Blue Wings Insipiration issue April 2016 by Finnair_BlueWings

INSPIRATION ISSUE TRENDS, DESTINATIONS AND INSIGHTS FOR TRAVELLERS

APRIL 2016

UNFORGETTABLE

DIVING IN MALTA TRAILSPOTTING

IN ENGLAND

Your personal copy

RELAXING IN JAPANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S

HOT SPRINGS

Top chefs are crafting new

Nordic fare

VEPSÄLÄINEN 60TH ANNIVERSARY HÄSTENS LIMITED EDITION

Vepsäläisen asiakkaille valmistettu 600 Hästensin erikoiserä tarjoaa luksusta, joka täydentää upeimmankin kodin sisustuksen. Vepsäläinen 60th Anniversary Hästens Limited Edition on tarjolla rajoitetun ajan. Vuoteet on viimeistelty numeroidulla nimilaatalla, varaa omasi heti: vepsalainen.com/hastens

100€/KK

NOUSUKAUSI

RAHOITUS*

Vepsäläinen 60th Anniversary Hästens Limited Edition sisältää 2 kpl 90 x 200 cm runkopatjoja, 1 kpl 180 x 200 cm BJ-jouhisijauspatjan ja tammijalat. Medium tai tukeva jousitus. Verhoilukangas: musta-, harmaa- tai siniruutu. Norm. 7.700 € NYT 6.000 € Etu 1.700 € 60 erässä: 100 €/kk

HÄSTENS STORE HELSINKI, Mannerheimintie 8, 00100 Helsinki, tel. 020 780 1370, hastens.com Hankintoja helpottaa TUOHI MasterCard -luotto, jolla maksat ostoksesi tasaerissä jopa 60 kuukauden aikana ilman korkoja ja kuluja. Maksaessasi ostokset TUOHELLA 18.2.–30.6.2016 *välisenä aikana saat ostolle jopa 60 kk korotonta ja kulutonta maksuaikaa tasaerissä. Tätä kutsutaan Nousukausirahoitukseksi. TUOHEN muusta käytöstä maksat korot ja kulut sopimusehtojen mukaisesti. TUOHI MasterCard on kansainvälinen maksuaika- ja luottokortti. TUOHEN todellinen vuosikorko laskettuna 1.500 euron käytössä olevalle luotolle on 20,6 %. Laskennassa on käytetty 3 kk:n euriborkorkoa (2/2016) ja siinä on huomioitu kuukausittainen tilinhoitomaksu. TUOHI on jatkuva luotto, se on voimassa toistaiseksi, ja sen myöntää Nordea Rahoitus Suomi Oy, Aleksis Kiven katu 9, Helsinki. Luottoraja on 1.000–10.000 euroa, korko on 3 kuukauden euriborkorko +12 % ja tilinhoitomaksu on 5 euroa kuukaudessa, ei vuosimaksua. Lisätiedot tuohi. fi. Nousukausirahoitus ei ole käytössä Vepsäläisen verkkokaupassa.

EDITORIAL BY ARJA SUOMINEN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

WWW.FINNAIR.COM

SANOMA MEDIA FINLAND HEAD OFFICE

CONTENT DESIGNER Amanda Soila VISUAL DESIGNER Sirpa Ärmänen SUB-EDITOR Shelly Nyqvist VISUAL ASSISTANT Iris Mark ENGLISH EDITING Silja Kudel REPROGRAPHICS Faktor Oy ON THE COVER Steven Liu ZouWei Photo BEHIND THIS ISSUE Tim Bird, Tuomas Harjumaaskola, Kati Heikinheimo, Laura Iisalo, Silja Kudel, Mirva Lempiäinen, Tanja Mikkola, Ville Palonen, Laura Palotie, Katja Pantzar, Hernan Patiño, Mikko Peura, Anu Piippo, Juha Salminen, Anni-Julia Tuomisto, Peter Weld, and ZouWei Photo SUBMISSIONS bluewings@headofficefinland.fi BLUE WINGS ONLINE www.issuu.com/headofficefinland EDITORIAL OFFICES Porkkalankatu 20 A, 00180 Helsinki, Finland, Postal address P.O.Box 100, 00040 Sanoma, Finland, tel. +358 9 1201, firstname.lastname@headofficefinland.fi ADVERTISING SALES Media Assistant Sirkka Pulkkinen tel. +358 9 120 5921 PUBLISHER Sanoma Media Finland PRINTED BY Punamusta, Joensuu, Finland 2016 PAPER UPM Valor 61g Cover paper Stora Enso LumiArt 200g CIRCULATION 60,000 ISSN-0358-7703

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Arja Suominen arja.suominen@finnair.com FINNAIR HEAD OFFICE Tietotie 9 A, Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, 1053 Finnair, Finland, tel. +358 (0)9 818 81, Postal address: P. O. Box 15, 01053 Finnair, Finland CUSTOMER FEEDBACK www.finnair.com/feedback or by mail: Customer Relations, SL/403, FI-01053 FINNAIR. www.finnair.com, www.finnair.fi www.finnairgroup.com

Delicious journeys

he older I get, the more I collect experiences rather than souvenirs from my trips. Some of my best travel memories include meals that I have enjoyed all over the world. When I close my eyes, I can recall delicious moments from China, Japan, Nepal, France, Italy, and Brazil. At Finnair, we offer memorable culinary experiences onboard. On our long-haul flights, our Business Class Signature Menus are created by top chefs: Sasu Laukkonen from Helsinki’s Michelin-starred Chef & Sommelier; Jaakko Sorsa, the Finnish chef behind Hong Kong’s highly regarded FINDS restaurant; and Chinese celebrity chef Steven Liu, who is featured on this month’s Blue Wings cover (See full story p. 32).

In our cooperation with Sasu Laukkonen, Finnair wants to honour its Nordic roots and bring the pure Nordic flavours to passengers on our long-haul flights. Our first Signature Menu partner from Asia, chef Steven Liu, highlights Asian flavours in his dishes served on Finnair’s longhaul flights from Beijing and Shanghai. For flights departing from Hong Kong, we continue our cooperation with wellknown Finnish chef Jaakko Sorsa. We also have good news for ice cream lovers: this month we start serving Finnish organic Jymy ice cream onboard Business Class of Finnair long-haul flights. Wishing you a memorable – and delicious – flight!

Helsinki’s Michelinstarred Chef and Sommelier features carefully chosen organic and wild ingredients in modern, original Finnish cooking. chefetsommelier.fi

Arja Suominen

Organic Jymy ice cream uses wild berries, roasted coffee beans, dark chocolate, and vanilla for mouth-watering results. Available at select grocers and restaurants in Finland. jymy.fi

FINDS in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui serves up excellent Nordic cuisine from Finland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden. finds.com.hk

APRIL 2016

BLUE WINGS

NUKU HYVIN TÄSTÄ LÄHTIEN. TÄYSIN UUDISTUNUT JENSENMALLISTO NYT ESITTELYSSÄ!

Jo vuodesta 1947 lähtien, Jensen on kehittänyt vuoteiden ominaisuuksia käyttämällä aina uusimpia menetelmiä ja kaikkein moderneimpia materiaaleja. Optimaaliseen nukkumismukavuuteen pyrkiminen on tuottanut myös innovaatioita – kuten entistäkin paremman ja myötäilevämmän Jensen Aloy 2.0 -jousitusjärjestelmän. Kuvan Nordic Seamless on ainutlaatuinen runkopatjavuode. Siinä on kaksi erillistä runkoa, mutta yhtenäinen joustinpatja ja verhoilu, jolloin nukkujien väliin ei jää rakoja eikä reunoja. Hyvää yötä, www.vepsalainen.com

IN THIS ISSUE

INSPIRATION 2016

Steven Liu tickles your taste buds with Nordic flavours.

LIFESTYLE CULINARY JOURNEYS IN THE SKY

Meet celebrity chefs who cook up sky high meals for Finnair

DESTINATION GET READY FOR RIO

What to do and where to go during the Summer Olympics

DESTINATION STEAMY STUFF IN KYUSHU

Japan’s hot springs paradise is an experience not to be missed

32 The colourful steps of Rio

32 40 44 50

LIFESTYLE TOP 5 GREEK ISLAND SECRETS Explore the mythological land of Leros

BUSINESS THE NEXT BIG THING

Service design is Finland’s hottest new export

DESTINATION WELCOME TO SWALEDALE

Take a walk on the rugged side of England’s Yorkshire Dales

58 66

LIFESTYLE FINNAIR DESIGNER CLASS

Vertti Kivi creates a brilliant space inside the A350

DESTINATION TAKE THE PLUNGE IN MALTA Gozo is an underwater sanctuary for divers

TAKEOFF NEWS

Blind date travel............................12

TECH

The latest gadgets.......................14

CULTURE

Hybrid creative spaces .............. 16

FOOD&DRINK

Artisan ice cream..........................18 Japan’s Kyushu island is a popular onsen bath destination.

WELLBEING

Soul-searching holidays ...............20

DESTINATION

The holy site of Shinto.............. 22

WORLD

Pop-up opera Down Under..... 24

HELSINKI

On trend: paper.............................26

MAKERS OF FINLAND

Dream come true for Tebian.. 28

TRAVEL TRENDS

Terminal hangouts.......................29 APRIL 2016

BLUE WINGS

IN THIS ISSUE

Hiking the Swaledale trail in England’s Yorkshire Dales.

We meet the design team behind the bright and spacious cabin of Finnair’s A350 fleet.

The brilliant underwater blue of Malta’s Gozo island

REGULARS

Travel Moment............................................ 8

Alexander Stubb.....................................38 Stefan Nilsson..........................................56 Finland in figures.................................... 98

FLY FINNAIR

Tips for takeoff........................................ 80 Inflight wellbeing.................................... 81 Entertainment.......................................... 82 Shopping..................................................... 83

Tanzania, p. 8 Guangzhou, p. 11 Ise, Mie, Japan, p. 22 Helsinki, p. 26, 37 Shanghai, p. 33 Hong Kong, p. 34

Sustainability............................................. 84 Border crossings..................................... 85 Helsinki Airport ....................................... 86 Maps and destinations......................... 88 Fleet.............................................................. 92 Frequent flyer benefits........................ 94 6 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

Check this month’s pre-order offers on page 83

Rio de Janeiro, p. 40 Kyushu, p. 44 Leros, p. 50 Yorkshire Dales, p. 58 Gozo, p. 70

8 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

TRAVEL MOMENT BY VILLE PALONEN

HERO RATS

APOPO is a Belgian non-governmental organisation with an extraordinary agenda: training African giant pouched rats to detect landmines. At the NGO’s headquarters in Morogoro, Tanzania, rats are also trained to identify tuberculosis samples. These giant rats are fondly referred to as ‘HeroRATs’ because they save lives. APOPO has used them for landmine detection in Angola and Mozambique, and now the rats are being deployed along the border areas of Cambodia.

African giant pouched rats are relatively inexpensive to breed, and training is done using a simple conditioning technique: find a bomb, get a treat. After only a few months of training, a HeroRAT is able to inspect a mined area much faster than a person with a metal detector. But don’t worry, these rats are too light to set off a landmine! Even though rats do not bond closely with humans, APOPO trainers treat these tiny heroes with all the affection they deserve. APRIL 2016

BLUE WINGS

Suosikkikenttäsi?

Kaikki niistä.

Platinum-kortinhaltijana saat vapaan ja rajattoman pääsyn yli 850 Priority Pass -lentokenttäloungeen ympäri maailman. americanexpress.fi/platinumcard

TAKEOFF

NEWS / TECH / CULTURE / FOOD AND DRINK / WELLBEING / DESTINATION / WORLD / HELSINKI

GUANGZHOU

Super-sized city break

N A C

s to flie our r i na uf Fin gzho ek an we mer Gu es a m sum ti he t . ing ason m dur se .co air n n fi

TEXT AND PHOTO BY TUOMAS HARJUMAASKOLA

GUANGZHOU is China's third largest city with some 13 million inhabitants and is best known for its super-sized trade show, the Canton Fair. Considered one of the country’s most international cities, Guangzhou is an easy travel destination — where one has a better chance of getting by in English than in most other Chinese cities. The metropolis’s thriving dining

and shopping scene is celebrated for its wealth of options. Extravagant Guangzhou-style restaurants serve up to 5,000 guests at a time while the city's massive retail centres will keep enthusiastic shoppers busy for weeks. And when you've had enough of Guangzhou, hop on a bullet train, a bus, or a ferry and visit nearby Hong Kong, Shenzhen, or Macau.

APRIL 2016

BLUE WINGS

TAKEOFF NEWS

YOUR TRAVEL COMPANION The Finnair mobile app can be used to check in, select seats, purchase upgrades, receive news, and view point balances.

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY MIRVA LEMPIÄINEN ISTOCK ISTOCK

High-tech hotels Blind dates in the sun

TRAVEL AGENCY Finnmatkat recently offered singles in Finland a chance to find love by going on a weeklong blind date. The trip was co-sponsored by a Finnish online dating website and Matka 2016, the largest travel fair in the Nordic countries. A whopping 1,227 singles – 64 per cent women and 36 per cent men – jumped at the chance to spend a week in the sun with a potential special someone. “Many applicants were genuinely motivated by the desire to meet a suitable match,” says Julia Melnik, communications manager for Finnmatkat. In the end three couples were chosen to fly to Gran Canaria, Madeira, and Fuerteventura, where their adventures were documented through social media. Many Facebook commenters said they wished they were on the blind date trip themselves.

The romantic outcomes were revealed in March. “A couple of the pairs felt they are better off as friends,” Melnik says. To encourage more solo travel, Finnmatkat no longer charges singles supplements on some of their trips. “Travelling alone is gaining popularity. Interests or schedules don’t always enable couples to travel together,” says Melnik. If you’re single and ready to mingle, there are several travel agencies worldwide that specialise in single travel. Cruise the Mediterranean with US-based Singles Travel International, join Britain’s Solos Holidays on a city break in Rome, or try a sports-themed camp with Club Getaway in the US. What’s next: speed dating in the air? finnmatkat.fi/matkatreffit-sokkona

Airbag for skiers DOWNHILL SKIING is never risk-free, but you can now zip down the slopes feeling safer in a smart ski vest. Created by French company In&motion, the Smart Ski Airbag Vest has gyroscopic sensors that detect loss of balance. The vest inflates into a giant airbag in a matter of milliseconds, protecting your hips, back, and vital organs. The Smart Ski Airbag Vest will be sold in pro shops around the world starting this summer for around €1,100. inemotion.com/ the-smart-ski-airbag-vest

12 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

WITH MORE HOTELS using smart phone and tablet technology, time-strapped travellers can check in and out quickly without having to stand in line. A new report by Samsung Insights says some 47 per cent of hotels plan to make personal devices part of their check-in process over the coming year. This doesn’t have to mean that checking in will become anti-social. At Andaz Maui, the hotel’s front desk has been replaced by a sandpit and Hawaiian furniture where guests can relax as the attendant checks them in on a tablet. Advances in mobile technology are also adding other fun perks to hotel life. Aloft Hotels have introduced Emoji-based room service in their New York Financial District hotel. To get food delivered, you simply text a corresponding Emoji to the front desk. HotelTonight’s new Aces chat feature connects guests with the company’s concierge team. You can ask these experts anything from local tips to forwarding your room service orders, all without leaving the comfort of your cosy bed. alofthotelshub.com

kia.fi

@kiamotorsfinland

Kia Sorento. Täydellisyyttä tavoitteleville. Täydellinen kaikille.

Hyvän ja täydellisen välillä on paljon eroa. Ja Kia Sorentolla me todella tähtäämme täydellisyyteen. Lopputulos? Auto, jossa yhdistyy ylellinen mukavuus jopa 7 matkustajalle, huippuluokan varustelu, parantunut turvallisuustaso ja tyrmäävä ulkomuoto. Kia Sorentolla jokainen päivä on nautinnollinen. 7 vuoden takuulla.

Kia Sorento -mallisto alk. 44.990 € Vapaa autoetu alk. 850 €/kk, käyttöetu alk. 685 €/kk

Kia Sorento autoveroton hinta alk. 34.015,73 € + arvioitu autovero alk. 10.974,27 € = kokonaishinta alk. 44.990 €. Vapaa autoetu alk. 850 €/kk, käyttöetu alk. 685 €/kk. EU-yhd. 5,7-6,6 l/100 km, CO2-päästöt 149-174 g/km. Kia-huolenpitosopimus alk. 43 €/kk (sopimusaika 36 kk, 10 tkm/ vuosi). Takuu 7 vuotta tai 150 000 km, kolme ensimmäistä vuotta ilman kilometrirajaa. Kia 24h tiepalvelu vuodeksi veloituksetta. Kuvan auto erikoisvarustein.

