If you fly Finnair and have 3.180.000 points you can cash them in by purchasing an award voucher for breast augmentation at Nordstrom Hospital for Plastic Surgery (worth EUR 7,950).

Nota di Pao: Trovo ironico il fatto che in Italia la TNT abbia aderito* al Progetto10×10 di Quattroruote con il quale ci si impegna a ridurre del 10% le emissioni di CO2 dei veicoli e poi in Inghilterra sia inserita nella lista dei più cattivi in assoluto.

* Vedi > http://www.quattroruote.it/eco10×10/azienda_tnt.cfm

°°°

Rimandati a settembre, o forse addirittura bocciati. Questa dovrebbe essere la sorte scolastica di molte aziende inglesi, che dimostrano un atteggiamento ancora troppo poco collaborativo nelle proprie politiche ecologiche.

Secondo una ricerca britannica (promossa da Marketing magazine e Brand Republic, con la collaborazione di ENDS Carbon e l’Università di Edimburgo) dal titolo Brand Emissions che ha coinvolto 600 marchi, molti hanno ancora politiche ambientali lacunose e non pubblicano nemmeno i dati riguardanti le emissioni di gas serra. Ma non c’è limite al peggio e c’è chi addirittura, in tempi di allarme climatico, è riuscito ad aumentare le proprie emissioni di CO2.

Gli insufficienti, a vari livelli, sono circa i due terzi dei marchi più noti che sono molto lontani dall’obiettivo governativo del 2020 di ridurre le emissioni del 20 per cento rispetto al 1990.

Tra i più attenti all’ambiente troviamo Tesco, T-Mobile, Dell, BMW, Eurotunnel, Accenture, Standard Chartered, Ericsson, KPMG, AMD, mentre tra coloro che dimenticano di pubblicare le informazioni ci sono Google, McKinsey e Amazon.

Per ben 320 delle aziende osservate, tra cui Porsche, Harvey Nichols e McDonald’s, non è stato registrato alcun proposito di ridurre le proprie emissioni inquinanti. Inoltre 122 brand, tra cui Barclays, Sky e eBay, sono riusciti addirittura ad aumentare i propri gas serra nel corso del 2008.

Infine ci sono i più cattivi in assoluto, tra cui Acer, Juniper Networks, Billabong International, Finnair, Premier Inn, Costa, Gossard, Aegon, Unisys, TNT, ovvero quelli che sono riusciti nel duplice obiettivo di innalzare le emissioni di anidride carbonica e di non avere alcun proposito di cambiare.

Fonte: www.corriere.it

Her på kontoret har vi blandt andre Finnair som kunde, og i den forbindelse er jeg blevet gjort opmærksom på Finland – mere præcist hovedstaden Helsinki. Her i den søde juletid emmer Helsinkis gader af ægte julehygge og så er tøjet, skoene og accessorizesne omkring 25 % billigere end i Danmark. Jeg har endnu ikke selv været der, men hvis jeg tager et smut derover, så ville jeg da helt sikkert slå et smut forbi IVANAhelsinki, som har til huse her. S/S 2010 kollektionen er fyldt med farver og print.

Billeder fra IVANAhelsinki.com (S/S 2010)

Jag har fått positiva feedback för mitt inlägg om Finnair och deras bonussystem. Jag niger och tackar och skuttar för det. Så himla kul att ni tycker om inlägget. Det värmer i mitt lilla hjärta ska ni veta! Nu spinner jag vidare med min lista. Nu handlar om vad jag skulle vilja göra om jag har en massa bonuspoäng hos Finnair. Tyvärr reser jag för sällan (läs aldrig) med Finnair för att komma upp i några bonusnivåer. Men det kan ju inte hindra en från att drömma…

Så ser min lista ut. Dessa är saker som jag vill gärna göra, varesig med eller utan bonus. Kan faktiskt avslöja att jag har provat på en av dem sakerna. Det var så himla kul att jag vill göra det igen!

Vad skulle du välja för bonus om du fick?

Finnair este linia aeriana nationala a Finlandei. Hub-ulprincipal este pe Aeroportul Helsinki-Vantaa.

AS OF 2000GMT 17NOV09, Finnair announced it will RESUME SELECTED SCHEDULED SERVICE FROM 18NOV09. The airline hopes to operate all flights by the end of the week as the pilot strike ends.

Please check Finnair’s website for additional info on the strike update.

