Press release Finnair training operations concentrated in new Flight Academy Finnair's training centre operations are to be concentrated under the umbrella of a new limited company known as Finnair Flight Academy Ltd from the beginning of 2010, bringing together also technical training as well as learning and development services. Some 60 staff members from the Finnair Group's different training units will transfer to the new company. The objective of the Finnair Flight Academy is to provide Finnair, its biggest customer, top quality training and competence development services. The majority of the training services on offer will be for the maintenance of certification and aircraft type training for flight personnel. Flight training will also be sold to external customers. "The Finnair Flight Academy opens the way to completely new competence development at Finnair," says the board chair of the new company, Kaisa Vikkula. "For the first time the same umbrella will shelter almost all Finnair's development requirements and solutions, while at the same time we will be able to respond to the challenges of business operations with top quality training as well as cost efficiency." Mikko K. Salminen MBA, aged 47, has been named as the managing director of the Finnair Flight Academy as of December 1, 2009. He has over 15 years of experience in human resources learning and development in both academic and corporate environments. From 1999 to 2008 he worked at Nokia where his tasks included personnel development management and leadership of the global Learning Center Network. Before this, he worked at the Helsinki School of Economics as an associate director of the International Center's MBA program. "We are delighted to have secured such a fine professional in the field of staff learning as the head of the Finnair Flight Academy," says Vikkula. "Mikko Salminen has a proven track record in the building of learning and development services to support corporate strategy and efficient service production in global business operations." Finnair Flight Academy Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Finnair. The company board is to be comprised of directors responsible for the main customer's different business units: Erno Hildén and Markku Malmipuro of Production; Kati Lehesmaa of Customer Services; Kimmo Soini of Technical Services; and Anssi Komulainen of Finnair Group Human Resources. The board's chair, Kaisa Vikkula, is from Travel Services. Finnair Oyj Corporate Communications 30.10.2009 Additional information: Kaisa Vikkula, Chair of the Board, Finnair Flight Academy, tel. 358-9 818 8500