TAKEOFF TECH

TRAVEL MUST-HAVES The Finnair shop includes a wide range of travel gadgets that are hard to resist. Shop onboard or pre-order and have your purchase waiting at your seat. www.preordershop.fi

COMPILED BY MIKKO PEURA PHOTO BY JUHA SALMINEN

Gadgets on the go

1. PORTABLE LOCATION tracker is a smart way to keep an eye on your kids. (Haltian Snowfox Kid Tracker, Available Q2/2016, snowfox.family)

14 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

5. THIS COMPACT back-up battery comes with Micro-USB and iPhone adapters. (Bluebiit PowerCard, €24.90, bluebiit store.bluebiit.com) 6. GET THAT UNIQUE fish-eye look on your iPhone camera with the wide angle lens that provides a 235° field of view. (Black Eye Twister+ 235° Fish Eye lens, €35.90, finnairplusshop.com)

2. BLUEBIIT’S CHEERFUL Bluetooth headphones allow your friends to plug in. (Bluebiit SmashBass+, €99, bluebiit.com) 3. DROP THE BEAT! Create your own sound on this pocket-sized 16-effects drum machine and sequencer. (Teenage Engineering PO-12, €69.90, verkkokauppa.com)

4. THIS SLEEK SMART watch measures steps, sleep patterns, and exercise. (Huawei TalkBand B2 smart watch €199, finnairplusshop.com)

7. B&O WIRELESS Bluetooth speaker produces dynamic sound, with exceptional battery life for a portable speaker. (BeoPlay A2, €399, finnairplusshop.com)

Chinese Empress Dowager Cixi served as the inspiration for this picture.

Aalto EE has over 10,000 alumni worldwide, of which 5,000 in Asia. Additionally, compared to thousands of equivalent programs, Aalto Executive MBA ranks among the top 30 in the world when measured by share of female students. (Financial Times Executive MBA Ranking 2015)

TAKEOFF CULTURE

TRAVELLING ONBOARD THE A350 Did you know that you can book destination services (tours, concert tickets, dinner reservations) directly from the Nordic Sky Wi-Fi portal?

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY SILJA KUDEL

The Book Club in London currently features an exhibition by Polish painter Bartek Swiatecki.

Galleries go moonlighting WHO SAYS a gallery should be a boring white cube? Newly emerging hybrid creative spaces around Europe put the ‘art’ in party by combining culture, food, fun, and play. In London’s ever-trendy Shoreditch district, The Book Club, an alternative gallery space set up in an old Victorian house, invites scenesters to sip custommade cocktails, club ‘til they drop, and even play ping-pong. “We have a younger customer base than most formal art galleries, as we are also a café, bar, live music venue, and event space,” says exhibition curator Liat Chen. “It’s so much more exciting when art is displayed in a different setting than just (on) a white wall. It brings a sense of life to the art we display,” says Chen. Across the English Channel in Amsterdam, visitors to Kulter don’t need to worry

Bookworms unite!

about viewing an exhibition with a rumbling stomach. In this nomadic crossover gallery, people are invited to share a meal and chat informally with exhibiting artists. Its locations have included a club, a church, and a corner shop. “Our current hangouts include De Ruimte, a resto in De Verkeerstoren, and an ecological artists’ complex with a very cool sauna caravan in the courtyard. Every place we move into, we turn into our home,” says art director Julie Dassaud. Meanwhile in Helsinki, on the first Wednesday of every month through spring and autumn, selected galleries let their hair down by night. Late-night performances, music, and finger food are served up at venues including Dix, Bronda, Forum Box, and Artika. Download the Galleriakeskiviikko mobile app to serve as your virtual guide.

Jonas Hassen Khemiri, lauded as the most influential Swedish writer of his generation, has top billing at this year’s Helsinki Lit Festival, May 13–15. Other key speakers include Britain’s Sadie Jones and Masha Gessen, Russian-American journalist and LGBT activist. helsinki-lit.fi

16 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

Little sauna, big heart WHAT IT LACKS in size it makes up for in lovability. Helsinki’s Sompasauna is a woodfired, self-service public sauna built from scrap materials in 2011 by a group of volunteers. Built and rebuilt many times after repeated vandalism, ‘the little sauna that could’ enjoyed sweet vindication when it won Helsinki’s Cultural Achievement Award for 2015. “It’s high time the City gave official recognition to our sauna heroes. Sompasauna is an emblem of grassroots ingenuity in repurposing urban wasteland. This type of creativity makes Helsinki a better place to live,” says Jukka Relander, chairman of the City’s Cultural Committee. Perched on the tip of the Kalasatama (Fish Harbour) district, the sauna is open to all, free of charge. Just bring along a towel, a couple of cold ones, and something for the BBQ – but be prepared to chop firewood! sompasauna.fi

ATLAS COPCO BAUMASSA Uusia tuotteita, uusia aluevaltauksia, uusia innovaatioita

Tavataan osastollamme 1108! www.atlascopco.fi

TAKEOFF FOOD & DRINK

WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM Starting April 6, Jymy is served in business class on all intercontinental flights departing from Helsinki, and in economy class on flights from Helsinki to Tokyo.

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY ANU PIIPPO

DRINKS

Straight from farm to factory, and then to the tub — organic is the key word for Jymy.

Gluten-free gold Whether you are gluten-intolerant or simply want to try a gluten-free diet, beer is no longer on the no-no list. A range of gluten-free beers is now available widely in Finland’s food stores and Alko shops.

Jymy girls, from right, Jamaika, Ice Cream and Juitsi

Small tub, big taste ORGANIC ICE CREAM maker Jymy didn’t know what was coming before their first summer season a year ago: Finland’s coldest summer in 50 years. “In spite of that, everything went surprisingly well,” says co-founder Horst Neumann. ‘Well’ is an understatement. The brand – passionate about organic ingredients, craftsmanship, and local production – won the Best New Organic Food Product and Best New Organic Brand awards at the Nordic Organic Food Fair in Sweden. The company has doubled its staff and won shelf space not only in food stores and delis, but also on trains and in museum cafés. “What really surprised us is that many customers feel our product should be 18 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

called the ‘national ice cream’ of Finland,” says Neumann, with a smile. Starting in April, Jymy will be available to Finnair’s business class passengers on all long-haul flights leaving from Helsinki. Economy class passengers flying from Helsinki to Tokyo can enjoy the same indulgence. Despite its success and growing volumes, Jymy isn’t cutting corners. Their milk is still sourced from the same organic family farm where every cow is known by name (one of them is called Jäätelö, Finnish for ice cream), and the ice cream is still hand-made in an old confectionary factory only a few miles from the farm. jymy.fi

Green’s Dry Hopped Lager 4% 0.33 l Dry Hopped Lager is brewed for Green’s in Belgium. Thanks to its citrus-floral aromas, this light beer pairs well with fish and salads. Sold in selected food stores. Origin: England Price: €4.00 (approx.) Brunehaut Ambrée Bio Gluten Free 6.5%, 0.33 l This amber-coloured brew comes from the Brunehaut brewery west of Brussels. It pairs well with pork, grilled food, mushroom and soup. Sold in Alko stores. Origin: Belgium Price: €3.28 Prykmestar Luomu Pils 5.2%, 0.5 l The Czech-style pils is an organic craft beer brewed on the southwestern coast of Finland. It makes a great match for sausage and pork, but also oily fish. Sold in Alko stores. Origin: Finland Price: €4.19

BRING YOUR CARD! — Crash course in smart holiday spending —

VESA TUKONEN’S TOP ADVICE FOR HOLIDAY SPENDING

3 MYTHS ABOUT CARD PAYMENTS ABROAD UNCOVERED!

office to exchange your

BRING LESS CASH “Save

MYTH 1: SECURITY

money at the last minute

time by using your card when

It’s less secure – not true.

instead of conveniently

travelling. You avoid detours

Paying with card abroad is

use your card at your

to the exchange office and with

just as secure as at home.

destination? Well, you are

your card you always have the

Visa cards are protected against

not alone. Surprisingly,

right currency in your pocket.

fraud, so you can travel abroad

a study by Visa Europe

Also, you avoid ending up with

with less cash and use your

shows that while 69% of

different foreign currencies

card securely***.

European holiday-goers

hidden away in your drawers

prefer to pay by card at

from previous trips.

re you one of those travellers who wait in long

queues at the exchange

MYTH 2: CONVENIENCE It’s less convenient – wrong.

home, the same group chooses to use cash

ALWAYS CHOOSE LOCAL

There’s no reason to change

abroad! In fact, two-thirds

CURRENCY. “When using your

your ways of spending when

(64%) claim to have never

card to make a payment or when

you’re away from home. Using

used a debit card in a

withdrawing money from an

your Visa card abroad is just as

foreign country.*

ATM abroad you often get two

convenient as always, so you

“It’s astonishing how Europeans change their payment ha-

options; to withdraw in local or

can pay the familiar way and

bits when travelling, when in reality, their holiday destinations

in home currency. Always pick

enjoy a worry-free holiday.

have generally made the same progress in payment systems

the local option to avoid hidden

as their home country,” says Vesa Tukonen, Country Manag-

fees**. When in Switzerland,

MYTH 3: ACCEPTANCE

er Finland for Visa Europe, the leading payments system in

choose Swiss franc, when in the

Cards are not accepted – false.

Europe.

UK, choose pounds and so on.”

Not only is Visa accepted at 38 million locations in over 200

A common misconception is that it’s less secure to use your card abroad. But actually, it’s more secure than solely relying

USE THE VISA TRAVEL

countries, you can get access

on cash, which can’t be replaced if lost. “You are protected

TOOLS APP “This is a great tool

to your money at any time,

against fraud when using your card abroad, just like at home.

for staying in control of your

and in any local currency via a

Check with your bank what card protection cover they offer,”

travelling funds. For example,

huge network of ATMs – only

Tukonen continues.

the app can help you convert

in Europe there are nearly

local currency before you make

400,000!

a payment so you can be on top of your expenses at all times.”

The Visa Travel Tools app is now available to download for free. This handy travel companion helps you locate nearby ATMs, convert local currency, see the local weather forecast and call directly to Visa’s Global Customer Assistance Services if you need to report a lost or stolen card.

Download the Visa Travel Tools app from Google Play or App Store and you’re all set at your destination. Find out more on www.visa.co.uk/travel-app

* Refers to research commissioned by Visa Europe with Populus who surveyed 2,000 adults aged 18+ in each of the following 16 European countries including: UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Austria, Czech Republic, Republic of Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Finland and Switzerland between 6-23 March 2015. Sample sizes are nationally representative in each country. ** Additional fees may apply, subject to your issuing bank’s terms and conditions. *** Check with your bank the full details of your card protection cover.

TAKEOFF WELLBEING

SUN SALUTATIONS Dreaming of a feel-good holiday for mind and body? Check out one of Aurinkomatkat’s yoga retreats. aurinkomatkat.fi

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY KATI HEIKINHEIMO ISTOCK

What to read on the way

Destination: me, myself and I MANY VACATIONERS are choosing to spend their holidays at self-improvement seminars. Whereas yoga retreats are great for stress release, self-reflection sessions can be demanding and not what we usually envision as holiday ‘fun’. Then why are people opting to spend their precious few days off soul-searching and improving their mental skills? Self-leadership coach Ilkka Koppelo mäki believes many of us want our vacations to bring about some kind of life change, making it less stressful and more fulfilling. “Seminars that challenge our way of thinking have the potential to achieve a permanent change,” Koppelomäki says. His Helsinki-based firm organises various events and seminar trips annually. Koppelomäki’s first life-changing seminar experience was with legendary motivation speaker Tony Robbins in 2007. Since then, he has organised trips for groups of up to 100 participants to attend Robbins’ seminars in Italy, the UK, and the US. “As part of the general wellbeing megatrend, people are increasingly interested in investing in their personal development. This kind of training used to be financed by employers and was available only to 20 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

company leaders, but now it is catching on among wider consumer groups,” notes Koppelomäki. California-based psychotherapist and Three Principles approach trainer Cathy Casey has noticed the same trend with her European customers. “In the US, my clients are mostly large corporations and public institutions. In Europe, it is individuals that attend these trainings – in their own time and with their own money,” says Casey. People are also willing to travel far to attend a specific course. Casey says, “In my last training in Los Angeles, only half of the attendees were Americans.” Anne Tolonen, a leadership specialist in her 30s residing in the UK, says professional and self-development is such a big part of her identity that it is also a natural part of her holidays. Among the events she has attended is a seminar in Cyprus hosted by Finnish philosopher Esa Saarinen, who has been holding self-discovery seminars in the coastal town of Paphos for over 20 years. Tolonen is passionate about ‘people development’: “These events give me tools for coaching myself and others. They also offer fantastic opportunities for connecting with like-minded people.”

GET CURIOUS ABOUT LIFE Author of the bestseller Eat, Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert looks at the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need to lead a creative life. The question is: Do you have the courage to unlock the treasures that are hidden within you? Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (Riverhead Books) ORDER BRINGS HARMONY The world has embraced the KonMari Method of tidying. Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo has helped thousands to declutter their homes, and as a result, their minds. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo (Ten Speed Press)

UNLEASH CREATIVITY This book is any wannabe artist’s perfect guide to inspiration. Short exercises of all levels cover various techniques and materials, teaching busy stress bunnies to develop a creative habit. Art Before Breakfast by Danny Gregory (Chronicle Books)

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CONNECTED IN JAPAN Finnair now offers passengers the chance to purchase a one week Wi-Fi connection in Japan for only 20€. The special offer is valid anywhere in Japan during April and May.

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY PETER WELD

Shinto priests (and one priestess, in orange) walk through the complex early in the morning.

The G7 and the Grand Shrine LEADERS OF SEVEN of the world’s biggest economies, the G7, will gather for their annual summit on May 26. The venue will be Shima, an area of Japan’s Mie Prefecture. What a fitting choice: Japan’s premier “power spot” will be hosting the most powerful people on Earth. Never heard of a power spot? This “English” term originated in Japan, where it is used to refer to a place with an undefinable, mystical aura −Machu Picchu, for example, or the Pyramids. Shima’s claim to power spot status lies in its being home to the Ise Grand Shrine, which despite its deceptively simple name is actually a complex of 125 shrines spread over some 55 square kilometres. Dedicated to Amaterasu, the sun god, the Grand Shrine is the holiest site in Japan’s indigenous Shinto religion. Few people outside Japan’s imperial family are allowed to enter the buildings at Ise, so it is not clear how much the G7 leaders will be allowed to see there, but even if they only get a few hours to stroll the complex’s peaceful trails, to marvel at the thousands of centuries-old cypress trees, or maybe to witness white-robed, black-hatted Shinto priests performing a ceremony, Ise is likely to make a grand impression on them. 22 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

Right: Ise’s manhole covers depict the pilgrims who have been visiting for centuries. Below: In accordance with tradition, visitors bow at the torii, or sacred gate, at the entrance to the complex.

LOCAL PRESENCE GLOBAL REACH DLA Piper is the first global law firm with a truly pan-Nordic presence.

DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 30 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, positioning us to help companies with their legal needs anywhere in the world. In February 2016, a leading Finnish law firm Peltonen LMR joined with DLA Piper and continues to serve as Asianajotoimisto DLA Piper Finland Oy. DLA Piper Finland is a full-service business law firm. Our team of lawyers delivers practical, innovative and consistent legal solutions for Finnish and Nordic companies, drawing on insight based on over 40 years of experience.

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TAKEOFF WORLD

GET CULTURED Break away from everyday life and check out the arts offerings of Finnair Plus partners.

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY MIRVA LEMPIÄINEN

CALENDAR

April events APRIL 1 ODESSA. Residents of Odessa, Ukraine, go all out for April Fool’s Day. Thousands take part in the city’s carnival-style Humorina festival featuring concerts, fireworks, spoof contests, and satirical masquerades. Humorina’s origins date back over 30 years. Complexmania.com/humorina

COURTESY OF OPERA AUSTRALIA

SYDNEY

Pop-up opera MARCH 24– APRIL 24

Sydney Harbour becomes the world’s most beautiful theatre stage as Handa Opera presents Puccini’s ‘Turandot,’ a Chinese fable of tragic love, in a pop-up opera house under the stars. The director, Chen ShiZheng, draws inspiration for his work from Hollywood film traditions, theatrical acrobatics, and Chinese opera. opera.org.au

UNTIL APRIL 19 FUKUOKA. Three of the Japanese city’s museums – Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka City Museum, and Fukuoka Asian Art Museum – have created their second collaborative simultaneous exhibition together. This year’s theme is ‘Secret: Hike, Seek, and Uncover.’ faam.city.fukuoka.lg.jp

NEW YORK

NYC talks travel APRIL 14–17

APRIL 23–24 NÎMES. More than 400 people will reenact the 7th edition of the Great Roman Games of Nîmes, France, before a live audience of 24,000 spectators. At this world’s largest ancient commemoration you’ll see the Octavian Navy face Cleopatra in the Battle of Actium.