Following flights to be operated on 18NOV09:

AY021 HELSINKI – DELHI
AY041 HELSINKI – SEOUL
AY051 HELSINKI – BEIJING
AY057 HELSINKI – SHANGHAI
AY067 HELSINKI – HONG KONG
AY071 HELSINKI – TOKYO
AY079 HELSINKI – NAGOYA
AY095 HELSINKI – BANGKOK
AY153 HELSINKI – MOSCOW
AY154 MOSCOW – HELSINKI
AY165 HELSINKI – ST. PETERSBURG
AY166 ST. PETERSBURG – HELSINKI
AY359 HELSINKI – OULU
AY365 HELSINKI – OULU
AY366 OULU – HELSINKI
AY439 HELSINKI – ROVANIEMI
AY549 KUUSAMO – HELSINKI
AY549 HELSINKI – KUUSAMO
AY559 HELSINKI – KITTILÄ
AY559 HELSINKI – IVALO
AY559 KITTILÄ – HELSINKI
AY559 IVALO – HELSINKI
AY559 IVALO – KITTILÄ
AY641 HELSINKI – STOCKHOLM
AY642 STOCKHOLM – HELSINKI
AY645 HELSINKI – STOCKHOLM
AY646 STOCKHOLM – HELSINKI
AY649 HELSINKI – STOCKHOLM
AY650 STOCKHOLM – HELSINKI
AY657 HELSINKI – OSLO
AY658 OSLO – HELSINKI
AY665 HELSINKI – COPENHAGEN
AY666 COPENHAGEN – HELSINKI
AY667 HELSINKI – COPENHAGEN
AY668 COPENHAGEN – HELSINKI
AY675 HELSINKI – GOTHENBURG
AY676 GOTHENBURG – HELSINKI
AY677 HELSINKI – GOTHENBURG
AY678 GOTHENBURG – HELSINKI
AY703 HELSINKI – DUESSELDORF
AY704 DUESSELDORF – HELSINKI
AY745 HELSINKI – WARSAW
AY746 WARSAW – HELSINKI
AY793 HELSINKI – MILAN
AY794 MILAN – HELSINKI
AY807 HELSINKI – MUNICH
AY808 MUNICH – HELSINKI
AY811 HELSINKI – BRUSSELS
AY812 BRUSSELS – HELSINKI
AY817 HELSINKI – BRUSSELS
AY818 BRUSSELS – HELSINKI
AY821 HELSINKI – FRANKFURT
AY822 FRANKFURT – HELSINKI
AY825 HELSINKI – FRANKFURT
AY826 FRANKFURT – HELSINKI
AY831 HELSINKI – LONDON
AY832 LONDON – HELSINKI
AY839 HELSINKI – LONDON
AY840 LONDON – HELSINKI
AY845 HELSINKI – AMSTERDAM
AY846 AMSTERDAM – HELSINKI
AY852 HAMBURG – HELSINKI
AY853 HELSINKI – HAMBURG
AY861 HELSINKI – ZURICH
AY862 ZURICH – HELSINKI
AY873 HELSINKI – PARIS
AY874 PARIS – HELSINKI
AY879 HELSINKI – PARIS
AY880 PARIS – HELSINKI
AY911 HELSINKI – BERLIN
AY912 BERLIN – HELSINKI
AY917 HELSINKI – BERLIN
AY918 BERLIN – HELSINKI
AY3653 HELSINKI – ROME
AY3681 HELSINKI – MADRID
AY3685 HELSINKI – BARCELONA
AY3689 HELSINKI – MANCHESTER

Copyright Photo: Harri Koskinen. The Finnair fleet sits idle at Helsinki.

Finnair (Helsinki) issued the following statement this evening as the strike by the pilots has ended. Operations will gradually return to normal over the next few days.

Press release:

www.finnairgroup.com/group/group_11_1_1.html?&Id=hex_200911170000447189.html

As of 1620GMT 17NOV09, Finnair continue to suspend entire operation, including Leisure flights, on Wednesday 18NOV09.

Codeshare service operated by partner carriers remains unaffected.

When visitors arrive in Helsinki these days they’re most likely to arrive by air. They land at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. Very near is Helsingin Pitäjän Kirkonkylä, an idyllic village-scape (sorry about the word, suggestions for alternatives very welcome), with a church so pretty and atmospheric, not to mention old that it’s one of the metropolitan region’s favourite wedding venues. But passengers on their way into Helsinki city centre might see something like this.

(Photo by Esko Lius on flickr).

Or like this.

