Skift Travel News Blog

Finnair CEO Topi Manner will end his nearly five-year tenure at the helm of the airline to lead Finnish telecom and digital services company Elisa.

Manner will continue in his role until a successor is named or March 1, 2024, whichever comes first, Finnair said Friday. The airline has begun the search for a new CEO, it added.

Manner took the helm of Finnair in 2019 and led it through, first, the Covid-19 pandemic that shut many of its main markets in Asia to international travel. Then, second, he faced the closure of Russian airspace that drastically altered where and how the airline could fly. Despite these challenges, it is widely agreed that Finnair is succeeding at restructuring its business; the carrier posted a €66 million ($72 million) operating profit and 8.8% operating margin in the second quarter.

Part of Finnair’s transformation includes pivoting away from some its bread-and-butter routes to Asia, and adding new flights to North America, India, and the Middle East. The airline has forged a new partnership with Qatar Airways, as well.

“Topi Manner has done a stellar job with his team in leading Finnair through the double crises of the Covid-19 pandemic and the closure of Russian airspace,” said Sanna Suvanto-Harsaae, the chair of Finnair board of directors. “Finnair has emerged from the double crises as a strong airline, as witnessed by our [second quarter] financial performance.”

Finnair is repurposing worn-out crew uniforms into composite products, thanks to a new partnership with Finnish workwear manufacturer Image Wear.

Any uniform that remains in good condition is refurbished and reused where appropriate, with Finnair noting that its ‘employees have welcomed the used uniform parts that have been cleaned and maintained, as they are more sustainable than new ones.’

“We have established a process to ensure a constant supply of used clothing pieces that have been carefully cleaned and inspected. Primarily, we allocate these items to fulfill our employees’ uniform orders. We supplement the orders with new uniform parts when necessary,” says Merja Lindberg, who is responsible for Finnair uniforms.

For uniforms that have reached the end of their wearable life, Finnair is working with Image Wear to repurpose the material so it can be used for manufacturing recycled composite products. The material, which is made by combining recycled plastic particles with textiles, can be used to create various outdoor items including tables and benches. 

“Composite products are durable – their estimated lifespan is around 50 years, and at the end of their lifecycle, they can still be recycled into new products. In this way, worn-out work clothes do not end up as waste, but continue their life in a new form,” says Kati Tukiainen, Image Wear’s Responsibility manager.