Since 2012 the New York Travel Festival has brought together members of the travel industry, avid travellers, career changers, and college students to talk travel in various panels and workshops. Journalists Julie Schwietert Collazo and Uptin Saiidi are among this year’s lineup of speakers. Topics range from careers abroad to travel tech.

Arenes-nimes.com

nytravfest.com

24 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

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cientists from Oxford, UK promise that they can help keep your hair thick and healthy. Their pill TRX2 is currently one of Europe’s best-selling hair supplements and is sold in over 100 countries. TRX2 is a food supplement based on natural compounds and, compared to medicinal products, has no side effects. Also it does what it says. “Your hair will look much bigger; it becomes heavier and thicker. You maintain your healthy hair,” says Dr. Thomas Whitfield, biochemist and founder of Oxford Biolabs. Hair treatments often promise a lot without delivering, but TRX2 is backed by cutting-edge science and has been thoroughly tested. Three of the key ingredients* in TRX2 are officially recognized by the European Commission as contributing to the maintenance of normal healthy hair. The effects can be impressive. According to a pre-clinical study* conducted by scientists, TRX2 works for 87% of men and women. Start TRX2 as early as possible in order to start gaining results before the problem takes over. TRX2 is suitable for men and women of all ages. The crystalline white capsules come in a brown glass bottle,

which holds a one-month supply and costs from EUR 49 if ordered online. The manufacturer offers a money-back guarantee when ordered via TRX2’s official website, and ships worldwide. For 2016, Oxford Biolabs introduces a new, advanced TRX2 topical range, for a double impact on hair issues from the inside and from the outside. There’s a special offer for our magazine readers when ordering via the TRX2 website, www.trx2.com.

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How a pill can boost your hair and self-confidence

TAKEOFF HELSINKI

HELSINKI CONNECTION The Finnair City Bus operates between Helsinki Airport and Helsinki city centre three times an hour.

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY LAURA IISALO LAURA IISALO

HELSINKI

April events

Joose Siira and Terhi Jääskeläinen opened Nide bookstore last November.

APRIL 19 THE BALTIC SEA Philharmonic orchestra performs in Helsinki as part of their Baltic tour. Led by Estonian conductor Kristjan Järvi, 80 young musicians present works of classical music. The concert benefis the John Nurminen Foundation’s Clean Baltic Sea projects. bmef.eu

SHOPPING

Paper makes a comeback

Judging by Helsinki’s thriving bookstores and paper shops, printed goods are on the rise again. Three local shopkeepers share their visions.

IT’S A WRAP Just a short walk from Nide is Papershop (Fredrikinkatu 18), a visual feast of pretty wrapping papers, delicate 26 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

CARDS GALORE What started as a small family business in Hakaniemi Market Hall 43 years ago has become the favourite destination of shoppers hunting for the perfect postcard. A second Putinki store was opened in November on Korkeavuorenkatu specialising in locally designed and produced paper goods. Store manager Laura Hartonen says cards are becoming trendy again: “People are bored of just sending emails. There’s something nostalgic about paper cards – they make people happy. That’s their staying power.” putinki.fi

APRIL 22–SEPT 19 KOREAN ARTIST Choi Jeong Hwa brings his colourful plastic installations to Kiasma. The artist blends tradition with global consumer culture, calling attention to our materialistic world. kiasma.fi PAAVO PYKÄLÄINEN

BOOKS FOREVER Armed with over 30 years’ combined experience in book retail, Joose Siira and Terhi Jääskeläinen opened Nide (Fredrikinkatu 35) last November. The new bookstore offers cosy nooks for browsing – a relaxing experience that is impossible to replicate in the digital world. The range includes new fiction, classics, art books, and magazines. The duo also organises book launches, talks with authors, and other events nearly every week, which are listed on their Facebook page. “We have always believed in print, so for us this isn’t really a comeback – this is our way of ensuring that books are here to stay,” Jääskeläinen says. nidekauppa.fi

paper decorations, colourful notebooks, and cards. “We have been running the store for seven years now and the demand is bigger than ever,” says one of the two founders, Anna Fryckman. Custom-printed invitations, business cards, and thank-you notes round out the range. Workshops from origami to stamp making are held at the back of the store. papershop.fi

APRIL 22–24 HELSINKI COFFEE FESTIVAL gathers caffeine lovers to sample and learn about coffee. Highlights include a debate about health benefits, a filter coffee workshop, and the barista of the year contest. helsinkicoffeefestival.com Events subject to change.

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The hands have it In this series we meet the bright young talents of Nordic design.

Designer Teppo ‘Tebian’ Lakaniemi learned his trade not by studying but by doing. After a childhood of building things out of scrap material, he spent ten years creating sets for commercials and music videos. Five years ago he finally felt ready to establish his own business and start making things – lots of them. Since then he has created 300 pieces of furniture and has an online store that also sells t-shirts, wallets, and his signature necklaces. Tebian’s unconventional way of working sets him apart from the majority of designers – instead of relying on big brands to produce his designs, Tebian does all the brand-building himself. “I am a maker. My work is my playground, it’s how I fulfil my need to create,” he explains. Although Tebian mostly works alone, he collaborates with interior architects to create custom-made furnishings for public spaces. Many hours of labour go into making a flawless piece, which is why he decided to start reproducing some of his personal favourites in a 12-piece range. “Launching the collection was the obvious next step. Every piece is still made to order so the element of exclusivity remains.” Fusing functionality, sharp lines, and symmetry, Tebian often uses natural materials such as wood, glass, stone, and brass. Every piece is carefully composed and comes with a story – his homage to years of being surrounded by music. “I think my process is very similar to the way musicians work. It’s an outlet for my thoughts and observations, but instead of songs I create shapes. My furniture is my music,” he says. tebian.fi Teppo ‘Tebian’ Lakaniemi’s previous projects include Helsinki restaurant Story and Karhu Concept Store in Helsinki, and restaurant SicaPelle in Porvoo. Known for his custom-made furniture, he has now launched his first-ever furniture collection, Greatest Hits.

28 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

TRAVEL TRENDS

BUZZWORD OF THE MOMENT: Set-jetting – Visiting places where movies and TV shows have been filmed.

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY KATJA PANTZAR

Uplifting transfers AIRPORTS HAVE inspired many a book and set the scene for Hollywood movies ranging from Up in the Air (2009) to Catch Me If You Can (2002), which stars recently minted Oscar award winner Leonardo DiCaprio. Philosopher and author Alain de Botton provides one of the best descriptions of the allure of life in transit in his A Week at the Airport: A Heathrow Diary: “I have often longed for my plane to be delayed – so that I might be forced to spend a bit more time at the airport.” De Botton is not alone. A 2014 study shows that up to 33 per cent of international transfer passengers choose their travel routes based on the transfer airport, according to the Finnish aviation authority Finavia. Topping Finavia’s list were Chinese and Japanese travellers (at 45 and 35 per cent respectively) who said that choosing a specific airport to pass through or spend time

at was very important to them. “‘Fast, easy, clean, smooth, friendly, and calm’ were some of the words most often used to describe Helsinki Airport in the study,” says Petra Merikanto, customer insight manager at Finavia. It’s no wonder that Asian travellers are demanding when it comes to airports. For example, Singapore’s Changi Airport has a two-storey rooftop butterfly garden and rooftop swimming pool – a five-storey indoor garden and forest with five levels of hiking trails and a waterfall are slated for completion in 2018. Meanwhile, Seoul’s Incheon Airport boasts a golf course, spa, an ice-skating rink, indoor gardens, and a museum of Korean culture. Fittingly at the Skytrax World Airport Awards in March 2016, Changi Airport and Incheon Airport scooped up first and second place respectively, illustrating that the sky’s not the limit for inspirational airports.

Top 3 airport firsts

1 2

The world’s first airport to be powered entirely by solar energy is India’s Cochin International Airport in Kerala. Nao, the world’s first trilingual airport robot, provides passengers with information about flight schedules, security requirements, and weather in Japanese, English, and Chinese at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. Recently opened at Singapore’s Changi Airport, Aerotel lays claim to being the world’s first airport transit hotel equipped with an outdoor swimming pool and poolside bar.

Sources: www.airport-world.com, www.bbc.co.uk

APRIL 2016

BLUE WINGS

NewIcon automates pharmacies with Beckhoff Automation solutions NewIcon Oy is a health technology company founded in 2007 and located in Kuopio. It currently employs over 50 persons. Turnover in 2015 was approximately 5,5 million euros and business is growing rapidly. NewIcon is the market leader in Finland in storage automation for pharmacies. The companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s roots, however, go back to industrial automation in which the company is a well-known supplier in extensive projects for large industrial players. In recent years, NewIcon has honed its expertise to become a professional in automation solutions for medicine suppliers and has delivered systems already to over 60 pharmacies and hospital pharmacies. NewIcon has started the international sales and has already delivered systems to Russia and Israel. Company announced first sales to Iran in the beginning of 2016. The company uses a certified ISO 9001 quality management system.

ENHANCES MEDICINE SUPPLY The Mega-Fixu storage and retrieval robot facilitates and enhances medicine supply in hospital pharmacies.

The storage and retrieval robot shelves and retrieves medicines and places them in crates. Automation eliminates many of the manual work phases of medicine supply, freeing up human resources from routine tasks to focus on more demanding expert assignments. The risk of human error is also reduced, and medication safety improves. The solution enables real-time storage control so that medicines can be retrieved based on their shelf life. The overall solution is always scaled according to the customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs and facilities, and floor space is used efficiently. The system can also be seamlessly integrated into the ERP systems of a hospital pharmacy. Mega-Fixu is currently the largest storage and retrieval robot for hospital pharmacies currently provided by NewIcon Oy.

More information:

http://goo.gl/IoD7lY

ADVERTISEMENT Practical: • Suitable for storing different kinds of medicine packages and jars • Enables real-time, automatic storage management • Visual and easy to use Reliable technology: • Fail-safe, high-speed industrial robots • Advanced barcode and machine vision systems • Fault-tolerant dual system Tailored solution: • Wide range of different options • System is designed according to customer’s facility and needs • Extensive information system integration possibilities

Benefits:

PATIENT AND OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY Reduces picking errors, thereby improving medication safety Locked storage rooms ensure secure medication storage Real-time monitoring of medicine expiration and shelf life as well as temperature Improves occupational safety and ergonomics Value of inventory is reduced as storage management improves Customer-specific, tailored solution ensures a cost-efficient outcome that corresponds to needs

EFFICIENCY Streamlines and speeds up medicine supply processes Minimizes the floor space used for medication storage Refocuses human resources on more demanding expert tasks Automates handling, shelving, and retrieval of incoming goods

ECONOMY Enhances human resources by reducing manual labor Reduces medicine loss as monitoring increases

NEWICON´S MEGA-FIXU SERVES THE LARGEST HOSPITAL PHARMACY IN FINLAND Mega-Fixu storage and retrieval robot is in use at the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (HUS). HUS has the largest hospital pharmacy in Finland. The productivity and the efficiency has increased due to Mega-Fixu investment. The system consists of four separate storage units, two of the storage units have a common control system and conveyor line.

AUTOMATION IS THE CORE OF THE EFFICIENCY Higher level control system and database is run by Beckhoff C6650 industrial-PC, which has a high performance Intel Core i7 processor and Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit operation system. C6650 industrial-PC is always delivered with RAID controller and redundant hard disks. System reliability is highly important as the database maintains 150,000 points of data of various storage room positions. Mega-Fixu has an input unit where each medicine package is identified and measured by using a robot and intelligent machine vision system as well as a barcode reading system. After the identification, higher level control system determines the most suitable storage location for the medicine package. The storage system has X-Y servo axis which are moved by Beckhoff AM8000-series motors. These motors include the new “One-Cable”- technology with a highly dynamic and fast position measurement integrated into standard motor power cable. Beckhoff’s cost effective 2-channel AX5000-series servo drives control the servo motors. Servo axis move the robot to pick up the medicine packages from the input unit. Servo axis are controlled by Beckhoff CX5020-series Embedded PC´s, which are running TwinCAT automation software.

NewIcon´s Mega-Fixu is controlled by Beckhoff PC-based automation system. Beckhoff provides the complete automation platform from higher level secured database server down to servo drive driven motion tasks and actuator controls. Communication is done with ultra high-speed EtherCAT industrial realtime ethernet network developed by Beckhoff.

Fusion chef on fire: Steven Liu is known as the ‘tough judge’ on MasterChef China. 32 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

FINLAND ON A PLATE

THREE WAYS Join us at the table as we meet three celebrity chefs who serve up their take on Nordic cuisine in Finnair’s new business class Signature Menu. TEXT BY SILJA KUDEL PHOTOS BY ZOUWEI PHOTO, TUOMAS HARJUMAASKOLA AND JUHA SALMINEN

teven Liu is known to Chinese TV viewers as one of the main judges on MasterChef China. For a star so famous – and gregarious – his food philosophy is refreshingly humble. “Cooking should be fun, wholesome, and simple. It’s all about passion and love. I’m a very modest man, even if people think I’m a big chef. I still love to cook up a BBQ for friends or a pot of rich chicken noodle soup. Most people think chefs eat very high-end, but I prefer it natural,” says Liu. Humble, too, were his beginnings in the culinary world. Chef Liu started out flipping burgers at McDonald’s – an experience he credits as teaching him discipline. His training later included studies in French cuisine at Taiwan’s top culinary school and a stint dodging flying saucepans under Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur Gordon Ramsey in London. Today, as the founder of his own Shanghai-based food and beverage consultancy, The Steven’s Concept Ltd., he travels the world as “an ambassador of delicacy,” applying his oriental culinary sensibility to create dishes twisting and blending the best of the West. In a nod to its many Asian passengers, Finnair wanted one of the chefs interpreting the Nordic theme to come from Asia. Chef Liu – who spends more than 200

days every year on the road – was excited to design a menu for Finnair’s new A350 aircraft. “A great change is coming to Finnair’s dining tables! My mission is to provide a wonderful culinary journey at 30,000 feet and offer all the passengers who are travelling from China to Finland for the first time an unforgettable experience,” says Liu. Chef Liu’s Nordic menu comes with spicy Asian accents. “I have worked everywhere from east Asia through Europe and the Middle East to Africa, so I can easily blend the key flavours of different cuisines into my own style of cooking,” he says. His signature dishes for Finnair include curd salmon with a touch of sweet soy mayonnaise and salsa, followed by tender-cooked glazed beef short rib. He has also created an intriguing fusion snack named ‘Piglet Meets Tiger’, a slow-cooked pork belly wrap with sauerkraut in a bao, or Chinese steamed bun – “Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t contain tiger meat. The bun looks like a tiger’s mouth,” chuckles Liu. Many Finnair passengers come from different regions of China and each of these regions has extremely different food preferences and expectations. “The biggest challenge was to create a menu that satisfies the taste buds of people from different cultures. I hope the passengers find my dishes to be a thrilling experience,” says Liu.

STEVEN LIU • Born in Taipei, Taiwan, resides in Shanghai, China • Culinary Director of The Steven’s Concept Ltd., Culinary Ambassador of Le Cordon Bleu Greater China • “I have a high level of discipline and respect for the culinary arts. That’s why they call me the ‘Hot Tempered Chef.’” • Chef Liu’s signature dishes will be served on flights from Beijing, Guangzhou, Chongqing, and Xi’an to Helsinki from April 6 until January 10, 2017.