Perhaps this is why Helsinki’s mayor (Ylipormestari) Jussi Pajunen has, as reported in Monday’s Helsingin Sanomat, been rather forthright in what he thinks of this scene. It’s the shopping centre Jumbo, where he was taken on his tour of Vantaa, the “third” of the municipalities that make up Helsinki’s metropolitan area (Espoo is number 2).

Why? Because there has been a lot of talk of combining Helsinki and Vantaa recently and people are rightly interested in what the movers and shakers of urban politics think. Pajunen does seem to like monumental buildings/architecture when it’s in Helsinki’s city centre, but he definitely doesn’t like Jumbo and HS implies that he doesn’t think much of the rest of Vantaa either. All planned and built for cars, plastic christmas trees and people who enjoy fake swimming places. Yeuch!

Vantaa politicians and many others have rushed to condemn his judgemental and snobbish comments, not to mention his understanding of municipal finance. Millions, he had reportedly said, would be saved by adding Vantaa to Helsinki (as in, unifying Helsinki and Vantaa will really mean H:ki swallowing up Vantaa). Others are unclear as to where, exactly, and how, exactly, these savings would be made. But Pajunen isn’t exactly the first municipal politician to confuse running cities with running a business. On which topic, more later. Maybe.

Down the road from the offending Jumbo Finnair pilots are on strike less over money than over labour conditions or relations. It sounds quite complicated but there seems to be little sympathy for the striking pilots. On his blog Ppusa writes that he would like to see them reach an agreement so the pilots could all go back to work soon. “Sack them all”, screamed an economics professor in Uusi Suomi.

Well, it’s true that Finland and particularly its “economy” are totally dependent these days on air travel. Increasing speed is what made the world small and brought Helsinki “close” to London, after all. And what made that part of Vantaa the eyesore that it is today. And worsened carbon emmissions. It IS all a bit complicated.

“Finland’s Finnair airline is offering a promotion where you can cash in frequent-flier miles for plastic surgery, such as breast implants, face-lifts, and hair transplants

Read more: The Cut: New York Magazine’s Fashion Blog http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/#ixzz0X6BOJiTg

Making the world a prettier place.

Ilahduin, kun HS:n mielipide sivuilla tänään oli julkaistu kaksi kirjoitusta, joissa puolustettiin Finnairin pilottien työtaistelua. Molemmat kirjoitukset olivat asiallisia ja osuivat asioiden ytimeen. Annan kaiken tukeni työtaisteluun.

Pahoittelen ilmailu- ja matkailualan muiden ammattilaisten vaikeuksia ja tuskaisia lisätöitä.  

Pilotit ovat tiukan karsinnan läpi käyneitä alansa huippuammattilaisia. Nykyään monella on lentolupakirjan lisäksi toinenkin tutkinto ja korkeakoulupaperit. Päätökset ovat tarkkaan harkittuja nyt lakossakin ja pitkällä tähtäimellä myös lentoyhtiönsä eduksi. Kirjoitin aiheesta 10.09.2009 otsikon -Finnairin pilottien puolesta- alla enemmän.

Ex mieheni oli Swissairin pilottien ammattiyhdistyksen presidentti ja arvata saattaa, että meillä kotona asioista keskusteltiin. Ulkoistaminen ja vierastyövoima oli jo tuolloin 1994- 1996 tapetilla, eikä sitä voinut hyväksyä.

1. Jason Wu will collab with Yue [Stylelist]

2. Save Luella! [Fashionista]

3. Emanuel Ungaro has dug his own grave. The label was just dropped by Neiman Marcus and Net-A-Porter. Outside of his own stores and Vivaldi, the label cannot be found. By this rate Ungaro will turn into a novelty item. [Style.com]

4. Rumor has it Ashley Simpson may be on Vogue. But, that’s not why she appears in retail news. She’s aiming high with preppy-punk designs brought to you by the ex-Melrose Place actress – sign of a girl with too much time on her hands. [Hollyscoop]

5. Despite losses in Q1 and Q2, Bulgari sees $10 million Q3 profits. Oh joy! [WWD]

6. Zero+Maria Cornejo will debut a full menswear collection for the spring. [Racked]

7. It’s time to rack up the flights to Finland. Trade in your Finnair airline frequent-flier miles for plastic surgery. Your eyes aren’t decieving you. We said plastic surgery. [Allure]

Due to pilot strike, Finnair is canceling all operations. However, the airline plans to operate the Leisure flight service regardless the strike.  Codeshare service operated by other carriers, are unaffected.  Service operated by Finncomm, remains unaffected.

