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| Finnair's Airbus A350 in flight. / Courtesy of Finnair |
By Kim Hyun-bin
Finland is the greenest country in the world and its national flagship airline is also playing up that reputation as it is driving new initiatives to reduce emission levels.
The airline has introduced a wide array of measures to reduce carbon emissions from its planes according to the company's director of corporate sustainability, who believes it will help Finnair become a global leading player committed to lowering emissions output.
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| Kati Ihamaki |
"The biggest example is the Airbus A350 as it reduces fuel by 25 percent," Ihanmaki said in an interview with The Korea Times in the airline's Seoul office, Wednesday.
"We currently operate 12 A350s for long-haul flights and we have seven additional planes on order."
Starting January, Finnair has introduced two initiatives under "Push for Change" where passengers can offset the carbon dioxide emissions of their flights by supporting a CO2 emissions reduction project or purchasing biofuel flights, which are available on the Finnair webpage.
"We launched the Push for Change where passengers can also participate in this; we hope that biofuel can take off and we get funding from passengers, so we can diminish our environmental footprint," the director said.
Passengers can donate one euro (1,200 won) for a round trip within Finland, two euros for a round trip within Europe, or six euros for an intercontinental round trip. Donations will go in full to an emissions reduction project in Mozambique enabling the use of more efficient cooking stoves, which reduce wood and charcoal consumption.
Passengers can also provide support by purchasing biofuel for flights.
"The issue with biofuels, it's three to five times more expensive than conventional jet fuel, so there needs to be initiatives or projects where someone else is participating in the price."
Biofuel has been produced from used cooking oil and can reduce the CO2 emissions of a flight by up to 80 percent. The invested biofuel is used for flights from California to Helsinki from time to time, according to the airline.
In addition to its eco-friendly approach, the airline provides "the best in-flight Nordic experience" as well as services that specifically cater to prospective Korean customers, from placing up to four Korean cabin crews on each flight, announcements and entertainment systems in the Korean language as well as in-flight meals made by renowned Korean chef Nam Sung-youl.
Helsinki's geographical location also gives Finnair a structural competitive advantage, by providing the shortest and most direct connections to growing Asian markets, according to the airline.
Finnair offers a total of seven flights a week, one daily flight from Incheon to Helsinki with an average 90 percent seat occupancy.
Kati Ihamaki has been the director of corporate sustainability at Finnair since 2008. She has been passionately designing and managing the firm's corporate responsibility strategy and integrating sustainability issues into its competitive strategy.