APRIL 2016

BLUE WINGS

A FOREST FEAST

aakko Sorsa can blame his grandmother for where he is today. Spending his childhood summers in the Finnish Lake District, he watched her magically transform freshwater fish, wild mushrooms, berries, and game into dishes packed with pure, honest flavour. Today he puts a modern spin on grandma’s recipes as executive chef at FINDS, a Hong Kong restaurant introducing Nordic flavours to Asia. “Grandma Ida has been a great inspiration for my cooking. My menu for Finnair proudly features her famous meatballs, a secret family recipe,” he reveals. After playing an instrumental role in building up the success of Helsinki’s nowdefunct two Michelin-starred restaurant Chez Dominique, Sorsa has been an ambassador for Nordic cuisine in Asia for the past 12 years. “I have been all over Asia as a guest chef. A major highlight was when I was invited to Tokyo to cook a Finnish dinner for Princess Takamado of Japan,” he says. In Hong Kong, Sorsa has made numerous TV appearances and has written a recipe book, Scapas Dining, which was nominated in Le Cordon Bleu’s World Food Media Awards. For his creativity in injecting a Nordic spirit into his dishes, he was recognised as Chef of the Year 2015 in the Foodie Fork Awards. Sorsa’s ‘Finnish Traditions’ inflight menu

34 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

is designed around premium ingredients and age-old preserving methods, such as smoking, curing, and pickling. “Inflight food often needs extra flavouring because the on-board air pressure numbs the palate. The need for extra seasoning is reduced by the strong, clean flavours of pickled vegetables, curing, and smoking,” he says. Through his work at FINDS, chef Sorsa has ample experience of the Nordic flavours and cooking techniques that are most suitable for the cosmopolitan traveller’s palate. “When you introduce Finnish cuisine to Asian travellers – many of whom have never tried this kind of food before – it’s important to offer familiar ingredients, like salmon,” says Sorsa. Salmon is the star ingredient on Sorsa’s menu, along with porcinis, morels, and lingonberries. Undoubtedly Grandma Ida would be proud of Sorsa’s tarragon-baked salmon fillet with dill potatoes in creamy morel mushroom sauce. Sorsa’s ‘clean and honest’ cuisine philosophy also applies to the plating. “It’s important for me that the plate looks modern and pretty. I often use large square plates, as I want to show the ingredients clearly.” Marimekko tableware provides a crisp accompaniment to Sorsa’s clean-lined dishes for Finnair. “It will be super exciting to enjoy my own menus on board next time I fly to Finland with my wife Kelly,” says Sorsa.

JAAKKO SORSA • Executive Chef, FINDS Hong Kong • Born in Helsinki, resides in Hong Kong • “I love the sauna. It’s where I often create menus. You can really concentrate without interruption.” • Chef Sorsa’s signature meals will be served on flights from Hong Kong to Helsinki from February 4 until the end of 2016.

Sprucing it up: Jaakko Sorsa always brings back fresh spruce buds from Finland to add to his dishes. APRIL 2016

BLUE WINGS

Fearless forager: When not in the kitchen, Sasu Laukkonen is out picking wild herbs in the forest. 36 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

COOKING ON THE WILD SIDE

hen Sasu Laukkonen was three years old, he announced he would either become a chef or a concert pianist. Cooking won out in the end – and music’s loss has been the food world’s gain. A self-taught culinary innovator, Laukkonen has brought two exciting elements to the Helsinki food scene: A fresh take on wild, organic ingredients and a ‘less stiff ’ fine dining experience. “For those who want old-school fine dining, I’m not your man,” he quips wryly. Renowned for its laid-back atmosphere and its creative use of foraged wild herbs, Chef & Sommelier ranks among four Helsinki restaurants that currently hold a Michelin star. When asked whether the Michelin seal of approval creates pressure to perform, chef Laukkonen shrugs cheerfully: “We have changed nothing since we received our first star in 2014. Stress limits creativity.” Laukkonen is a busy multitasker who consults, presents, and writes, but when life gets complicated, his food remains the exact opposite. “My cuisine is pure in taste, all handmade and ingredient-based. Some call it simple – and I love that! When I design a new menu I begin with the season and the ingredient. This is followed by a number of crazy experiments to find the right taste, texture, and combinations,” he says. When Finnair asked Laukkonen if he

would be keen to create a Nordic inflight menu, he jumped at the chance. “I’m so honoured to be cooking for the beautiful new A350s – sustainable aircraft meets sustainable food! I actually have a very long relationship with Finnair, since my mother was a cabin attendant with the airline for 32 years. And my first food job was packing aircraft charter meals back in 1992,” he says. Laukkonen’s menu is designed to appeal to Asian palates, with the spotlight on fresh Finnish ingredients: “Fish, vegetables, mushrooms, berries – real food is what I call it, nothing too technical. I want to offer Asian passengers a last chance to savour Finland as they leave the country, like a parting souvenir.” One glance at the gorgeous feast on the tray and it is clear that ‘Nordic freshness’ also applies to the presentation. Highlights of Laukkonen’s spring menu include a perfectly plated pike-perch terrine topped with chanterelle sauce – a dish that looks as artfully delicious as it tastes. The business class menu is prepared for 500 daily passengers by teams working in shifts from 5 am until late at night. The ingredients must be kept fresh at all times and compliant with international airline food standards. With these technical challenges, was it difficult coming up with a gourmet menu to please every palate? “It was. The answer was keeping things simple so the cooks can concentrate on the essentials,” replies Laukkonen. l

SASU LAUKKONEN • Chef de Cuisine at Helsinki’s Chef & Sommelier • Born and resides in Helsinki • “Flight simulators are my secret hobby.” • Chef Laukkonen’s menu will be served in business class on long-haul flights out of Helsinki from April 6 until January 10, 2017. His menu will be renewed in autumn and winter.

APRIL 2016

BLUE WINGS

EUROPEAN VOICES BY ALEXANDER STUBB

Inspiring people change lives

ou know that feeland social activist Minna Canth to miliing when you get tary leader and statesman C.G. Mannermoved or inspired heim. Sports have always been a big part by something? It can of our inspirational DNA. Legendary long be a life-changing distance runners including Hannes Koleevent, or something hmainen, Paavo Nurmi, Ville Ritola, and that just makes your Lasse Virén have spurred an entire nation. day better. Inspiration has many sources. Recently, Inspiration can be a small or big I was moved by a young 11-year-old boy, change. At best it can be one of those Valtteri Saarinen, who spoke on national things that make the world a better place. television about the racism he faces in his You can be positively influenced by day-to-day life in Finland. It took personal someone you do not know, or by somecommitment and courage for him to speak one who is close to you. I have personally out. been inspired by hundreds of people over And inspiration can also come from the years from human rights activists to those close to you. My father has always authors, sports personalities, and politi- been a great source of motivation. I looked cians. My greatest up to him as a sources of inspikid, and I still do. FINLAND HAS HAD ITS SHARE For me, he is a ration come from OF VISIONARY family, friends, source of calmand colleagues. ness and stability, PERSONALITIES FROM People such always willing to WRITER AND SOCIAL as Nelson Manhelp everyone. dela, Martin I have close ACTIVIST MINNA CANTH TO Luther King, friends who have MILITARY LEADER AND Mahatma Gangone through STATESMAN C.G. dhi and Mother hard times Teresa have surely and come back MANNERHEIM. been an inspirastronger. A friend tion to all of us. They of mine, Antti changed the world, made it better. As did Hagqvist, is a two-time leukemia survival. hundreds of scientists, including AlexanHis motto has always been that “giving up der Fleming, who discovered penicillin. is not on option.” That is how he leads his Inspiration can come from old and life and teaches the rest of us to follow his young alike. Malala Yousafzai, human example. rights activist for education and the So, the next time you look for inspiyoungest-ever Nobel Peace laureate, ration, remember that it can come from has been a source of encouragement near and far. At the end of the day it is up for millions around the world. Her to you. Small things matter. You can be an perseverance in fighting for women’s inspiration to all of us. l education in Pakistan almost cost her Alexander Stubb is Finland’s Finance life. And she continues the fight. Minister. Finland has had its share of twitter.com/alexstubb visionary personalities from writer 38 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

FEEL THE FRESH

CABIN AIR ON BOARD THE NEW FINNAIR A350 The incredible new Finnair Airbus A350, with air circulated every 2 to 3 minutes using HEPA clean-air filters. Finnair is Europe’s first airline to fly the new Airbus A350 XWB. Experience a new sense of flying at A350.finnair.com

Finnair ﬂies to all major cities in Asia and over 60 destinations in Europe.

DESTINATION RIO DE JANEIRO

G I G

d orl w e on can r’s meri nd i a n A Fin ners eria, a o t t b r a , s I es fly p e n i n l li ro. Air Air anei M J TA de om Rio nair.c n fi

40 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

Rocinha is Rio’s largest favela, conveniently located near the Olympic sites.

TEXT BY MIRVA LEMPIÄINEN PHOTOS BY TANJA MIKKOLA AND ISTOCK

RIO’S OLYMPIC COUNTDOWN Travelling to Rio for the Olympics in August? This checklist will tell you where to stay, what to eat, where to watch the games, and where to raise a toast to the winners. STAY IN A FAVELA While Rio’s 50,000 hotel rooms offer plenty of options, many are already booked or priced sky-high during South America’s first Olympics. If your searches on Hotels.com and Booking.com come up empty, check Airbnb.com and Vrbo.com for apartment rentals outside the regular tourist districts. “Look into Humaita, Jardim Botanico, Gavea, and Leblon. These neighbourhoods aren’t easy on the wallet, but they’re pretty,” suggests Rio-based US journalist Nadia Sussman. Other pleasant areas close to the metro include Flamenco, Catete, Tijuca, Gloria, and Botafogo. Rio’s

neighbouring city Niteroi – only a short ferry ride away – is also a great budget option. Another way to stay close to the action is to sleep in a favela. While this used to mean a slum, the image of favelas is changing. Some 65 per cent of Rio’s favela dwellers belong to Brazil’s emerging middle class. Most homes have running water, electricity, and internet service. The police patrol many favelas regularly. “Cantagalo and Babilônia are excellently located near Ipanema and Leme beaches,” says Sofia Fletcher, a UK favela tourism operator living in Rio.

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BLUE WINGS

BINGE ON RODIZIO Rio has plenty of buses!

ALL YOU CAN EAT Brazil is famous for its rodizios. These all-you-can-eat buffets of meat, pasta, or sushi are perfect if you’re watching the games on a big screen: The waiters bring an ever-changing selection of items directly to your table. Some of Rio’s best rodizios include Porcão, Fogo de Chao, and Carretão.

LIVE IT UP In the mood for a fancy dinner? Botafogo and Leblon are the best areas for bistros. For spectacular views, head to the rooftop restaurants of the Pestana Rio Atlântica and Rio Othon Palace on Copacabana, or Caesar Park on Ipanema.

TAKE THE TRANSOLÍMPICA Rio has an extensive public transportation system consisting of buses, a metro, a light rail, suburban trains, cable cars, ferry, and even a brand-new tramline. The new BRT bus called the Transolímpica is a 23-kilometre line that takes you from the Athletes Village and the Olympic Park in the Barra de Tijuca district to the X Park in Deodoro in just 30 minutes. Maracanã Stadium and Copacabana beach are served by the metro. It has 35 stations along two different lines. There are also plenty of taxis, but make sure you choose one with a metre. REMEMBER to pack a good bug repellent: Brazilian mosquitoes carry malaria, dengue, Chikungunya, and the zika virus. Luckily August is the least hospitable month for mosquitoes in Rio. Olympic venues will be checked daily to remove puddles where mosquitoes can breed.

42 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

TO MARKET, TO MARKET For culinary adventure, don’t miss Rio’s food markets. Visit Gloria on Sundays or General Glicério and Lapa on Saturdays. Food and drinks galore awaits at the Cobal do Humaitá market, while the Feira de São Cristóvão weekend market offers an interesting selection of Northeastern Brazilian cuisine. NOTE: In sit-down restaurants you should leave a ten per cent tip, though check the bill first – it may be included automatically.

WATCH SPORTS INTERNATIONAL VIBES Some of the best-known sports bars in Rio include the Irish bar Shenanigans and the Mexican-themed Blue Agave in Ipanema, as well as the English pub Lord Jim between Ipanema and Leblon. Olé in Botafogo with its classic American sports bar vibe is another favourite. WHAT A SCREEN! Eclipse Bar on Copacabana is a new watering hole with inviting décor and huge TV screens. There’s also Devassa, a chain of standard sports bars with locations all over Rio. Football fans shouldn’t miss Cobal do Leblon with its massive screen, or the four-floor Chopperia Brazooka in Lapa. BROWSE IN A BIROSQUE If none of these bars are showing your favourite sport, you can always go to a small local bar, or birosque, and ask if you could watch your channel there.

PESTANA RIO ATLÂNTICA

QUICK ‘N EASY A lighter option is a selfservice por kilo deli. The kilo price of this buffet food can be as little as €2.50 or go up to €13.75 in a fancier place. For a quick snack to go, try pão de queijo cheese bread, deep-fried pastel pies, coxinha chicken fritters, or a tapioca pancake with cheese.

Dancer and choreographer Helder Satiro busts a move.

RIO 2016

DO THE RIGHT THING

MOVE IT

IF YOU’RE FEELING SPORTY, go to the beaches: Every morning and early evening there are group classes of Pilates, Cross Fit, and Bootcamp that you can join for a weekly or monthly fee. Outdoor gyms are also common. Bike Rio offers city bikes at 60 stations. Rent one and ride it to Flamengo Park, also known as the Aterro, to the Rio Lagoon, or to the beaches. Outdoorsy folks will love the short hike up to the Pão de Açúcar. Praia Vermelha offers paddleboard and kayak rentals for water enthusiasts.

RIO 2016

2 3

razilians are expressive and enthusiB astic by nature. Public hugging and kissing are commonplace, especially if there’s an Olympic victory to celebrate. The Cariocas of Rio de Janeiro exchange two kisses when greeting each other.

If Brazil loses a game and you start sensing bad vibes between fans at the Maracanã stadium, make a swift exit.

4 5

Overall, Rio should be safe this August due to the massive Olympic police presence, but the usual precautions still apply: Don’t wear expensive jewellery, and avoid deserted areas, like the Financial District at night.

Carry only a photocopy of your passport with you and avoid toting a purse – use a money belt or keep your cash tucked somewhere like your shoe. Buy travel insurance and back up all your phone data.

If you need to report a theft, go to the Tourist Police Precinct (DEAT) in Leblon, on Avenida Afrânio de Mello Franco, across from the shopping centre Shopping Leblon.

If you go on a favela tour, behave respectfully: Ask for permission before you take a photo.

The famous Maracanã Stadium will host the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the football games.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Games take place August 5–21. (rio2016.com) This story was compiled with the help of Nadia Sussman, an American journalist based in Rio (Nadiasussman.com) and Sofia Fletcher, a UK operator of favela tours in Rio (favelaphotographic.wordpress.com).

APRIL 2016

BLUE WINGS

DESTINATION FUKUOKA

In a landscape dominated by Japanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest active volcano, the island of Kyushu offers a variety of ways to let off steam. TEXT AND PHOTOS BY TIM BIRD

44 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

FULL STEAM

AHEAD FU K

Fin n Fuk air fl ie uo ka s to tim t h es a w ree d sum uring eek the me finn r sea s air .co on. m

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BLUE WINGS

Mount Unzen stands in Japan’s oldest national park.

Cheerful greetings from an attendant at the Sozankyo.

t’s a slightly chilly afternoon at the seafront town of Obama and steam seems to be seeping from every rooftop, drain, and crack in the pavement. It’s as if a huge subterranean kettle is perpetually on the boil just below the surface. Figures drift out of the mist like ghosts, and the faint and slightly sinister smell of sulphur hangs in the air. Obama – yes, you read that right, and no, it’s nothing to do with the US President – is a hot springs resort town in the Tachibana Bay on the island of Kyushu in southern Japan. It boasts around 30 hot springs, a source of traditional Japanese therapy, the water from which can sometimes actually exceed boiling point. So it’s with some trepidation that I take off my socks and roll up my trousers to dip my feet in the world’s longest onsen footbath. I needn’t have worried. The soothing water spreads its warmth throughout my body, so much so that I could happily sit here all day. At the opposite end of the 100-metre-long onsen is a pool especially reserved for pets. Happy, an aptly named Corgi, is contentedly splashing around, reaping his own canine benefits from the water’s healing properties while his owners paddle nearby. After 20 minutes of this agreeable aquatic pedicure, I head over to a vast boxlike structure enveloped in steam and lift a wooden hatch. Inside is a basket I deposited before my foot bathing session, and inside the basket are perfectly steamed sweet potatoes and eggs, purchased from an adjacent kiosk for a few hundred yen. I’ve planned this quirky and very sustainable local cooking method just in time for lunch.