All info below are as of 0200GMT 17NOV09 and further adjustments expected.  Operation on and beyond 18NOV09 is UNKNOWN. Updated info on Finnair site can be found here.

On 16NOV09, only Bangkok to Helsinki AY090/096 operated.
On 17NOV09, ALL Finnair SCHEDULED flights canceled

For Leisure flight, following operated on 16NOV09:

AY1375 Helsinki-Funchal
AY1376 Funchal-Helsinki
AY1620 Tenerife-Helsinki
AY1621 Helsinki-Tenerife
AY1905 Helsinki-Hurghada
AY1906 Hurghada-Helsinki
AY2849 Helsinki-Larnaca
AY2850 Larnaca-Helsinki
AY2935 Helsinki-Ponte Delgada
AY2936 Ponte Delgada-Helsinki

Following CANCELED on 16NOV09

AY1973 Helsinki-Fortaleza
AY2987 Helsinki-Miami
AY2988 Miami-Helsinki (17 November)

On 17NOV09, Leisure flights operated by Finnair, has not yet been canceled (as of 17NOV09 0200GMT). In addition, leisure flight operated by other carrier’s aircraft is operating:

AY1907 Helsinki – Hurghada, operated by Air Finland
AY1908 Hurghada – Helsinki, operated by Air Finland
AY1911 Helsinki – Sharm el Sheikh, operated by Air Finland
AY1912 Sharm el Sheikh – Helsinki, operated by Air Finland
AY1959 Helsinki – Phuket, operated by Finnair
AY1960 Phuket – Helsinki, operated by Finnair
AY2945 Helsinki – Dubai, operated by Finnair
AY2946 Dubaí – Helsinki, operated by Finnair

Dagens skratt fick jag tack vare Finnair. På GPs nättidning kan man idag läsa om Finnairs nya och udda bonussystem. Som alla vet så lockar olika företag med olika slags bonus och klubberbjudande. Detta är inget ovanligt och sker ständigt omkring oss. Däremot så blir man lite paff när det kommer till silikon-implant och hår-implant som bonus. För det är vad FinnAir erbjuder sina trognaste(?) resenärer. För 3,2 miljoner poäng kan man få en bröstoperation utförd av Finlands mest kände plastikkirurg, Rolf Norström.

Varför bröstförstoring? Joo, enligt den ansvarige för själva bonussystemet kan männen välja “allt från cyklar till bilar” medan kvinnor… Tja, vad ska man säga? Schysst av dem att slänga in ett erbjudande som gör att  kvinnorna känner sig speciellt utvalda.

Först trodde jag att det var ett April skämt fast i November. Men tydligen inte… Sen börjar jag fundera lite…

Varför just bröstoperation? Finns det inget annat som är “lämplig” för oss kvinnor? Är det kvinnor + silikoner = sant??? Jag trodde det var en massa kirurgiska ingrepp en kvinna som kan göra utöver bröstförstoring. Tex förstoring av olika delar, fettsugning eller fixa till ögonen/valfri del. Iofs passar dessa ingrepp på män också. Vem vill inte ha mindre fett och slankare kropp?  Jag vill det och en hel del som jag känner vill det också.

Sen kan man diskutera VARFÖR vi måste göra dessa ingrepp. För oss själva, för andra eller för alla. Vem sätter ribban? Hon som ser så slank och snygg ut eller min partner som trånar efter henne? Eller jag som vill att min partner ska tråna efter mig istället…

Jag kan erkänna att jag har haft perioder som jag vill se annorlunda ut, dvs snyggare. Men jag kom fram till att resultatet skulle bli nåt annat. Om jag skulle ändra på min näsa så kommer den se för perfekt ut och resten av ansiktet se “för ful” ut. Då kommer jag antagligen vill ändra på resten också. Tillslut kommer jag att se ut som Michael Jackson (RIP). DET är värre än att ha en ful näsa! 

Oavsett hur jag ser ut så är det en bild som Gud har skapat -för mig. Han skapar en människa som inte endast har ett yttre utan även ett inre. Hos en del är det yttre som är ”grejen”, skönheten, som väcker uppmärksamhet.  Medan hos en del är det inre som är “grejen”, som ibland inte märks. Däremot är den delen betydligt vackrare än all skönhet och dyrbare än all smycke. För ett gott hjärta och en fin personlighet är den egentliga gåvan från Gud till oss. Den perfekta gåvan – som inte kan göras med nåt ingrepp alls.

