Finnair’s fleet one of Europe’s most modern

The 23-year history of the Boeing MD-80 in Finnair’s blue and white colours came to a close on July 3, 2006. The MD-80 fleet, which numbered 25 at its peak, has flown almost a million hours and carried an estimated 60 million passengers on Finnair scheduled and leisure flights to different parts of Europe.

At the beginning of the 1980s there was a need for faster and bigger aircraft for Finnair’s European traffic. The natural choice was the modernised version of the existing DC-9 － the MD-80. At the time, the aircraft was state-of-the-art in performance values, reliability, economy and passenger comfort.

Compared with the DC-9, the MD-80 had many improvements, making extensive use of digital technology and automated controls. These included the ‘autoland’ function, with the help of which take-off and landing automation was made possible. The aircraft’s spacious cabin had a seating capacity of 162.

The first MD-82s arrived in Finland in spring 1983, and Finnair acquired MD-82, MD-83 and MD-87 versions of the plane type. The MD-80 has proved itself to be a trusty workhorse, with an excellent technical dispatch reliability rate averaging 99 per cent. This means that only one flight in a hundred is delayed for technical reasons. For every year of their service, the aircraft have each flown an average of 2,500 hours on 2,000 flights.

The three-and-a-half decade era of the DC-9/MD-80 came to a close with the retirement of the last two MD-80s, although part of the previous Finnair MD-80 fleet still flies with the Swedish subsidiary FlyNordic.

Finnair’s fleet has been undergoing a clearly-focused process of renewal with investments in more efficient and environmentally friendly aircraft. Finnair’s fleet for European scheduled flights has been streamlined with the acquisition of two aircraft types drawn from the Airbus A320 and Embraer 170/190 families, both of which can be used flexibly and economically according to demand. These aircraft are also clearly more environmentally friendly than their predecessors, with lower nitrogen and carbon dioxide emission levels and quieter engines. The Airbus A320 burns about 30 per cent less fuel than the MD-80.

“A customer has the power to choose,” says Christer Haglund, Vice President, Finnair Corporate Communications, explaining the rationale behind the fleet modernisation. “The most environmentally friendly choice is the most direct route possible using a fleet of modern aircraft without unnecessary landings and lengthy ground transport.”

The new Embraer aircraft introduced over the last year to replace the MD-80s have made it possible to open new routes as well as increase the frequencies to established destinations. Efficient feeder traffic supports Finnair’s Asian strategy and strengthens the position of Helsinki airport - Finnair’s main base - as a ‘gateway’ or transit hub.