UNDERGROUND RUMBLINGS Later the same afternoon, I find myself in Hell, otherwise known as Unzen Jigoku – Unzen Hell – a volcanic area not far from Obama, also on Kyushu’s Shimabara Peninsula. Christian martyrs met their violent end in its boiling springs in the 17th century, and the hardy if selective adaptability of nature in the form of birdlife, azalea shrubs, and akamatsu pines is an odd counterpoint to the barely contained geological unrest. Hell isn’t quite as bad as I imagined it would be, but the smell of sulphur is much more intense than in Obama. The surrounding forest on the mountain slopes breathes warm steam, and the ground creaks and bubbles angrily. I wasn’t expecting wooden duckboards, although following them through the impenetrable gassy fog isn’t easy. I can hear the cheerful,

It’s as if a huge subterranean kettle is perpetually on the boil under the surface. 46 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

Onsen footpath bathing is popular with all ages.

incongruous chirping of wagtails and buntings. For a moment I lose sight of my guide, Fumiko Soda, but she reappears as a grey silhouette. Before exchanging Hell for Heaven in the form of a comfortable night in the Unzen Kanko Hotel, I am drawn again to the healing waters, this time at the hotelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s onsen. Slightly confusingly, Unzen is the name for this mountain top resort with its cluster of spa hotels, and of the surrounding Geopark, while onsen is the name for the natural baths found throughout Japan. HOW TO BEHAVE WHEN YOU BATHE The Japanese onsen is basically a bath of hot water provided from a hot spring and naturally infused with invigorating, therapeutic minerals. Like the Finnish sauna, it is traditionally attended naked and, also like the sauna, is guided by various rituals, the neglect of which risks attracting the opprobrium or amusement of the locals. As chance would have it, I have this one to myself and there is nobody to reprimand or chuckle at me when, in a rebellious fit, I leave my full-sized towel, as opposed to the acceptable handkerchief-sized flannel, on a railing near the pool. It hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been an especially testing day, but I soak away all memory of stress. In the morning I gaze back from the ferry across

Steamed potatoes and eggs make a perfect lunch. APRIL 2016

BLUE WINGS

The longest onsen footpath in the world is at the town of Obama.

The crater billows out plumes of smoke and steam, an awe-inspiring volcanic safety valve.

the straits between Shimabara and the Kyushu capital of Kumamoto at the towering volcanic cone of Mount Fugen, the slumbering nucleus of the peninsula’s geothermal activity. I’m heading east to the heart of Kyushu, Aso-Gogaku, or the five peaks of another volcanic hotspot, Mount Aso, starting to feel more like Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings with each passing kilometre. Even if I had a magic ring to toss into the volcanic furnace, I wouldn’t be able to approach the rim, because an eruption from the Nakadake crater in October 2015 led to the closure of the cable car that took tourists up its slopes. But the view from the souvenir shops, museum, and visiting centre a few kilometres away is safe and spectacular. The crater billows out plumes of smoke and steam, an awe-inspiring safety valve for the magmatic tumult stirring beneath what is Japan’s largest active volcano. 48 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

Only in Japan: onsen bathing is available for pets.

I test our driver’s patience by asking him to stop at every hundred metres, since that is how frequently a new jaw-dropping view reveals itself across the massive caldera as we start our descent from the Aso peaks. Measuring 24 kilometres across, the caldera is the world’s largest surrounding an active volcano, a vast patchwork of fields and small towns extending across flat plains. The dipping sun casts sharp shafts of light across the valley. The houses and cattle, famed here for their tender meat, seem vulnerable and tiny. I end the day at the Sozankyo ryokan (inn), sampling another hot spring onsen, this time a broad wooden tub in a private room. After a seemingly eternal but exquisite dinner, whose ten separate phases move through the local Akaushi beef and an exotic variety of fish including amberjack and urchin, I return to my room, attired in my yukata gown. The elegant furniture has been rearranged while I dine, as is the custom, and my futon bed is made up and ready. Nothing remains but to enter a deep and satisfied sleep, full of innocently steamy dreams. l

BEHIND THE SCENES

Tim Bird

A regular Blue Wings contributor, Tim Bird has peered into volcano craters all over the world but still dreams of photographing a full-blown eruption – from a safe distance.

KEYS TO KYUSHU There is an occasional public bus service from Nagasaki to Obama and Unzen. Take a train from Fukuoka to JR Aso station, and change to bus (every 1-2 hours). Car rental from Fukuoka or Nagasaki is the most direct and flexible option.

To Hell and back: A walkway takes visitors through Unzen Jigoku â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Unzen Hell.

A few of the hundreds of onsens in the region: Unzen Kanko Hotel unzenkankohotel.com Kurokawa Onsen kurokawaonsen.or.jp Beppu, Oita, eastern Kyushu: a list of public onsens is at english.beppu-navi.jp/onsen

Spectacular views stretch across one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest calderas surrounding the Aso volcano.

APRIL 2016

BLUE WINGS

TOP5 Laidback Leros

EXPLORE THE SHORE The mountainous green island has 71 kilometres of varied coastline that ranges from pebbly beaches to adventure-worthy rocky stretches such as this one near Krithoni. Whether strolling or swimming, Leros has a range of small beaches including the most popular ones of Panteli, Alinda, and Vromolithos. For those wishing to explore by bicycle or beach buggy, well-paved roads circle most of Leros.

S G K

ies ir fl ce a n i Fin s tw he o gt K n i . r o t du ason ek e e s a w mer om .c sum nnair fi

50 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

The small Greek island of Leros lies in the southern Aegean Sea and is easily reached by the ferry service that plies the waters of the Dodecanese. Leros’s rich history adds extra appeal – mythological goddess Artemis was the island’s protector and the Second World War’s Battle of Leros inspired ’60s blockbuster The Guns of Navarone. TEXT AND PHOTOS BY KATJA PANTZAR

SEE AGIA MARINA There’s a collection of idyllic cafés and small boutiques on the waterfront in Agia Marina, one of the island’s main harbours. Whitewashed houses and dilapidated mansions in shades of ochre and raspberry line the narrow cobblestone streets leading inland. Stop for a delicious Greek dessert or ice cream at To Paradosiako on Rousseau Square, or pick up authentic handicrafts such as handmade ceramics or linens at the nearby boutiques.

DINE WITH A VIEW The small island offers many choice restaurants including El Greco (Panteli Beach) and To Seki (Alinda). Cliff-top Taverna Dmitris o Karaflas (Spilia, with stairs from Panteli Beach) boasts stunning views over Vromolithos Bay (in photo) and serves excellent local cuisine such as koukouvades, fish marinated in a spicy sauce, sea urchin salad, and, of course, calamari. Proprietor Dmitris is often on hand to charm the customers with his personality and the amazing food.

ADMIRE CHURCH TREASURES Walk up to Panagia Castle on Apitiki Hill and see the windmills along the way. Pop into the tiny, ancient Church of Prophet Elias and admire the church votives before continuing to the 11th–century castle that looks out over the island. Inside the castle, which was used as an observation post by the Italians during the Second World War, a compact museum houses icons and other significant historical artefacts.

CHILL OUT ON PANTELI BEACH A traditional fisherman’s village with several beachfront cafés and restaurants, this is the spot to lounge in the sun and sip a drink before plopping into the sea to cool off. Watch sun-kissed fishermen bring in their catches as young children play on the dock. Panteli beach embodies the essence of this peaceful island – it’s a well-kept secret off the beaten tourist track that draws travellers back year after year for its easy-going nature.

APRIL 2016

BLUE WINGS

EMPATHY FOR EXPORT

Finland’s hottest new export is a surprising one for a nation of techheads. Service design is all about empathy with a capital E.

TEXT BY SILJA KUDEL ILLUSTRATION BY ANNI-JULIA TUOMISTO

nferior service is something we all dread. Whether it’s a terrible digital interface or a bad queuing system, it gets customers frustrated – and ultimately loses money for the service provider. But think: If it’s possible to design the perfect user-friendly teacup or gardening tool, why couldn’t you do the same for a service – by holistically adopting the viewpoint of the user? A rising generation of Finnish designers believes you can. Service design is the next big thing – and it’s not a passing fad. According to the US Design Management Institute’s Design Value Index, over the last ten years design-led companies have outperformed the S&P 500 by an astonishing 228 per cent. EVERYBODY’S DOING IT Apple, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Nike, Starbucks – everyone is doing service design, or hiring external agencies to do it for them. “You’re more certain to succeed when you collaborate with users and know their profiles and needs. It enables companies to develop user-centred services that are competitive, desirable, useful, and easy to use,” says Satu Miettinen, Finnish expert in service design and visiting professor at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.

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A phone service that asks you to press numbers and speak with a robot is a great way of telling your customers just how much you despise them. “But bad service can easily be improved by prototyping the user experience, for instance by acting out the situation, making quick and dirty improvements and prototyping again. This is called iterative development,” explains Miettinen. Miettinen sees exciting potential for bold Finnish service design firms. “We are frontrunners in developing participatory design methods. We should be proud of our expertise and just go for it,” she says. LONDON CALLING Among the fresh talents ‘going for it’ is Helsinki-based Hellon, who founded an office in London last autumn. Helping organisations such as teleoperator Telia-Sonera embrace greater customer centricity has been Hellon’s passion since 2009. And they’re good at it: Hellon’s turnover grew over 60 per cent last year. Last October they were the clear winners in the field’s most prestigious competition organised by the Service Design Network in New York. “We believe that every successful organisation needs to grow its empathy towards the customer.

APRIL 2016

BLUE WINGS

SERVICE AND THE CITY

The City of Helsinki is a pioneer in engaging citizens as co-creators of public services. Its recent successes include a new, coherent service concept created for the university’s campus libraries. The design was based on a probe where students and staff documented their library routines during a two-week period in diary format. “Feedback from the Main Library, Kaisa House, has shown that users are satisfied with the new service environment,” says Tuula Jäppinen, senior innovation adviser at the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities. Another of Jäppinen’s ventures is a co-design project ongoing in the Kainuu region, where young unemployed people provide help to elderly people with daily chores, from carrying shopping bags to providing company on daily walks. The process began with documenting the subjects’ daily lives with electronic diaries and utilising their input in the service design process.

Building an amazing experience is the best way to build an emotional connection to your customer. When you deliver a better experience, your customers are happier, more loyal, and generate a higher profit in the long term,” says Mikko Koivisto, lead service designer at Hellon. If this sounds too good to be true, Walker’s Customers 2020 report predicts that within five years customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator. Struggling with sagging profits, Finland’s largest pharmacy chain hired Hellon to improve its customer experience. Hellon used methods such as interviews 54 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

and shop-alongs to gather insight and create a new ‘People’s Pharmacy’ delivering wellness services beyond just traditional remedies for illnesses. Now that customers no longer need to visit multiple stores for their wellness needs, the pilot pharmacy has seen significant growth in sales, with four out of five customers being extremely likely to recommend its new wellbeing services. THE GREAT CALL OF CHINA Just as Finnish engineers were ‘hot stuff ’ in the ’90s, Koivisto believes that Finnish service designers could take the global export stage as the ‘new Nordic engineers of modern life’. Creadesign, founded in 1981 by Hannu Kähönen, is nothing if not an experienced exporter of Finnish design. Headquartered in Helsinki, the company also has offices with the Guangdong University of Technology (GDUT) in Yangjiang and Dongguang in China. Originally an industrial designer, Kähönen came to the field as a designer of public transport, where understanding users – including the elderly and

isabled – is critical to creating a good service d experience. Creadesign’s unique value is its deep insight into China, a market where service design is catching on in a big way. Professor Kähönen was invited to run an innovation project at the GDUT five years ago, alongside which Creadesign has built up a profitable business in South China. The company is currently creating industrial products for health care, including a sleep tracker utilising cloud technology. “We’re also designing vehicles for light transportation and a tourist resort that offers a Nordic ‘silent’ nature experience,” says Kähönen. When asked what kind of organisations need service design, Kähönen fires a quick reply: “Who doesn’t need service design? It’s important wherever there is interaction with the end customer, from health care and transport to tourism – and especially in services based on digital technology.” CALIFORNIA DREAMING A leading company bringing Finnish service design expertise to the digital field is Idean, formed in 2003. “I was always fascinated with how there could be so many screens with horrifying, unusable interfaces. Our vision from day one was to put that right and create a beautiful, easy-to-use digital experience that people love,” says CEO and co-founder Risto L ähdesmäki. After seven years in Finland, Idean moved to Silicon Valley in 2011. The risk paid off: The business has expanded organically from zero to eight digits in two years. Idean currently has five US offices serving over 20 Fortune 500 companies. “Though the majority of our business comes from the US, we’re proud of our Nordic design heritage. It sets us apart from our competitors in the Valley,” says Lähdesmäki. The company’s motto is “life is too short for crappy UX” – and this applies well beyond aesthetics. “We make sure that great design has an impact on the company’s bottom line, too,” he adds. Idean serves big names including IBM, Hewlett Packard, Ericsson, VW, and Mercedes-Benz. One of its raved-about recent launches is an interface developed for automotive parts manufacturer Delphi. Unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last January, the system includes a dashboard, Apple Watch, and iPad elements, showing how users expect these devices to fully integrate into their incar life. “We literally worked side by side inside the vehicle with Delphi engineers, iterating our ideas until the perfect fit was achieved,” says Lähdesmäki.

TIME FOR BOOT CAMP? As service design is so new – and so hot – there is huge demand for training in this niche. Finland’s Aalto University is a global forerunner in related research and training. “It’s such a new field that it wasn’t previously covered in undergraduate curricula. We offer workshops to people who develop and innovate services, assigning them hands-on design challenges,” says Elisabeth Pesola, competence manager at Aalto University Executive Education. This year Aalto Executive Education will be offering a ‘Design Thinking for Business Innovation’ programme together with ESADE Business School in Barcelona. The boot camp starts in Helsinki on April 8 and then moves to Barcelona. aaltoee.com

In the digital world and beyond, Finnish experts such as Idean, Creadesign, and Hellon are building a thriving export industry around the concept of empathic design, where global demand is growing fast, Lähdesmäki affirms. “Companies that think they don’t need service design are doomed. I’ve been preaching this for over ten years now: UX is your brand. Building an amazing experience is the best way to build an emotional connection to your customer. And when it’s done right, it will last forever,” declares Lähdesmäki. l APRIL 2016

BLUE WINGS

EUROPEAN VOICES BY STEFAN NILSSON

When one plus one equals three

o man is an island, instead. Maybe the new way is not between said the 17th cenhigh-end and mass-produced, but rather tury poet John between disciplines. This winter we have Donne. And of seen at least two projects where fashion course no one designers have worked with interior design. is all alone. We Finnish Iittala have been collaborating with all interact, and Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake, sometimes this resulting in a collection of textile, ceramic, interaction creates new, exciting energy. and glass pieces for the home. Like falling in love. In the design industry Swedish IKEA have also launched a new we call this meeting of energies ‘designer designer collection with a fashion artist. collaboration’. This season they are working with Katie Contemporary history tells us that the Eary. This is IKEA’s first time working with world’s first designer collaboration took place fashion, which has resulted in a collection of between high-end colourful aprons, disco brand Halston quirky shopping and mass market bags, tableware, NEW COLLABORATIONS GIVE department store JC and bed linens. US A REASON TO SEE IITTALA Penney. Thirty years Miyake and ago, glamorous disco Eary are two AND IKEA AS INNOVATIVE fashion designers fashion all of a sudNAMES TO WATCH. with distinctive den became availaesthetic styles. able to everyone – What these colbut not necessarily laborations bring to Iittala and IKEA is not loved by everyone. Fancy stores refused necessarily the correlation between high to sell Halston. Now we know that a good designer collaboration can generate end and mass market. Fashion companies are basically on the same commercial level money for all. as interior companies. Instead they generNo one really knows how many ate new energy, fresh ideas, and new tardesigner collaborations are going on, but get groups. They give us a reason to see some of the most talked about from last Iittala and IKEA as innovative names to year include Adidas and Kanye West, Keds watch. And of course I want to buy one of and Kate Spade New York, Vivienne WestMiyake’s pleated pillow cases and a set of wood and Opening Ceremony, and of course plates featuring dramatic fish jumping off Balmain and H&M. A good collaboration is hyped and talked the porcelain. I believe this is the future. Instead of going about. People queue to get their hands on from high to low, the new focus is on collabothe latest new thing. When sold out, these ration that sparks some sort of new energy. items hopefully end up on sites like eBay where the selling price is much higher than And these collaborations are a classic winwin-win: one plus one equals three. l originally in the store. This is sure proof of success. Forbes magazine argues that maybe we Stefan Nilsson is a Stockholm-based trend hunter and gallerist. Best known for his blog are seeing the end of this kind of collaboTrendstefan, he is also the owner of Designration: “Everyone does them, and so they don’t really seem special.” Perhaps consum- galleriet and head of the Designbloggarna blog network. Check out his YouTube channel ers are becoming saturated. I am not sure I agree. Rather, we are see- Trendstefan TV as well as his Instagram account: @trendstefan ing new kinds of collaboration emerging

56 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

THREE THOUSAND METRES OF RUNWAY. SEVEN DESIGNERS FROM TWO CONTINENTS. ONE FASHION SHOW. This spring, Asia and Europe unite in Helsinki, as Tuomas Laitinen invites seven of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most interesting fashion designers to Helsinki Airport for a fashion show unlike any other.

MATCHMADEINHEL.COM

DESTINATION ENGLAND

Going with the flow The rugged beauty of Englandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Yorkshire Dales is a perfect backdrop for moorland adventures. 58 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

Swaledaleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rugged beauty is ideal hiking territory.

