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 Junkers Flugzeugwerke AG was a shareholder of the airline. The airline continued to use Junkers aircraft, such as the G 24 and Ju 52, even after Finnish shareholders had bought back Junkers' shares. During World War Two, 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 is considerably shorter than the conventional routes via Russia or the Persian Gulf. Both passenger and cargo flights to 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. With over 140 images, this book charts Finnair's history from the very beginning and shows how it has survived through the years.

About the Author
Jozef Mols was born in Antwerp on May 28, 1951. He studied applied economics with emphasis on marketing, consular sciences and economics of Third World Countries. At the end of his studies, he organized an expedition with 26 co-students (economics of the Third World Countries) to Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan. Subsequently, he lived in the Persian Gulf as an analyst and visited Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi-Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman on assignment. Afterwards, he continued the same work but based in Paris and, subsequently, Rome. In 1987, he returned to Belgium to start teaching at several institutes for higher education. Upon this return in Belgium in 1997, he continued to teach. In 2002, he retired from education and started a full-time career as a writer and speaker. Jozef has had been writing magazine articles for over 40 years and has been published in numerous travel, lifestyle and aviation magazines, including Pilot Club, Airliner World, Airports of the World, Aviation News, Piloot en Vliegtuig and Ambassadeurs.


Book Information
ISBN 9781802821949
Author Josef Mols
Format Paperback
Page Count 96
Imprint Key Publishing Ltd
Publisher Key Publishing Ltd