Finland’s national flag carrier, appropriately and rather humorously called Finnair, has always taken pride in its Nordic roots, and that shines through on board its airplanes and service.
Now, though, Finnair wants to become, well, even more Finnish. Or as the airline puts it: leaning into its Finnishness.
In fact, Finnair’s Finnishness is now a core part of the airline’s business strategy as it seeks to capitalise on Finnish culture. To do so, the airline has just released a new suite of music – a soundscape, if you will, which will be used throughout the passenger experience, such as for boarding music.
Created by fourth-generation Finnish musician and composer Lauri Porra, the new ensemble has been called Matkantekijä, which translates to traveller in English. Porra says he has created a musical piece that “depicts the Finnish mindscape and the atmosphere of travel.”
“Finnair has given wings to Finnish people, companies and culture for 102 years, and Finnishness has always been an essential part of us,” explains Simon Large, the Helsinki-based carrier’s chief customer officer.
“Finnish ‘happiness’ raises interest around the world. We want to make Finns proud and the world curious about our culture. Finnair flights are a small glimpse into Finnishness,” Large added.
The new music, which is one part of offering that glimpse into Finnishness, will start to be played on Finnair aircraft, as well as in airport lounges, and will be featured in commercials from the end of February.
Traditional Finnish instruments such as ‘jouhikko’ (bowed lyre) and ‘Kantele’ (Finnish zither) have been used in the composition, although Porra says he deliberately kept the music simple to give “as much room as possible for the listener’s own interpretations.”
Finnair last updated its boarding music in 2022, so in airline terms, the new boarding music is being introduced quite soon after the last iteration.
Finnair’s new business strategy works on the assumption that Russian airspace (which is used to leverage quite heavily for flights to the Far East) will be closed for some considerable time to come.
Instead, the airline is building its short-haul network, as well as continuing to work westwards towards North America, alongside its existing routes to Asia.