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY TIM BIRD

in Swaledale APRIL 2016

BLUE WINGS

The stone-built Hazel Brow House overlooks the valley.

uperlatives abound in North Yorkshire. To reach the area you might pass through Dent, site of the highest railway station in England. On the edge of Wensleydale, known for the eponymous cheese much loved by Wallace of the Wallace & Gromit animated films, you can admire England’s highest single drop waterfall at Hardraw Force. Follow the road across windswept Buttertubs Pass and you’ll start following the fastest flowing river in the country, the River Swale. Here in Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, Hazel Brow House, a self-catering stone mansion guesthouse, overlooks the river, one of a cluster of limestone cottages and farm buildings comprising the village of Low Row. The village is situated midway along the valley, known for its sweeping heather moors, spring flowers, waterfalls, and barns and walls of limestone. Like the other structures in Swaledale, Hazel Brow seems carved from the bedrock, blending into its well-weathered geology. It’s the ideal hub for explorations on foot of one of England’s most beautiful regions. Walkers on the day hike from the hamlet of Keld in the west of the valley down to Reeth in the east encounter many more sheep than people but there are several cheerful village pubs on the route, at places such as Muker and Gunnerside, for lunchtime replenishment. The Pennine Way, a 430-kilometre upland walking trail

60 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

extending from Northumberland in the north to Edale in the Peak District east of Manchester, also follows the river through part of the dale. The river may flow quickly, but Catherine Calvert, entrepreneur and owner of Hazel Brow, sees Swaledale as the perfect setting for active but leisurely-paced holidays. “I think the ‘slow travel’ approach has so much going for it,” she says, “not least the greater connection with and appreciation of the area and closer contact with the community. There are benefits to the local rural economy with people spending more time and money locally rather than dashing through. So they’re also hitting one of the National Park objectives in reducing traffic.” HIGHEST PUB IN ENGLAND Popular with cyclists, Swaledale was on the route for the Tour de France when it made its northern English debut in 2014, and the yellow-painted bicycles outside many houses are reminders of this event. Other very convenient transport comes in the form of the Little White Bus service that shuttles occasionally between Keld and Reeth. A car – or even a locally hired driver – might be needed for excursions to the site of yet another superlative attraction: the highest pub in England. Tan Hill Inn offers the kind of enthusiastic welcome you might expect of managers, namely Steve and Viv Bailey, whose pub is the only building on the

A cosy open fire at the end of a vigorous walk – perfect!

There are benefits to the local economy when people don’t dash through.

treeless blustery moors for as far as the eye can see. Located with the gratitude of many a weary walker on a section of the Pennine Way at an altitude of 528 metres, the pub also has comfortable bedrooms, a full English breakfast option for campers, Tan Hill Sausage in Yorkshire Pudding on the menu, and a selection of Yorkshire beers that make it an agreeable place to get stranded. The adjoining barn is an unlikely venue for pub gigs, too, with shows by bands such as British Sea Power and the Arctic Monkeys having acquired fabled status. The half-hour drive to the Tan Hill Inn could include an appropriate stop at the village of Booze, although you won’t find much to detain you apart from a few wind-scoured moor-side cottages and not a bottle in sight. But Booze is one of many quirkily named settlements on a local map that also includes Bunton Hush, Arkengarthdale, Grimwith, and Crackpot.

Yorkshire is famous for its variety and quality of beers. APRIL 2016

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N A M

to ies r fl r two i a n Fin heste ay. nc s a d Ma e m tim air.co n fin

Onward and upwards: Swaledale trails range from easy to challenging.

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WALK THE TALK GETTING THERE Swaledale is in northern England. From Manchester Airport hire a car and drive through some of Britain’s most beautiful countryside, or take the train to Northallerton, then bus to Richmond to take the Swaledale Shuttle (Little White Bus). WALKING For a great day-walk of about 18 kilometres, take the Little White Bus to Keld and follow the Pennine Way along the river down to Muker, crossing the stiles over fields and continuing on the wellmarked footpaths to Reeth. Detours include heading up from Low Row to some former lead mining villages, with great views across the valley. Always close the gates behind you and take good waterproof boots or walking shoes! SLEEPING Hazel Brow House at Low Row is ideal for big family events such as weddings or reunions. It has 8 bedrooms, free Wi-Fi, marble fireplaces, great valley views, and sleeps 14. hazelbrow.co.uk

EATING Call ‘The Good Life’ grocery at Hawes in Wensleydale for door-to-door grocery deliveries for self-catering, or head to the Bridge Inn at Grinton for a creative pub menu splurge including local lamb and fish. thegood-life.co.uk bridgeinn-grinton.co.uk

ANIMAL ATTRACTIONS Wherever you walk or drive, two species will be your most conspicuous company. The first is the rabbit, extraordinarily common in these parts. The second is the Swaledale sheep with its black face and shaggy wool, an especially hardy creature that was traditionally bred to graze on the wildest, most remote pastures. At Muker, the Swaledale Woollens shop sells handcrafted knitwear including cardigans, scarves, and flat caps, practical and top quality souvenirs of those ovine encounters. The moors are also home to grouse and pheasants, their numbers encouraged and protected by gamekeepers for shooting. “Grouse shooting is actually an important part of the local economy,” says Hazel Brow’s Catherine Calvert. “A lot of people are employed as driven grouse beaters in the season.” The landscape has been shaped in part by more than two centuries of, alternately, preservation and slaughter of these birds. Aristocrats such as the Duke of Norfolk, who maintains an estate in Swaledale, have kept these pursuits alive – Yorkshire, after all, is the supposed setting of the fictional Downtown Abbey TV series. Downton was filmed in Derbyshire, but other TV series and movies have made the most of Swaledale’s wild beauty, from Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves to All Creatures Great and Small, whose author James Herriot lived in nearby Thirsk. Its use as a backdrop for TV fiction is understandable, but you’ll find Swaledale’s actual daily drama in the roar of its waterfalls, its changing skies, and the rolling, rugged landscapes of its valley. l

The Pennine Way (left) passes Swaledale. Shorter trails skirt barns and farms.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Tim Bird

A long-term writer and photographer for Blue Wings, Tim Bird enjoys any opportunity to rediscover his English roots. APRIL 2016

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be privilegedċ be oneċ Introducing new oneworld benefitsċ Finnair Plus Platinum and Gold members both now enjoy additional baggage allowances on all oneworld airlines ġ and their baggage also receives priority handling from aircraft to carouselċ Learn more at oneworldċcom/benefits

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be connected Welcome to oneworldČ an alliance of the worldĚs leading airlines committed to providing the highest level of service and convenience across more than āČĀĀĀ destinations worldwideċ Whenever Finnair canĚt take you to your final destinationČ we encourage you to travel with our oneworld partner airlinesċ Enjoy an array of special privileges and rewards ģ which include earning and redeeming Finnair Plus points on all oneworld airlines andČ for Finnair Plus Platinum and Gold membersČ access to some ćĆĀ premium airport loungesċ

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be recognised As a oneworld travellerČ satisfaction awaits you around the globeċ Your Finnair Plus status is recognised across all member airlinesċ And you are entitled to a range of benefitsČ which are provided according to the following oneworld tier levelsČ no matter which cabin class you are flying inč

*Access to preferred or preġreserved seating is in accordance with the individual policy of the oneworld member airline operating the flightċ First and business class checkġin desks and lounges are not available at all airportsċ Fast track is not available at all airportsċ Priority baggage handling is not available on flights operated by British Airwaysċ Extra baggage allowance benefits differ for Sapphire and Emerald level membersċ oneworld benefits are available only to passengers on scheduled flights that are both marketed and operated by a oneworld member airline (marketed means that there must be a oneworld member airlineĚs flight number on your ticket)ċ airberlinČ American AirlinesČ British AirwaysČ Cathay PacificČ FinnairČ IberiaČ Japan AirlinesČ LANČ Malaysia AirlinesČ QantasČ Qatar AirwaysČ Royal JordanianČ SĈ AirlinesČ SriLankan AirlinesČ TAM Airlines and oneworld are trademarks of their respective companiesċ TAM Airlines (Paraguay) is currently not a part of oneworldċ Some limitations and exceptions may applyċ For more informationČ visit wwwċoneworldċcom/benefitsċ

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Designer Vertti Kivi and his dSign team created the interiors for Finnairâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new A350 aircraft.

66 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

CREATING A BRILLIANT FLIGHT EXPERIENCE When Vertti Kivi and his dSign team designed the cabin interiors for Finnair’s A350 fleet, little did they know that the concept would be a winner well before take-off.

TEXT BY KATJA PANTZAR PHOTOS BY OKKO OINONEN AND FINNAIR

n a warm evening last May at Venice’s posh Hotel Cipriani (founded by Giuseppe Cipriani, creator of the legendary Harry’s Bar and the Bellini cocktail), a group of travel industry insiders gathered for the 2015 International Yacht and Aviation awards. Guests included Finnish designer Vertti Kivi and his team, who had entered the competition with images of their then yet-to-be launched designs for Finnair’s new fleet of Airbus A350 XWBs. As the ceremony got underway, Kivi and his team were called up to the stage. They had won a prestigious International Yacht & Aviation Award for the design of Finnair’s new Airbus A350 XWB cabin interiors – alongside industry heavyweights such as Qantas and Virgin Atlantic. “It was a total surprise,” says Kivi. “And it was a huge honour; these awards are like the Oscars of nautical and aviation design.” LIGHT FANTASTIC The bright and spacious cabin of Finnair’s 297-seat A350, which officially launched in October 2015, was recognised for excellence in design and passen-

ger comfort in both economy and business classes. According to the jury, key factors were the fresh Nordic design, high quality materials, and creative use of the aircraft’s dynamic LED lighting system. Airbus was the first manufacturer to introduce ambient lighting as an option for commercial aircraft. “LED lighting allows us to use more than 16 million different light shades. We can do amazing programming and introduce a completely new element to the flight experience, while keeping it all in line with Finnair’s sophisticated design DNA,” says Kivi. He heads dSign Vertti Kivi & Co, an award-winning Helsinki-based design firm that has designed more than 1,000 projects in Finland and abroad since opening shop in 1993. Recent clients include Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Viking Line, Microsoft, Fazer, Scandic, and the Hilton Tallinn Park Hotel, which opens later this year in the Estonian capital. On Finnair flights, the ambient lighting gradually displays 24 different skyscapes as the flight progresses, such as the rising or setting sun, various cloud formations, and even mimics the dance of the Northern Lights. “For example, when descending in the East the aircraft can be awash in warm orange tones, or surface APRIL 2016

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The Space Alive Concept uses dynamic lighting, colours, and moods to suit the time of day and destination.

interiors may glow in fresh blue hues when arriving in Helsinki,” says Kivi. The idea uses Kivi’s Space Alive Concept, which utilises dynamic lighting, colours, and moods to suit the time of day, destination, or season. Especially on Finnair’s long-haul services between Europe and Asia, the range of lighting scenarios help passengers relax and acclimatise en route to their destination. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE “Design has been very important for Finnair throughout its history, it’s something that other airlines have not been able to take advantage of,” says Kivi. “Everyone looks for their own competitive edge and Finnair has been the company in Finland that has the best managed to export this through the design experience to customers.” Kivi also views Finnish design as an important differentiating factor on the international scale. “If you look at the interiors of other airlines, they often use colours such as brown and even red, so this Finnish freshness and minimalism are elements that stand out,” says Kivi. In these cost-conscious times, design makes an important difference in the bottom line. 68 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

“When we designed the interiors for the M/S Viking Grace cruise ships a few years ago, the prelaunch expectation was 900,000 passengers a year. Well, during the first year alone 1.3 million people travelled, which is an additional 400,000 people. The dynamic interior design became a topic of discussion and people wanted to come and see it and experience it for themselves,” says Kivi.

On board the A350 in business class.

Among its accolades, the M/S Viking Grace won the 2013 international Shippax design award. As for Finnair, since the first of the A350s aircraft joined the fleet last October, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, which is no small feat for any business. BEHIND THE SCENES When Kivi and his team began working with Finnair, they came up with 50 novel ideas for the aircraft interior. “It all starts from the fact that the plane is an empty shell. Airbus’s role is to put together all the bits that come from around the world; they don’t make the seats, for example. Almost everything comes from elsewhere and then they assemble it all at the Airbus factory,” explains Kivi. The process started virtually from scratch. Finnair needed to consider the location and type of toilets, where and what type of kitchen facilities to create, and select the number of business and economy class seats. “Of course for Finnair it was important that all of the business class seats can recline to the full-flat seat position,” says Kivi. After looking at the types of seats on offer, the team decided to create customised versions for Finnair with special details such as stitching on business class seats and small logos bearing a stylised letter F. Other customised details include small vases in the lavatories for fresh sprigs of birch or other seasonal green touches.

Design has been very important for Finnair throughout its history. It’s also a key part of the company’s competitive advantage.

“One of the challenges in designing for an airplane is that is all materials have to be approved and ensured to be fire resistant,” says Kivi. Another challenge is weight. Early plans for a plush carpet that would have added weight and thus substantial additional cost were scrapped to ensure a more lightweight and ecological transport solution. Kivi’s team has also created Helsinki Airport’s Finnair lounges, which make use of the Space Alive concept to create dynamic spaces in keeping with the illuminating customer experience on board. “That lighting design eventually became an integral part of Finnair’s new look is fitting, after all, 60 per cent of interior design is created by the right light,” says Kivi. l APRIL 2016

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DESTINATION MALTA

Maltaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s underwater

odyssey

70 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

The island of Gozo offers numerous diving sites for taking the plunge, and plenty of flavours to savour once you have dried off. TEXT AND PHOTOS BY HERNAN PATIÃ&#x2018;O

Fin na lta ir flie s to thr aw ee ee sum k du time s me ring finn r sea the s air .co on. m Ma

APRIL 2016

BLUE WINGS

Sunset at the Azure Window

ocated a mere 25 minutes by ferry from the Maltese coast, Gozo was the inspiration for Ogygia, the mystical isle in Homer’s Odyssey where Odysseus was held captive by the nymph Calypso, according to legend. But long before being a hotbed of mythical carnality, the island was home to an ancient peaceful farming community and an impressive array of Neolithic temples that pre-date Stonehenge and the Pyramids. These days the second-largest island in the Maltese archipelago is home to around 37,000 people. Thankfully, Gozo is no longer under siege by the dastardly corsairs of centuries ago. In their place, we meet friendly visitors from all over the world, who are increasingly drawn to the island’s many attractions. Chief among these is the spectacular landscape diving provided by Gozo’s crystal clear seas. A lack of tides and strong currents, combined with little sediment, help make the water perfect for diving. There are about 30 dive sites in the region, all suitable for exploration throughout the year.

DIVING IN One of Gozo’s most renowned dives is found in the passageway between the Inland Sea and the Blue Hole. The Inland Sea is an isolated lagoon that remains connected to the open sea via an 80-metre long natural tunnel through a rock cliff. Below the surface, the length of the dive is flanked by two massive walls, with the alluring azure water of the open sea acting 72 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

Diving through a crevice near the Blue Hole

Another great dive at Dwejra

Sanoma Media Finland / Mediamyynti 09-122 98760

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Helsinki Finland

Helsinki

Hulvaton talk show osoitteessa menaiset.ﬁ/evek

Spectacular landscapes abound both above and underwater.

as a beacon ahead. Passing numerous impressive rock formations, we continue swimming through a large underwater arch and eventually enter the Blue Hole. A large limestone hole of about 10 metres in diameter, this is a good place for a safety stop before we finally exit the water. After experiencing the dive, it is easy to see why it is so popular among divers. Indeed, famous undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau numbered it among his favourites. TRIO OF WRECKS Another aspect that makes Gozo’s diving options so appealing is that around 90 per cent of them can be completed from the shore. Case in point: the three popular wreck dives in the vicinity of Ix-Xatt l-Aħmar

Klikkaa heti osoitteeseen

www.soppa365.fi

Luo oma keittokirja netissä!

Above: Owner Joe Spiteri and his beloved dog George taking a break at Ta’ Mena Estate. Above right: Traditional architecture in Victoria, the capital of Gozo.

that offer multilevel dives of about 45 metres in depth. Among these is the former tourist ferry MV Karwela, which was scuttled in 2006. It’s situated about 80 metres from the shore, and we swim almost halfway to the site before submerging. Visibility is easily over 30 metres as we descend, slowly approaching the port side of the vessel. The wreck is 48 metres long and eight metres wide and tilts slightly to the left. With a brief 15 minutes to explore, we enter through a hole on the deck in the bow and visit the main saloon, continue up the stairs and exit again up to the deck. BRILLIANT BLUE Also known as the Blue Dome, Cathedral Cave is a spectacular dive site that takes you on a shallow dive towards a huge arch and into a large natural domed vault where it is possible to surface. With my mask removed and regulator off, the intense shimmering cobalt blue of the water is enthralling, illuminated by light streaming through an opening in the side of the cave. We submerge again and dive back to the unforgettable blue. Later, I ask my diving guide Thomas Menz what he likes most about diving here. Now in his ninth year in Gozo, he points to the indigo blue, the visibility, and the underwater rock formations. And what about the island in general? “The calm, friendly, southern mentality,” he says, without hesitation.

