Finnair has marked its 100th anniversary of flying.
While Finland’s national flag carrier turned 100, as an airline and company, last November, its first actual flight – from Helsinki to Estonia’s capital Tallinn – took off on March 20 1924.
Finnair was founded, as Aero O/Y, on November 1, 1923; but first flew the following March via a Junkers F 13 D-335 Regenpfeifer carrying 4 passengers, cargo and mail to Estonia.
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The Helsinki to Tallinn route remains integral to Finnair’s network, with up to 10 daily flights operating between the two capitals.
Anssi Partanen, Finnair European Market Director, said: “We are extremely proud to be celebrating 100 years since our first flight took off from Helsinki, bound for Tallinn, Estonia.
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“Estonia is an incredibly important market for Finnair, so it is great to be marking both a century since Finnair’s first-ever commercial flight and also 100 years of serving the Baltics – an increasingly popular market for those travelling from the UK and Ireland.”
The anniversary comes just days ahead of Finnair’s relaunch of direct flights between Helsinki and Tartu – Estonia’s second city and a European Capital of Culture 2024.