Finnair is the national airline of Finland. The main hub of the company is Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. The airline dominates together with some smaller companies the air-travel market in FinCountry. The government owns a big part of the company, since they have 60% of the shares. Finnair has more than 60 destinations, of which 16 are in the own contry. The others are to be found in 30 other countries. The firm has joined airline alliance Oneworld in 1999.

The airline is the seconds safest in the world. Since 1963, there have been no fatal crahes. Only Alleen Qantas is safer to fly with.

Finnair was established in 1923 as Aero OY. That name would be adopted by a subsidiary later. The firm is one of the oldest airlines in the world. The first flight occurred on March 20, 1924 and flew its passengers from Helsinki to Tallin (Estonia). On the fifth of May 1969, the first trans-Atlanitic flights were accomplished.

The Second World War was a hard time for Finnair. The German attacks on Finnish cities contributed to the difficulties as well. On top of all, half of the fleet was requisitioned by the Finnish air force. After the war, Finnair could become an important airline in Europe.

The jet-age for Finnair in 1961, when the company bought some Caravelles. Later, the Douglas DC-8 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 were added to the fleet. In 1989, Finnair turned out to be one of the biggest customers of McDonnell Douglas because the airline purchased so many MD-11's. Subsidiary Aero OY flies mostly with ATR-72's.

The past few years, Finnair started with renewing its fleet. It does so with the new Airbus A340. Even more Airbusses will follow, a direct cause to the phasing out of the MD-11.