74 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

After experiencing Gozo’s memorable diving and flavours, it’s hard to remain unaffected. ISLAND FLAVOURS Diving sites aren’t the only things in abundance in Gozo. Olives, oranges, figs, plums, grapes, and pears are but a handful of the tasty offerings grown here. Free-range meat is also part of the local food basket and various farm animals can be seen roaming freely about the surrounds. Fresh from my diving adventures, I hop on the scooter and head inland to Ta’ Mena Estate, a popular agritourism centre and winery that also provides lodging. Owner Joe Spiteri proudly shows me around. Ducks, turkeys, and chickens are scattered about the premises. Long rows of olive and orange groves stretch before us, with the Citadel looming impressively in the distance.

Local flavours at Ta’ Rikardu

SEE THE SITES Looking for more from your visit to Gozo? Here are some suggestions to get you started. Gozo’s official tourism portal visitgozo.com Ferry service from Malta to Gozo gozochannel.com Local diving centre calypsodivers.com Ta' Mena Estate tamena-gozo.com Bike and scooter rental on2wheelsgozo.com *Note that traffic is on the left-hand side of the road in Gozo and Malta.

After our invigorating walk, it’s time to indulge in a selection of olives, sundried tomatoes, bread and wine. The food is simply delicious, with its palate of rich flavours complementing one another perfectly. Spiteri informs me that these taste sensations are a result of the island’s special microclimate – a delicious mix of Mediterranean sunshine and sea breeze – combined with Gozitan salt and traditional recipes. “It’s the island effect,” he says, with a knowing smile. Certainly, after experiencing Gozo’s memorable diving and flavours, it’s hard to remain unaffected. l

BEHIND THE SCENES

Hernan Patiño Hernan Patiño is a freelance photographer who writes on occasion and who loves to explore the underwater world. He resides in Helsinki with his wife and three children.

SPRING! HEL IS IN BLOOM. CHECK OUT OUR 41 SHOPS AND 29 PLACES TO EAT & DRINK.

FINNAIR NEWS

TOWARDS A BETTER PLANET Finnair’s performance in corporate responsibility has been upgraded to Prime Status by oekom research AG! That’s goood news for investors. Read the review from oekom-research.com.

COMPILED BY KATJA PANTZAR

Top 3 spring break destinations

Edinburgh From castles to lochs, the world’s first city of literature brims with culture, cuisine, and loads of activities from walking tours to pub crawls.

FINNAIR PLUS PROGRAMME

Customer loyalty excellence THE FINNAIR PLUS programme was recognised for excellence in loyalty programme initiatives at the Loyalty Awards, presented at the Flightglobal/Global Flight Loyalty 2016 conference in Bangkok in March.

Finnair Plus was recognised for their partnership with Social Party Inc., which developed gamification incentives for members through the Party Coins Game Rewards Service. loyalty-conference.com

Rome Few cities in the world can compare with the Italian capital’s rich architectural legacy. From art-stuffed churches to ancient archaeological ruins, the eternal city offers a walk through history.

Best international airline nomination

For the fourth year in a row, Finnair has been nominated for “Best International Airline – Offline” at the National Travel Industry Awards in Australia. The awards ceremony will be held in Sydney in mid-July. An “offline connection” is a journey where a passenger travels on multiple planes using multiple airlines. www.afta.com.au

76 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

Paris The city of love and light is

guaranteed to brighten up any travel itinerary whether by visiting classic sights such as the Eiffel Tower and Louvre, or wandering off the beaten track through the Bohemian arrondissements.

SYKETTÄ YLÖS TAI KEHON JA MIELEN HARMONIAA Viihdy suosikkiurheilulajisi parissa, lataa akkuja spa-hotelleissa ja keskity rentoutumiseen ja virkistymiseen. Tutustu uuteen Hyvään oloon -lomakokoelmaan aurinkomatkat.ﬁ/lomakokoelmat

FINNAIR NEWS

#MATCHMADEINHEL Seven designers put on a fashion show like no other on May 24 on one of Helsinki Airport’s runways. Share, follow, and be part of the story.

COMPILED BY KATJA PANTZAR ISTOCK

Finnair crew tips

New summer destinations include the Greek islands.

Flight attendant and foodie Sun Young Je shares her favourite restaurant experiences from around the world:

Top 3 restaurants

1 Jewels of the Mediterranean and beyond FLY TO INSTAGRAM-ABLE Greek villages fringed with turquoise waters and sandy beaches, as Finnair scheduled flights replace charter service to the islands of Zakynthos, Skiathos, Santorini, and Lesbos, and the Greek town of Preveza this summer. Of the 12 new destinations on Finnair’s summer 2016 roster, flights to Rimini and Verona in Italy, and Varna in Bulgaria also become scheduled flights, offering travellers the option of choosing between a package holiday or an independent trip. The number of flights to popular summer destinations such as Malta, Tel Aviv, Biarritz, and Nice also increase. TWEET OF THIS MONTH

Gearing up for a dynamic international fashion show #matchmadeinHEL

New routes feature Edinburgh, Scotland; Billund, Denmark (which becomes a yearround destination); and Pula, Croatia. The service offering to Croatia increases with two weekly flights (from June 20 to August 12) between Helsinki and Pula. Together with service to Dubrovnik and Split, Finnair will offer a total of 14 weekly flights to Croatia this summer. All flights have one class service, but for summer 2016 the following routes will also offer Business Class service: Biarritz, Krakow, Nice, Pisa, Pula, Venice, Naples, and Split. finnair.com F ind us on Facebook Badge

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#feelfinnair on instagram by karen.allisa The first A350 to land in Hong Kong!

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78 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

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See the city of superlatives!

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At Singapore’s Newton Circus, you can choose all kinds of local foods from the many small restaurants in this typically Singaporean food court. Try chilli crab, kangkong, and cereal prawn, served with a local beer on ice.

Work up an appetite by walking around Brooklyn, NYC, before heading to Peter Lugers Steakhouse, top choice for a New York style steak. Fuelled by food, continue on to Williamsburg to check out the array of American home accessory and antique shops.

Hofbräuhaus, run by one of Munich’s oldest breweries, is the spot for those who love a friendly beer parlour. Order your favourite type of German beer and haxen (pit roasted pork knuckle) and chat with people from all over the world. Feel free to sing out loud and dance – with the people you’ve just met.

FLY FINNAIR

Your complete guide to travelling with us

WELCOME ABOARD We want you to enjoy your flight. This guide contains all the information you need for stress-free travelling. We have even included tips for inflight wellbeing and entertainment. So sit back, relax and enjoy your travel experience.

In this guide 80 81 82 83 84 85 88 92 94 98

TIPS FOR TAKEOFF INFLIGHT WELLBEING ENTERTAINMENT SHOPPING SUSTAINABILITY HELSINKI AIRPORT MAPS FLEET FREQUENT FLYERS FINLAND IN FIGURES APRIL 2016

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FLY FINNAIR TIPS FOR TAKEOFF

FINNAIR in a nutshell

Established in 1923, Finnair is one of the world’s oldest operating airlines. Finnair’s route network includes 17 destinations in Asia, 3 in North America and some 74 in Europe. In 2015, Finnair carried 10.3 million passengers. More than 1.6 million passengers fly between Asia and Helsinki each year.

TRAVEL TIPS MIRJA UOSUKAINEN Inflight Service Specialist and Purser, member of the team that developed Finnair’s Blue Sky signature drink. “The best thing you can do on a plane is drink plenty of water during the flight. I also recommend trying the blueberry juice — it’s a healthy and d elicious alternative! To keep your skin looking fresh while flying, it’s a good idea to apply moisturiser to protect from drying. My personal favourites are Polaar cosmetics, especially the Lapland creams. Their Icy Magic eye roll-on is my secret weapon to get rid of the tired look. I’m also hooked on Bioeffect EGF serum, which I use overnight to renew my skin. You don't need anything else. All of these products can be bought onboard or pre-ordered before your flight!” See page 83 for this month’s selection of pre-order products!

SAFETY

IN YOUR POCKET THE FINNAIR MOBILE APP is available for iOS and Android devices. The app provides up-to-the-minute flight information and e-boarding pass storage. Check-in on your mobile to avoid the queues, upgrade your travel class and view Finnair Plus point balances. Simply log in with your Finnair Plus member ID. Go to finnair.com to learn more and see all the features.

80 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

SAFER JOURNEY SAFETY INFORMATION is presented by the cabin crew at the start of each flight. This information is also listed on the safety instruction card in your seat pocket. Safety belts must remain fastened when the “Fasten safety belt” sign is on. For safety reasons we recommend keeping them fastened even when the sign has been switched off. Handheld devices can be used throughout the flight (including takeoff and landing) in airplane-mode. Laptops and larger devices must be stowed away during takeoff and landing, but can be used when the “Fasten safety belt” sign has been switched off.

FLY FINNAIR INFLIGHT WELLBEING

FOOD AND DRINK

EAT WELL

Business class passengers on long-haul flights can enjoy Signature menus prepared by chefs from top restaurants. The menus offer passengers a taste of Nordic flavours.

Foods to fuel on European flights FANCY A SNACK ONBOARD? Then take a look at the Sky Bistro menu card in your seat pocket. For a small fee, you can choose from a tasty selection of food and beverages. Try our new cucumber drink – it will keep you hydrated during the flight! Coffee, tea, water and Finnair’s signature blueberry juice are always served free of charge on all Finnair flights.

WELLBEING

MINDFULNESS

INFLIGHT EXERCISES

Sit back and relax

These moves keep you fit while flying. Hold each movement for a few seconds and repeat five times per side.

Mindfulness instructor Aleksi Litovaara's exercises will help you feel calm and rested during your flight.

BE AWARE: The basic idea of mindfulness is that you have arrived. The aircraft is already taking you where you need to be so just sit back and relax. Watch, listen and feel your present environment.

CIRCLES

LIFT

RAISE

LOWER

Lift one foot and draw circles with your toes. Reverse direction.

Lift one knee up and then lower your foot back down to the floor.

Keep heels on the floor and lift your toes upwards, then release.

Keep toes on the floor and lift your heels upwards, then release.

TACKLE ANXIETY: If you experience nervousness or restlessness, try holding an object in your hand. It will help bring your attention to that simple physical sensation instead of getting caught up in your own thoughts.

3 SHRUG

NOD

ROTATE

TURN

Lift your shoulders up towards your ears and release.

Lower your chin slowly towards your chest and lift back up again.

Gently rotate your head from side to side. Keep your shoulders relaxed.

Slowly lower your left ear to your left shoulder and then back up again.

THINK POSITIVE: This is a good moment to choose nice words towards yourself and other passengers — if only in your mind. You can also ask yourself: what do I need right now? It may well be reading a book or getting some rest instead of working on your computer. aleksilitovaara.com

APRIL 2016

BLUE WINGS

FLY FINNAIR ENTERTAINMENT

BE ENTERTAINED AND CONNECTED

WHAT’S PLAYING

Finnair’s inflight experience has come a long way. Experience the Nordic Sky entertainment system now on Finnair A350 XWB aircraft.

ON SCREEN

NORDIC SKY, the state-of-the-art inflight entertainment system available onboard Finnair A350 flights, offers passengers individual screens with audio and video on demand throughout the cabin. In addition to entertainment, Nordic Sky offers a unique customer experience with its Wi-Fi portal. You can use the portal free of charge with your personal devices to access finnair.com and Finnair services such as destination information, customer care and pre-order shopping. Speaking of shopping, Finnair and Helsinkibased clothing company Makia have teamed up to offer you the Makia Shop. You can now purchase Finnish design clothing for men and women during your flight via the Nordic Sky Wi-Fi portal. Enjoy your flight!

Here’s how to get started: 1. Turn on your Wi-Fi enabled device in flight mode and enable Wi-Fi. 2. Join the Wi-Fi network “Nordic Sky”. 3. Open the browser of your choice. 4. Start exploring.

Want to know more about your destination? Nordic Sky offers travel tips to make your landing even easier.

PICK OF THE MONTH Action

THE REVENANT In the 1820s, a frontiersman sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.

82 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

Latest films and TV series

MOVIE 45 YEARS. As Kate’s wedding anniversary approaches, a letter arrives for her husband — the contents of which may destroy their marriage. MOVIE THE HATEFUL EIGHT. A bounty hunter and his prisoner find shelter in a cabin currently inhabited by a collection of nefarious characters. MOVIE JOY. The story of a family across four generations and the woman who rises to become the founder and matriarch of a family business.

TV SERIES PROJECT GREENLIGHT. The series chronicles the search for a first-time director and explores the filmmaking process.

TV SERIES THE MYSTERIES OF LAURA. A Jane Doe is found in Times Square with no memory and mysterious tattoos on her body.

RADIO SOUNDS OF CHINA. Sit back, relax and immerse yourself in the beautiful sounds of China.

PLUG IN!

Most Airbus A340 aircraft and all Airbus A330 aircraft are equipped with an electricity socket, which you will find under your seat. On the Airbus A350 aircraft, you will find a USB port located in the seatback monitor in Economy class and directly from the seat in Business class.

FLY FINNAIR INFLIGHT SHOPPING

SPRING IS IN THE AIR

BIOTHERM DAY TRIPPER SET Available in pre-order shopping catalogue €20.50

Long live the Moomins! Here are this month's gift ideas that are sure to bring a smile to someone's face! And remember — the Nordic Sky Wi-Fi portal onboard the A350 gives you direct access to pre-order shopping.

PRE-ORDER before your next flight

FAZER MOOMIN GIFT BOX Available in pre-order shopping catalogue €10.00

FINNAIR CARRIES a wide selection of cosmetics, fragrances, gift items, confectionary and jewellery, all of which can be purchased before your flight. On most Intercontinental flights and flights to and from destinations outside the EU, wine and spirits are available for purchase. You also earn Finnair Plus points with every purchase.

FINNAIR

EXCLUSIVE

LIMITED

STOCK

MADE IN FINLAND

CITY PRICE

-60%

Pre-Order

CITY PRICE PRICE FINLAYSON CITY MAGIC MOOMIN

-50% MAKEUP BAG-40%

Available in pre-order shopping catalogue €23.00

FAZER MOOMIN BISCUITS Available in pre-order shopping catalogue €10.00

PRE-ORDER

for stress-free shopping FINLAYSON MAGIC MOOMIN SHOPPING BAG Available in pre-order shopping catalogue €30.00

Ordering in advance is always a good idea. You can save up to 60 per cent compared to city prices. There’s no minimum order and your purchase will be waiting at your seat on your next flight! www.finnairshop.com

APRIL 2016

BLUE WINGS

FLY FINNAIR SUSTAINABILITY

ISTOCK

BETTER PLANET A few examples of Finnair’s societal involvement in action: THE UNITED NATIONS Global Compact is a corporate responsibility initiative aiming to make human rights, fair labour standards, environmental responsibility and anti-corruption core parts of the participating companies’ operations. Finnair has been a member since 2013. The airline also signed the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles in 2011.

FINNAIR has received 3 of 19 forthcoming Airbus A350 aircraft, which cut back on fuel consumption and emissions by 25 per cent.

BIODIVERSITY IN THE AIR BEYOND its aim to reduce aviation emissions, Finnair is focusing on natural diversity. In 2015 the airline took part in a Master Class organised by FIBS, Finland’s leading corporate responsibility network, and the Ministry of Environment. The class focused on identifying participating companies’ impact on biodiversity, which includes habitat, regulatory, and cultural services found in the natural ecosystem. “Biodiversity within Finnair’s business is becoming further emphasised through our efforts to pursue sustainable development and combat c limate change,” says Outi Merilä, Finnair’s Environmental

WORK WITH US

DO GOOD Finnair makes it even easier to donate to charity. Passengers can now make a donation to UNICEF Finland when they book their flights on the Finnair website. Donations are possible in sums of five, ten, or twenty euros. Finnair also collaborates with many other environmental and humanitarian organisations.

84 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

anager. “As biofuels replace fossil f uels M in the coming years, we want to ensure that the production of ingredients used in renewable fuels complies by the principles of sustainable development.” Finnair has also prohibited the transport of hunting trophies from endangered species in its cargo network, and included biodiversity in its 2015 Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The airline also supports a rain forest reforestation project in Madagascar in cooperation with the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation.

