After all this lock down and travel restrictions there could be no better destination to choose than Finland. Voted yet again the World’s Happiest Country in 2020.
From July, Finnair will gradually add frequencies and routes back to its network. Finnair will review its schedule on a monthly basis and will update it as travel restrictions are removed and demand starts to recover. ”We expect aviation to recover gradually, starting in July”, says Finnair Chief Commercial Officer – Ole Orvér. ”Our intention is to operate approximately 30% of our normal amount of flights in July, and we will also start long-haul flights to our key Asian destinations. We will then add routes and frequencies month by month as demand recovers.”
Finnair will flexibly add flights as demand develops. The flight schedule will also take into account the changes in travel restrictions in different countries. “Our recent customer survey shows that customers are already planning both business and leisure trips”, Orvér says. “We want to meet this demand with our network offering.”
Finnair flights will return to Dublin and other cities
On European routes, Finnair will first focus on key centres, and will in July fly to Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Gothenburg, Geneva, Hamburg, London, Malaga, Manchester, Moscow, Munich, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Riga, Tallinn, Stockholm, St Petersburg, Vilnius, Vienna and Zürich. In August Finnair will start flights to Barcelona, Milan, Madrid, Rome and Warsaw. During the summer holiday season Finnair will also operate individual flights to some of the holiday destinations in Southern Europe.
Finnair flexibility for customers
Since March, Finnair has offered its customers extraordinary flexibility to change travel dates, and this continues. Customers can change their travel dates for all flights bought from Finnair’s own channels between 1 April and 30 June 2020 flexibly and travel within the ticket validity. As Finnair publishes its flying schedule from July 2020 to end of March 2021, it is also cancelling those flights that will not be operating. Finnair will handle flight cancellations in phases, and customers will be contacted by the end of June about any cancelled flights they were booked onto.
A list of routes that Finnair will not operate during summer 2020 and winter 2020/2021 is available on Finnair’s Travel updates page.
Visit Finland Launches its Virtual ‘Rent A Finn’ Campaign
Finland has been named the world’s happiest country for the third year in a row, by the UN World Happiness Report 2020, Visit Finland has revived its “Rent A Finn” campaign to educate viewers on how to embrace the Finnish ways of life while staying at home.
Visit Finland wants the world to be as happy as the Finn’s. A new virtual campaign will show you how and why they feel that way.
“During these uncertain times, we want to give people the opportunity to learn about the secrets of Finnish happiness regardless of place or time,” said Paavo Virkkunen, executive director, Visit Finland at Business Finland. “This initiative also offers the chance to connect one-to-one with a Finn from the comfort of your sofa.”
The innovative 2020 campaign will consist of two subjects. First, a live stream series will showcase five different areas of Finnish lifestyle, with “how-to” lessons such as “Eat with a Finn,” “Relax with a Finn” or “Be Active with a Finn.” Starting Friday, May 15, the series can be watched via live streaming on Visit Finland’s Facebook page with chats afterwards on Instagram Live.
Meet the Finn’s
Second and even more exciting, the public can apply for an exclusive one-to-one complimentary session with a real Finnish Virtual Happiness Guide. Yes a one on one with a real Finn, what could be better than that. Get the sauna ready for a lock down detox. Guides will be available for 15 minutes meetings via Teams, Skype or Hangouts during the week of June 22. You can apply to book your preferred topic and Virtual Happiness Guide via the campaign’s website, www.rentafinn.com.Applications for slots are open now until June 7
World Happiness Report 2020
May 22: Spend Time with a Finn
Virtual Happiness Guides: Special needs teacher, cyclist, coffee-shop owner Mirja Priha and designer and handicraft teacher Molla Mills
Happiness skills: Crafting and crocheting, learning Finnish, being in nature, exercises with senses, cycling from city centre into nature
How to prepare yourself: Find a peaceful space and think about questions what you have always wanted to know about Finns and their mysterious habits.
May 29: Stay Active with A Finn
Virtual Happiness Guides: Sailing and outdoor enthusiast Antti Etelämäki and entrepreneur, coach and outdoor enthusiast Jukka Joutsiniemi
Happiness skills: Sailing and exercising in nature
How to prepare yourself: You can prepare yourself for this live session by wearing a relaxed outfit and having a big bottle of water close to you.
May 30th – Chat with an Irish Finn – Ed Finn
Join the Irish Finn, Ed Finn as he discusses some of his best travels to Finland from Turkuu to the magical Iso-Syöte (image below) to Ruka and of course his beloved Helsinki which he describes as one of Europe’s most beautiful and friendly happy places to visit. email – [email protected] for zoom link to join his ‘Happy Irish Finn‘ zoominar on Saturday May 30th at 1pm GMT+1 –
June 1st – Eat With A Finn
Virtual Happiness Guide: Michelin Star chef Sasu Laukkonen
Happiness skills: Collecting wild herbs in urban environments and cooking with them
How to prepare yourself: Prepare yourself by getting a pair of rubber boots and some kitchen accessories.
June 12th – Be Happy With a Finn
Virtual Happiness Guide: The village of Mathildedal
Happiness skills: A village tour to find the keys to happiness from many different sources
Be happy with a Finn. Prepare yourself with a comfy chair and a couple of questions about what the secret to Finns’ happiness is. Find the answers during a live trip to Mathildedal.
I’ll always remember my first visit to Finland in the nineties and presenting my passport to a very handsome, blonde immigration officer. He handed me back my passport and looked straight at me with his sapphire blue eyes and a slight smirk and he said… YOU – Mister Finn, are very very welcome….. I felt like I had come home….. It was a ‘Finntastic’ trip.
So if you haven’t been to Finland you really must go, think of all that happiness and wonderful clean air, delicious food and lots of reindeer, shur what more could you want.
Finnair – www.finnair.com
Rent a Finn – www.rentafinn.com & www.visitfinland.com
