The end of the line for the printed newspaper is in sight, at least on Finnair long-haul flights as the airline moves to a more user, cost and environmentally friendly digital offering.
Finnair is making available a wide selection of international newspapers in digital format for customers on its long-haul flights. As of today, over 50 international newspapers can be read in pdf format through the Nordic Sky portal that is available onboard Finnair’s A330 and A350 aircraft. Customers can use the portal with their own devices and do not need to purchase a Wi-Fi connection to access the newspapers.
“We are happy to be able to offer a wide selection of digital newspapers to our international customers,” says Tiina Vesterinen, Director for Customer Experience Development at Finnair. ”With digital papers, customers always get the latest copy, regardless of where their flight is departing from, and we never run out of stock.”
At the same time, Finnair will discontinue distributing paper versions of newspapers on its long-haul flights. Paper issues will remain on European flights for the time being until Finnair’s European fleet is also equipped with Wi-Fi later this year.
At this stage, digital newspapers are provided free of charge in both business and economy class of Finnair’s long-haul flights, as well as on the Helsinki-London-Helsinki flight flown with an A350 aircraft.
Aviation analyst Jason Shaw welcomed the move, "It's great news, it helps the environment a little and it is so much more user-friendly to enjoy the news in a digital format. With the onset of in-flight Wi-Fi we have the world at our fingertips, without the need for dozens of newspapers and magazine taking up space and making a mess. Other European airlines will surely follow, so well done to Finnair for leading the field."
Aviation analyst Jason Shaw welcomed the move, "It's great news, it helps the environment a little and it is so much more user-friendly to enjoy the news in a digital format. With the onset of in-flight Wi-Fi we have the world at our fingertips, without the need for dozens of newspapers and magazine taking up space and making a mess. Other European airlines will surely follow, so well done to Finnair for leading the field."
