Air Finland

Headquartered at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, Air Finland is a small low-cost airline privately owned by five entrepreneurs. The company was launched in 2003 and throughout that year it carried approximately 89,000 passengers to destinations primarily in Western Europe. Figures nearly quadrupled in 2004 with a total of 311,000 passengers on board at one time or another; the majority of these were Finnish leisure travellers en route to mainstream holiday locations.

Sticking to a schedule of only the most popular destinations is one part of Air Finland's success in keeping ticket prices low. This relatively small fleet stays busy and seldom runs into problems keeping flights full. There is no central ticket office or hotline to call; instead, this service is completely outsourced to a number of travel agents based throughout Finland and abroad. The company has partnered with several domestic travel agencies and most of the advertising is geared specifically to residents of Finland and Denmark.

Online ticket prices are based on the lowest round-trip fare for the date requested. The pricing system is directly linked to supply and demand, so bookings made closer to the date of travel when there are fewer seats available are likely to be more expensive than reservations made well in advance of the departure date.

The Air Finland fleet has recently grown from one to three Boeing 757s capable of seating 219 passengers each. This calibre of aircraft is particular well-suited for medium-distance and even long-haul flights, ideal for journeys from Finland to the resorts and islands of southern Europe. Keeping the size of this small fleet in mind, Air Finland offers an impressive schedule of flights without resting in order to maintain the volume. As profits continue to increase, so does the company's infrastructure; it's now much easier to make online reservations than it has been in the past.