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.
SUMMER 2013
BLUE WINGS
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