50th Anniversary of Finnair 1.11.1973

Finnair Plc is the flag carrier and largest airline of Finland with its headquarters in Vantaa, Finland and its main hub at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both the domestic and international air travel markets in Finland. The largest owner is the government of Finland with 55.8% of the shares. Finnair is a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. In 2006, the airline transported 8.8 million passengers, on a network of 15 domestic and 55 international destinations. In addition there are about 60 seasonal charter-flight destinations. As of early 2012, the Finnish government is considering decreasing its share of Finnair ownership below 50%.Finnair is one of world's oldest continually operating airlines. The company was founded on 1 November 1923. In recent years, a key part of Finnair's strategy has been strengthening the company's position in the Asian market and particularly in traffic between Europe and Asia. The long-haul expansion is nothing new, however. At Finnair, long-haul expansion to the United States was first talked about in the 1930s, in the company's early years. The expansion had to wait, however, as plans were put on hold after the outbreak of the Second World War. Finnair flights from Helsinki via Copenhagen and Amsterdam to New York began on 15 May 1969. The new long-haul route was made possible by revolutionary navigation systems. Finnair flew to New York with DC-8 aircraft, which held nearly 200 passengers.
Today, Finnair's position in traffic between Europe and Asia is well established and growing strongly. In its Asian expansion, the company is supported in particular by Finland's favourable geographical position: the shortest routes from Europe to the Far East pass through Helsinki. Finnair is currently operating scheduled flights to 12 long-haul destinations: Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Delhi, Seoul, Singapore, Toronto and New York. In May 2012 Finnair will also introduce a nonstop flight to Chongqing. The long-haul fleet currently consists of 15 wide-bodied aircraft.
The stamp on the cover, and the cover itself were issued on 1.11.1973 commemorating the 50^th Anniversary of Finnair. This nice FDC was given to me by Pia.