Må alla va nöjda med sig själva och använd pengarna till nåt vettigare. Res med FinnAir till exempel.

Bild av Donna McWilliam

PoK

Finncomm Airlines (Finnish Commuter Airlines) (Helsinki) will lease two Embraer ERJ 170s from Finnair. The first is due tomorrow (November 16).

Finnair’s (Helsinki) 800 pilots, represented by the Finnish Airline Pilots Association, have rejected mediation and will strike the flag carrier tomorrow (November 16). The company has stated this will ground the carrier.

News link:

biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/11/15/business/20091115072743&sec=business

..leaves many on the ground starting from today. Finnair and the pilots have not been able to agree about conditions relating to the outsourcing of pilots.

Finnair is one of the oldest and safest airlines in the world and a pioneer in non-stop flights from Europe to Japanese and Chinese major cities. Today its “operations focus on transporting passengers between Europe and Asia, via Helsinki.”

I hope an agreement can be found quickly that allows Finnair to be a successful airline also in the future. Having one in Finland is crucial as we don’t have any quick land connections to any major foreign cities.

The plane in the photo is a DC-3 that Finnair hasn’t used since 1967.

EASA pilots require a “systematic control” of jet fuel Ryanair

Air France Trims Frills to Combat EasyJet, Eurostar

EasyJet’s Stelios Says Ryanair Growth Plan Is ‘Do-or-Die’ Folly

London Stansted airline EasyJet provides extra flights from ex-Ryanair base

Gulf Air prepares workforce cuts

Alcohol tests catch 11 pilots a year

Turkish Airlines confirms order for three A330

Virgin Atlantic helps passengers find taxi companion

Singapore Airlines incurs second quarterly straight loss

Finnair appoints new CEO

Iberia Cabin Crew Union Extends Strike

BA Iberia merger set for takeoff

Malaysian airline sells 300,000 seats in 24 hours

Mexican airline Mexicana has joined Oneworld as its eleventh full member, with its subsidiaries MexicanaClick and MexicanaLink becoming affiliate members of the alliance. The 3 airlines bring forth an extensive Central American network to Oneworld, extending the alliance’s reach to almost 700 destinations in nearly 150 countries.

As part of Oneworld, members of the MexicanaGo frequent flyer program can now earn and redeem mileage awards on any of its partner airlines, with Conquer, Discover and Explore cardholders being accorded Oneworld Emerald, Sapphire and Ruby status respectively. The 100 million members enrolled in the frequent flyer programs of the other Oneworld member airlines will also be able to earn and redeem awards, as well as receive benefits on Mexicana and its subsidiaries.

To commemorate the joining, Mexicana has unveiled 2 aircraft, an Airbus A320 and a Boeing 717, in a special Oneworld livery at its hub at Mexico City’s Benito Juárez International Airport as part of a rebranding and marketing campaign. The airline will also have its logo added to the alliance and its member airlines’ marketing platforms, while featuring the Oneworld emblem on its aircraft, advertising, publications and stationery.

Together with its affiliates, Mexicana serves 67 destinations in 14 countries using a combined fleet of 105 Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier and Fokker aircraft from its hubs in Mexico City, Cancun and Guadalajara. The airline joins American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Malév Hungarian Airlines, Qantas and Royal Jordanian in Oneworld, which was recently voted the World’s Leading Airline Alliance at the 2009 World Travel Awards for the seventh year running.

For more information, visit www.mexicana.com and www.oneworld.com.

Recently I had to deal with two different airlines and their customer service.
First up is Alitalia that I use regularly for flights to Rome, this time I was flying business so I was curious to compare the perks. Guess what, you get the same squeaky chairs, old carpet and late arrivals. The only difference is that coffee comes with real milk (instead of powder) and cutlery is metal not plastic. That definitely is worth paying few hundred pounds extra, what do you think?
My other experience was with Finnair. I received note from travel agent that my Finnair flight to Mumbai is cancelled. Agent claimed that re-routing is not possible and refund would take 6-8 weeks, which obviously did not make me too happy. I was not deterred by this and tried calling Finnair directly. Sure enough, they said that re-routing is possible (my preferred option) and promised to call me back within working day. Based on my previous experiences I thought it would be the last I hear from them, but next day I did get the call back, from the same lady I spoke earlier and she had managed to change my flight, no extra charges. So here you go, you don’t get if you don’t ask.
Alitalia would long be out of business if not for Mr. Berlusconi nationalism. Not sure how Finnair is doing, but they deserve to stay in the game, if not only for their excellent customer service.