Book Review of
Finnair A Century of Nordic Aviation
Author: Jozef Mols
Key Books
ISBN: 978-1-80282-194-9
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $24.95
ISBN: 978-1-80282-194-9
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $24.95
HISTORY:
Aero Oy, which was later rebranded as Finnair, is one of the oldest surviving airlines in the world. The airline was established in 1923 and started up domestic flights alongside routes to the Nordic and Baltic regions. In the beginning, Aero Oy used German Junkers F-13 aircraft, as Junker Flugzeugwerke AG was a shareholder of the airline.
The airline continued to use Junkers aircraft, such as the G24 and G52, even after Finish shareholders had bought back Junkers’ shares. During WWII Finland was occupied by Russian troops, followed by the Germans and then the Allies. Still, Aero Oy managed to continue its operations. After the war, thanks to its geographic location, Finnair was able to start up several routes to the Soviet Union. Later on, the airline was the first carrier in the world to connect Europe with Asia via a Polar route, which was considerably shorter than the conventional routes via Russia or the Persian Gulf.
Both passenger and cargo flights in Asia became Finnair’s main source of income, at a time when China was opening up the new Silk Road. Of course, Finnair was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic like most other airlines around the world. While this is an ongoing problem, Finnair is taking steps to guarantee the further growth of the airline once the pandemic is over.
THE BOOK:
Key Books is based in the UK.
This book is of soft-cover, with 96 pages in 6 ¾” x 91/2” page format. I recently got 10 Key Books to review and all of them have the same page count and page size.
With 137 images this book charts Finnair’s history from the very beginnings and shows how it has survived through the years.
The front cover art is a color photo of an Airbus A350 XWB in flight. It is overall white with a large black FINNAIR on its fuselage sides and a stylized large black letter F on its rudder sides.
The back cover shows a color photo of part of the Finnair Fleet at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.
In the pre-war section of the book, under the Aero-Oy brand, there are black and white photos of a Junkers F-13 shown on skis, pontoons and wheels. A Junkers JU-52 on floats, its passenger compartment interior, a DH-89 Dragon Rapide and an Aero-Oy’s passenger ticket
Black and white photos of aircraft used during the war are: An Aero-Oy Douglas DC-2 and DC-3 (shown with passengers standing beside the DC-3). A Convair 340 Metropolitan, its cabin and crew inside it.
During the jet-age a Kar Air DC-3 and Convair 440. Finnair’s Caravelle and Super Caravelle and DC-8 and a tourist aboard the DC-8.
A Finnair time-table from 1967, that also shows the route network.
Pilots, a certificate that was given to passengers that had crossed the Polar Circle.
For international operations, shown are: a Douglas DC-6B, used by Finnair and Kar Air.
A Finnair DC-9-10, DC-9-50, DC-10, DC-10-30, Fokker F27, Saab 340, DC-9 Super 82, MD-83, MD-87, Airbus A-4 mg and an ATR-42.
The “Santa Claus” aircraft was a Douglas MD-11 and a MD-82 shown with Santa inside a terminal.
A color photo of Rovaniemi Airport, a Finnair Boeing 757-200, ATR-72, ATR-42, an Airbus A221-200, A319-100, A320 and A321.
Inside a terminal storage area, a food catering crew, food, an Air Finland Boeing 757 and Embraer E-170, E-190, Airbus A340, A330-300, Moomin MD-11.
A flight attendant with a stuffed toy Moomin character. The “Angry Bird” insignias. A terminal, pilots, Airbus A350 XMS and its interior. A sign that says “In fact, small is beautiful and we’re cutting our carbon emissions 50% by 2050”. A color photo of Finnair’s Business Class Lounge interior. A sign celebrating 50 years of service to New York in 2010, with a flight attendant standing beside it.
Finnair during the Covid epidemic story.
Two pages listing accidents and incidents.
A page and a third of fleet details.
Three and a half pages of references.
