Group Management Team appointed: Changes proceed in Finnair's new management structure

The Board of Directors of Finnair has today appointed the members of the new Group Management Team and defined some areas of responsibility within the Group's new management structure.

As of January 1, 2001, and in accordance with an earlier decision, the Group's operations will be divided into the following six Business Areas:

- Scheduled Passenger Traffic

- Leisure

- Cargo

- Aviation Services

- Travel Services

- Support Services

The new Group Management Team (GMT) will replace the Management Board of the current parent company, Finnair Oyj, effective from January 1, 2001. Members of the Group Management Team (GMT) are Keijo Suila, President and CEO;

Henrik Arle, COO (Scheduled Passenger Traffic); Petri Pentti, CFO (Economics and Finance); Mauri Annala, President of Leisure and Travel Services; Tero Palatsi, Senior Vice President (Administration and Human Resources); Eero Ahola, Senior Vice President (Corporate Strategic Planning and Development of e-Business); Mika Perho, Senior Vice President (Marketing); Hannes Bjurström , Senior Vice President (Flight Operations); and Jarmo Vilenius, Senior Vice President (Technical unit). New members of the GMT are Kari Palomäki, Senior Vice President (Ground Operations); Mikko Kuntola, Vice President (Cargo); and Christer Haglund, Vice President (Corporate Communications).

The Board of Directors also defined the management responsibility of the Aviation Services and appointed Kari Palomäki to lead the Ground Operations within the Business Area. The Ground Operations primarily consists of those units and subsidiaries which support and serve flight operations and air travel. The most important units are Finnair Ground Handling and Finnair Catering Oy, which is set up, effective from January 1, 2001, to handle catering activities as well as the retail and wholesale trade.

The Aviation Services also include Finnair's technical unit which sells aircraft maintenance. Senior Vice President Jarmo Vilenius is leading this business unit.

Both Vilenius and Palomäki report directly to the President and CEO. Turnover for the Aviation Services Business Area as a whole is about EUR 500 million, of which about 25 per cent is generated from outside the Group. The number of staff employed is about 4,700.

'Our intention is to create more independent business units which will have their own business strategies, objectives and reward principles in order to meet the expactations of our customers, our shareholders and our staff,' says Mr. Keijo Suila, President and CEO of Finnair.