I forgot to show my membership card before my flight.

How can I claim my points from a flight into my account?

Log in at WWW.FINNAIR.COM/PLUS and claim these points on the ”Missing points” page.

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Can I open a shared Finnair Plus account for my family?

Finnair Plus membership is personal, so collective family A memberships aren’t available. However, award points can be transferred between family members for a service fee. Should you like to transfer points, contact the Finnair Plus customer service centre at +358 9 818 888.

Can I buy more Finnair Plus points?

F innair Plus members have been able to purchase points from April 1 on. More information at WWW.FINNAIR.COM/PLUS. What can I do with my expiring points?

ou can use your Finnair Plus points to purchase services or Y products from our wide array of partners, including hotels and restaurants. You can, for example, use a combination of points and money to buy award vouchers. And don’t forget the extensive selection of products in the online Finnair PlusShop!

FINAVIA

FINNAIR PLUS FREQUENT FLYER BENEFITS

FINNAIR PLUS FREQUENT FLYER BENEFITS PARTNERS

SEE YOU OPPOSITE GATE 28!

OFFERS FOR FINNAIR PLUS MEMBERS IN JUNE, JULY AND AUGUST

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.

JUNE, JULY AND AUGUST

RAY- BAN SUNGLASSES -20% from tax-free prices JUNE

SELECTED MOSCHINO FRAGRANCES -20% from tax-free prices

JULY AND AUGUST

SELECTED BVLGARI FRAGRANCES -20% from tax-free prices

GATE 28

Buy points from home THERE'S AN easy way to increase your Finnair Plus point balance: log in to your account at finnair.com/plus, buy the amount of points you need, and spend them however

you wish: on flights, travel class upgrades, or products and services from our partners. You can also buy Finnair Plus points as a gift.

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FINNAIR PLUS PLUSSHOP

Shop online with Finnair Plus points HOME DELIVERY

Samsonite's B-lite Lighter Spinner cabin bag is a convenient choice for frequent travellers.

UPGRADED MODEL!

Samsonite's history in manufacturing long-lasting luggage goes back to the early 20th century. This 55-centimetretall-bag is designed for lightness and durability, weighing just over two kilograms. The dimensions (38 x 55 x 20 centimetres) comply with Finnair's recommendations for cabin baggage, and the fixed TSA lock enables secure travel to the US.

Regular price â‚Ź179 Member offer â‚Ź139 + 1,000 Finnair Plus points

THE ONLINE FINNAIR PLUSSHOP stocks over 3,000 items and delivers around the world. Pay with Finnair Plus points, money or a combination of both. Items will be shipped to your home or to your nearest post office.

FINNAIR PLUS PLUSSHOP

More PlusShop offers NEW MODEL!

NEW!

SAMSUNG QF30 FULL-HD VIDEO CAMERA €349, black or white Member offer €299 + 1,000 points

TTTM MOONHAMMOCK, KING SIZE €69.90 Member offer €50 + 1,000 points

PAULIG CUPSOLO VERUS CAPSULE COFFEE-MAKER Also get a free three-pack of capsules! €167 Member offer €139 + 1,000 points

RIEDEL OVERTURE CHAMPAGNE GLASS €30.20, set of 2 Member offer €25 + 1,000 points

POLAR RC3 GPS WITH HEART RATE €280, orange or black Member offer €249 + 1,000 points

NOKIAN HAI RUBBER BOOTS €65, different colours Member offer €49 + 1,000 points

GENEVA SOUND SYSTEM MODEL XS RADIO €199, white, red or black Member offer €169 + 1,000 points

WEBER Q120 GAS GRILL €243 Member offer €225 + 1,000 points

MARIMEKKO UNIKKO DUVET COVER AND PILLOW CASE €89, black, red, blue or orange Member offer €70 + 1,000 points

PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

WWW.FINNAIR.COM/PLUS