This book truly tells IT ALL about Finnair. It will be of interest to modelers and aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Key Books and all Key titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Aero Oy, which was later rebranded as Finnair, is one of the oldest surviving airlines in the world. The airline was established in 1923 and started up domestic flights alongside routes to the Nordic and Baltic regions. In the beginning, Aero Oy used German Junkers F-13 aircraft, as Junker Flugzeugwerke AG was a shareholder of the airline.
The airline continued to use Junkers aircraft, such as the G24 and G52, even after Finish shareholders had bought back Junkers’ shares. During WWII Finland was occupied by Russian troops, followed by the Germans and then the Allies. Still, Aero Oy managed to continue its operations. After the war, thanks to its geographic location, Finnair was able to start up several routes to the Soviet Union. Later on, the airline was the first carrier in the world to connect Europe with Asia via a Polar route, which was considerably shorter than the conventional routes via Russia or the Persian Gulf.
Both passenger and cargo flights in Asia became Finnair’s main source of income, at a time when China was opening up the new Silk Road. Of course, Finnair was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic like most other airlines around the world. While this is an ongoing problem, Finnair is taking steps to guarantee the further growth of the airline once the pandemic is over.
THE BOOK:
Key Books is based in the UK.
This book is of soft-cover, with 96 pages in 6 ¾” x 91/2” page format. I recently got 10 Key Books to review and all of them have the same page count and page size.
With 137 images this book charts Finnair’s history from the very beginnings and shows how it has survived through the years.
The front cover art is a color photo of an Airbus A350 XWB in flight. It is overall white with a large black FINNAIR on its fuselage sides and a stylized large black letter F on its rudder sides.
The back cover shows a color photo of part of the Finnair Fleet at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.
In the pre-war section of the book, under the Aero-Oy brand, there are black and white photos of a Junkers F-13 shown on skis, pontoons and wheels. A Junkers JU-52 on floats, its passenger compartment interior, a DH-89 Dragon Rapide and an Aero-Oy’s passenger ticket
Black and white photos of aircraft used during the war are: An Aero-Oy Douglas DC-2 and DC-3 (shown with passengers standing beside the DC-3). A Convair 340 Metropolitan, its cabin and crew inside it.
During the jet-age a Kar Air DC-3 and Convair 440. Finnair’s Caravelle and Super Caravelle and DC-8 and a tourist aboard the DC-8.
A Finnair time-table from 1967, that also shows the route network.
Pilots, a certificate that was given to passengers that had crossed the Polar Circle.
For international operations, shown are: a Douglas DC-6B, used by Finnair and Kar Air.
A Finnair DC-9-10, DC-9-50, DC-10, DC-10-30, Fokker F27, Saab 340, DC-9 Super 82, MD-83, MD-87, Airbus A-4 mg and an ATR-42.
The “Santa Claus” aircraft was a Douglas MD-11 and a MD-82 shown with Santa inside a terminal.
A color photo of Rovaniemi Airport, a Finnair Boeing 757-200, ATR-72, ATR-42, an Airbus A221-200, A319-100, A320 and A321.
Inside a terminal storage area, a food catering crew, food, an Air Finland Boeing 757 and Embraer E-170, E-190, Airbus A340, A330-300, Moomin MD-11.
A flight attendant with a stuffed toy Moomin character. The “Angry Bird” insignias. A terminal, pilots, Airbus A350 XMS and its interior. A sign that says “In fact, small is beautiful and we’re cutting our carbon emissions 50% by 2050”. A color photo of Finnair’s Business Class Lounge interior. A sign celebrating 50 years of service to New York in 2010, with a flight attendant standing beside it.
Finnair during the Covid epidemic story.
Two pages listing accidents and incidents.
A page and a third of fleet details.
Three and a half pages of references.
This book truly tells IT ALL about Finnair. It will be of interest to modelers and aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Key Books and all Key titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly recommended.