FINNAIR was one of the first airlines in the world to receive an IATA Environmental Assessment (IEnvA) certification; this environmental management system is designed to assess an airline’s environmental management.

THE AIRLINE supports the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) goal of zero emissions trading scheme. Finnair is dedicated to reducing its carbon dioxide emission revenue as much as 20 per cent per tonne-kilometre from 2009 to 2017. Another ambitious goal is to reduce the total amount of de-icing fluids by 40 per cent from 2006 to the end of 2016.

fibsry.fi/fi/english/home

Members of Finnair’s frequent flyer programme can donate points to the following charities at pointshop.finnair.com: • The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation • The Association of Friends of the University Children’s Hospitals • The Cancer Society of Finland • The Finnish Red Cross • UNICEF Finland • The Baltic Sea Action Group • Hope

FINNAIR CONDUCTS an annual employee well-being survey, participates in campaigns promoting equal opportunities at the workplace and places a strong focus on occupational safety and continuous training.

IN 2015 FINNAIR joined the Climate Leadership Council, an initiative bringing together leading Finnish businesses to combat climate change and foster business eco-technologies. The airline is also included on the CDP’s (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) 2015 Nordic Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI), which comprises organisations that have scored within the top 10 per cent in the region in their efforts to disclose carbon emissions and energy data.

FLY FINNAIR HELSINKI AIRPORT

HAPPY LANDINGS Arriving and departing Helsinki Airport

PASSENGERS at Helsinki Airport can use the 30 automated border control gates. Fifteen of these are located in the departure hall. The Finnish Border Guard’s automated border control helps serve growing passenger volumes at Helsinki Airport. EU, EEA, Japanese and Swiss nationals with biometric passports can take advantage of the automated border control gates. Other foreign nationals, who are exempt from the visa requirement and hold a biometric passport, may also use the automated border control upon departure. This service is available for Australian, Canadian, Japanese, New Zealand, South Korean and U.S. citizens. The automated border control is monitored by a border guard ensuring secure border crossings. Please note that passengers travelling with an infant, baggage trolley or wheelchair must use the manual border control lane.

AUTOMATED BORDER CONTROL Place your passport with the info page face down on the reader. Please wait while your passport is being read for biographical and biometric data. When the scan is complete, the gate will open. ヘルシンキ・ヴァンター空港シェンゲンエリアでは、入出国審査の際に自動化ゲートをご利用頂けます。対象となるのはICパスポートをお持ちのお客様です。

대한민국 전자여권을 소지한 승객께서는 유럽에서 한국으로 입국 시, 헬싱키 공항에서 자동출국심사 서비스를 이용 하실 수 있습니다.

① パスポートの顔写真ページを読み取ります。該当ページを読み取り機の上に置いて下さい。個人情報と生体認証データを読み取ります。

우선, 전자여권의 사진 페이지를 인식장치에 올려주시기를 바랍니다. 이 과정에서 여권정보가 시스템에 자동 인식됩니다.

② ゲートが開いたら中に入り、右を向いて下さい。パスポートの顔写真と照合します。バックパック・帽子・眼鏡などは外して下さい。足跡マークの上に立って画面を正面からまっすぐに見て下さい。 ③ 二番目のゲートが開いたら、入国審査官のカウンターにお進み下さい。パスポートを確認した後、入国または出国スタンプを押印致します。シェンゲンエリア居住許可証をお持ちの方は、入国審査官にご提示下さい。

finnair.com/jp

첫 번째 게이트가 열리면 안으로 들어가 오른쪽에 위치한 카메라로 안면인증을 거치게 됩니다. 이후 마지막 게이트에서 출입국관리 직원의 출국확인도장을 받으시면 됩니다. 보다 간편하고 빠른 본 자동시스템의 많은 이용 바랍니다. 대한민국 전자여권은? 2008년 8월 25일 이후 발급된 여권으로 표지 하단부에 전자칩과 안테나가 내장 되어 있는 여권입니다.

finnair.com/kr

Enter through the gate and turn right. Please remove your backpack if you’re wearing one and stand on the footprints on the floor. Remove your glasses and hat. Stand still and look directly at the screen keeping your face visible. The camera will compare your facial image with the biometric feature scanned from your passport. Wait until the second gate opens. The border check for EU, EEA and Swiss nationals is completed when the gate opens. Other foreign nationals must move towards the border guard, who will check your entry stamp and mark your passport with an exit stamp.

APRIL 2016

BLUE WINGS

FLY FINNAIR HELSINKI AIRPORT

WELCOME TO HELSINKI AIRPORT HOW TO TRANSFER Check your gate and departure time on the airport monitors. All Finnair and Nordic Regional Airlines (Norra), formerly Flybe Finland, departures are located in the same terminal. If you do not have a boarding pass for your connecting flight, please contact the transfer service desk. Most passengers transferring from non-EU countries to EU countries must go through security and passport control. Please note that liquids are restricted in carry-on baggage. If your baggage has not been checked through to your final destination, collect it from the baggage claim area and go to check-in and security control. AUTOMATED BORDER CHECKS are available to passengers with biometric passports. The service is available for Australian, Canadian, EEA, EU, Japanese, New Zealand, South Korean, Swiss, and U.S. citizens. See more information on page 85.

34 35

SHOP

32a

31a-e 30

31x 31

Security control

SHOP

Border control

SHOP

LONG-HAUL AREA NON-SCHENGEN

Bo con

TRANSFER SERVICE 3

2ND FLOOR 36

FINNAIR LOUNGE FINNAIR PREMIUM LOUNGE 37

Border control

2ND FLOOR

37a-d

GROUND FLOOR

FINNAIR TRANSFER SERVICE desks in Helsinki Airport T2 terminal are ready to help you with any inquiries related to your connection flights. TRANSFER SERVICE

BUS CONNECTION The Finnair City Bus to the Helsinki Railway Station leaves from Terminal 2 every 20 minutes, stopping also at Terminal 1. Travel time is about 30 minutes. Price: €6.30

CHECKING IN Checking in to your Finnair flight is easy. You can save time by checking in at a self-service stand at the airport, online 36 hours before departure or by text message.

TRAIN CONNECTION The Ring Rail Line connects Helsinki Airport to downtown Helsinki. There is direct access from the corridor between T1 and T2 terminals to the train station by two lifts and three escalators.

FLIGHT DISRUPTIONS In case a flight is delayed or cancelled, Finnair will make every effort to keep you updated. Please make sure that you have provided Finnair with your email address and phone number.

86 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

SHOP

SERVICES AND FACILITIES SHOP SHOPPING Receive special offers for airport services when you show your Finnair Plus card. You will recognise our partners by the Finnair Plus symbol. Helsinki Airport features more than 30 shops and boutiques and various restaurants and cafés.

WIRELESS INTERNET is available free of charge. An eService Bar is located across from gate 21. CHILDREN Children’s playrooms offer videos, microwave ovens and baby care facilities. NON-SMOKING Smoking at Helsinki Airport is prohibited outside of designated smoking rooms.

SHOP

FLY FINNAIR HELSINKI AIRPORT WALKING TIME GATE 24–30: 7 MIN

T2 29

LOST AND FOUND Restaurant & Deli Fly Inn

26 SHOP

SCHENGEN AREA

SHOP

GATE AREA

Security check

25 TRANSFER SERVICE 2

SHOP

23 SHOP

FINNAIR LOUNGE

Security

order ntrol

CHECK-IN 240–270

SHOP

FINNAIR check CHECK-IN/ SERVICE DESKS 201–232

GROCERY

INQUIRIES Lentäjäntie 1 (next to T2, street level) Open Mon–Fri 09:00–17:00 and Sat 09:00–15:00 Tel 0600 41006 (1,97€/min + local network charge)

3RD FLOOR

PHARMACY TOURIST INFO

1ST FLOOR

SHOP

19 18 17 16

TRANSFER SERVICE 1

CHECK-IN 101–114

GROUND FLOOR BAGGAGE STORAGE

LOUNGE ENJOY A UNIQUE NORDIC EXPERIENCE! The sauna facilities at Helsinki Airport are situated between gates 36 and 37. The unisex sauna fits up to four guests, and towels are mandatory. Access to the Finnair lounges and connecting sauna is free to Business class customers and Finnair Plus Platinum, Gold, and Silver members, as well as to oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members travelling on a Finnair flight. Other guests can enter for a fee of ¤48 or by using Finnair Plus points. You can book your sauna at the lounge reception.

Security check

GATE AREA

2ND FLOOR

SHOP

1ST FLOOR APRIL 2016

BLUE WINGS

FLY FINNAIR FLIGHTS WITHIN EUROPE KARTAT Great Circle Estimated FROM HELSINKI AMSTERDAM ALANYA/GAZIPASA ARRECIFE ATHENS BARCELONA BERGEN BERLIN BIARRITZ BILLUND BRUSSELS BUDAPEST CATANIA CHANIA COPENHAGEN DALAMAN DUBLIN DUBROVNIK DÜSSELDORF EDINBURGH EILAT EKATERINBURG FRANKFURT FUERTEVENTURA FUNCHAL GDANSK GENEVA GOTHENBURG HAMBURG HERAKLION INNSBRUCK KAZAN KOS KRAKOW LAS PALMAS LISBON LJUBLJANA LONDON MADRID MALAGA MALTA MANCHESTER MILAN MINSK MOSCOW MUNICH MYTILENE NAPLES NICE OSLO PALMA DE MALLORCA PAPHOS PARIS PISA PRAGUE PREVEZA PULA RHODES RIGA

Distances km

Great Circle Estimated Distances Flight km Times

Flight Times

1525 02:35 2722 03:45 4518 05:55 2490 03:40 2632 03:55 1112 03:30 1123 02:00 2581 03:45 1060 01:50 1651 02:40 1481 02:20 2636 03:45 2756 03:50 895 01:40 2639 03:40 2030 03:10 2027 03:00 1512 02:25 1717 02:40 3457 04:45 2098 03:05 1543 02:35 4578 06:05 4310 05:45 768 02:00 1994 03:00 785 01:25 1172 02:00 2777 03:55 1701 02:35 1521 02:30 2620 03:45 1186 02:00 4700 06:10 3369 04:50 1713 02:40 1863 03:10 2950 04:25 3357 04:35 2822 04:15 1817 03:00 1953 03:05 740 01:25 876 01:40 1577 02:30 1471 03:35 2283 03:25 2202 03:25 766 01:30 2777 04:00 2898 04:00 1900 03:05 2093 03:20 1322 02:10 2397 03:25 1865 02:55 2668 03:45 382 00:55

RIMINI ROME SALZBURG SAMARA SANTORINI SKIATHOS SPLIT STOCKHOLM ST. PETERSBURG TALLINN TARTU TEL AVIV TENERIFE NORTE TENERIFE SUR VARNA VENICE VERONA VIENNA VILNIUS VISBY WARSAW ZAKYNTHOS ZÜRICH

1993 03:00 2235 03:25 1592 02:30 1698 02:35 2660 03:40 2353 03:30 1956 02:55 400 01:00 301 01:00 101 00:30 245 00:50 3230 04:25 4691 06:10 4745 06:10 1911 02:55 1847 02:55 1903 02:55 1462 02:30 633 01:15 481 01:25 940 01:40 2526 03:55 1781 02:45

SCHEDULED DESTINATIONS LEISURE DESTINATIONS PARTNER-OPERATED CODE-SHARE OR MARKETING DESTINATIONS SEASONAL ROUTE EW SCHEDULED N SEASONAL ROUTE NEW SCHEDULED DESTINATION IN 2015 AND 2016

Atl Oc antic ean

TÄHÄN KARTTA

8 WINGS 88BLUE BLUE WINGSDECEMBER APRIL 20162014

DOMESTIC FLIGHTS New

FROM HELSINKI IVALO JOENSUU JYVÄSKYLÄ KAJAANI MARIEHAMN KEMI/TORNIO KITTILÄ KOKKOLA/PIETARSAARI KUOPIO KUUSAMO OULU ROVANIEMI TAMPERE TURKU VAASA

quay

931 01:35 360 01:00 235 00:50 464 01:20 282 00:55 609 01:35 823 01:25 391 01:10 335 01:00 667 01:15 514 01:05 697 01:20 143 00:35 150 00:35 348 00:55

Bay of B isca ya

Arct ic

Ocea n

FLY FINNAIR IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Nor weg ian S ea

Nort

h Sea

on-D

tov-

Ros

Heraklion

Medit erranea n Sea DECEMBER 2014BLUE BLUE WINGS89 8 APRIL 2016 WINGS

rctic

Arctic Ocean

FLY FINNAIR FLIGHTS INTERCONTINENTAL Circle Estimated KARTAT Great Distances Flight FROM HELSINKI

GREENLAND

Times

BANGKOK 7912 09:45 BEIJING 6325 07:55 CHICAGO 7139 09:15 CHONGQING 6736 08:40 DELHI 5229 06:50 DUBAI 4537 05:55 FUKUOKA 8060 09:30 GOA via Dubai 6739 10:15 GUANGZHOU 7693 09:30 HAVANNA 8718 12:05 HÔ CHI MINH CITY (Saigon) 8510 10:50 HONG KONG 7821 09:35 KRABI 8350 10:20 MIAMI 8342 11:10 NAGOYA 7780 09:40 NEW YORK 6626 08:45 OSAKA 7751 09:30 PHUKET 8312 10:05 PUERTO PLATA 8417 11:15 SEOUL 7050 08:40 SHANGHAI 7410 09:05 SINGAPORE 9272 11:30 TOKYO 7849 09:45 XIAN 6421 07:50

Atlantic Ocean

Havanna

FINNAIR PLUS members earn Plus points from travelling on any scheduled flight with a oneworld airline. The oneworld alliance flies to more than 1,000 destinations.

Pacific Ocean

Ocea n Atlantic Ocean

8 BLUE WINGS DECEMBER 2014

Arctic Ocean

FLY FINNAIR IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Agadir

Taiwan

Pacific Ocean

Indian Ocean

DECEMBER 2014 BLUE WINGS 8

FLY FINNAIR FLEET

AIRBUS A350-900 (NEW IN 2015) Number 4+ 15 on order Seating capacity 297 Length 66.8 m Wingspan 64.75 m Cruising speed 903 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 13,000 m AIRBUS A340-300 Number 5 Seating capacity 266/263/257 Length 63.6 m Wingspan 60.3 m Cruising speed 870 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 12,500 m AIRBUS A330-300 Number 8 Seating capacity 289/263 Length 63.6 m Wingspan 60.3 m Cruising speed 870 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 12,600 m AIRBUS A321 (ER) Number 11 Seating capacity 136–209 Length 44.5 m Wingspan 34.1 m Cruising speed 840 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 11,900 m AIRBUS A320 Number 10 Seating capacity 110–165 Length 37.6 m Wingspan 34.1 m Cruising speed 840 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 11,900 m AIRBUS A319 Number 9 Seating capacity 105–138 Length 33.8 m Wingspan 34.1 m Cruising speed 840 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 11,900 m EMBRAER 190/170 Operated by Norra Number 12/2 Seating capacity 100/76 Length 36.2/29.9 m Wingspan 28.7/26 m Cruising speed 850 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 12,300 m

92 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2016

FLY FINNAIR FLEET A350

IT’S HERE! AIRBUS A350 XWB – A NEW SENSE OF FLYING The most significant way to reduce your carbon footprint from flying is to fly with modern aircraft.

UP TO FOLLOW THE STORY

reduction in:

CO2 emissions

Fuel burn

FEEL THE

XTRA SPACE 5.61 METRES WIDE CABIN

FUN FACT Wondering where your copy of Blue Wings is hiding? You can find the latest issue via the Nordic Sky entertainment system on Finnair A350 XWB aircraft.

COMFORT IN THE CABIN THE AIR QUALITY onboard an aircraft is crucial to passenger wellbeing. And great air quality is one of the special goodies offered by the Airbus A350 XWB aircraft. Advanced filtering systems and a complete change of cabin air every two to three minutes makes flight time truly enjoyable. Cabin altitude, temperature, humidity, and other environmental parameters have a combined effect on passengers. The cabin air pressure, which is closer to sea level air pressure, adds to greater passenger wellbeing. “The cabin altitude changes more smoothly than the aircraft’s climb or descent rate. This has a significant impact on passenger comfort,” says Miika Haatio, Finnair’s head of A350 Fleet Engineering.

▶a350.finnair.com ▶on Twitter #A350Finnair ▶on Instagram @feelfinnair

Riku Aho tweets: @Finnair AY8961 OH-LWD #a350finnair in Toulouse ready homebound to @HelsinkiAirport.

FINNAIR’S ECO-SMART Airbus A350 XWB aircraft take over Asia. Book your flights and enjoy the next generation of travel!