Finnair Teams Up With Karhu To Provide Employees With Exclusive Footwear

Whether working for a short-, mid-, or long-haul flight or with back-to-back flights on the bottom, it’s generally more common than realized for airline crew members in either position to walk no less than five kilometers or more during their shifts. All of it significantly impacts the feet, given how much walking is completed several days every week.

Introducing: the Finnair Mestari Control sneaker

With that much discomfort often experienced on the feet, it’s no surprise that just a few years ago, flag carrier Finnair modified its guidelines allowing cabin crew members to wear black sneakers with none visual branding – a trend that more airlines are starting to adopt nowadays. Nonetheless, Finnair decided to enhance these guidelines further and extend them to ground crew members.

However the airline also offers a novel twist in the shape of a special sneaker specially tailored to turn out to be a everlasting addition to the uniforms. In doing so, Finnair collaborated with local footwear-and-apparel brand to design a unisex shoe. This collaboration resulted within the Finnair Mestari Control sneaker, which mixes black synthetic-suede uppers with dark-blue detailing to pair with the prevailing uniforms.

Besides being a pretty complement to the sleek Nordic-inspired design of the airline’s uniforms, the Finnair Mestari Control’s midsole features an Air Cushion unit for comfort and stability. At the identical time, an OrthoLite® footbed provides extra protection and softness underfoot. An antimicrobial lining helps with freshness.

The shoe also incorporates a slip-resistant sole with a novel traction pattern inspired by Karhu’s back catalog. Finnish designer and frequent Karhu collaborator Sasu Kauppi has also added unique details on the tongue label, the footbed, and the shoebox. And celebrating the announcement of the Finnair Mestari Control was the airline’s Brand Development Manager, Lotta Prinssi:

“We’ve decided to bring our ground and air staff a special sneaker to mark Finnair’s a centesimal birthday this 12 months. As a fellow Finnish brand that also has an extended history, Karhu was the proper partner for this project.”

Inspiration behind the Finnair Mestari Control sneaker

Albeit Finnair is well-known for continuously collaborating with local brands every probability it gets, why did the airline specifically select of all Finnish sports brands, and the way did the Finnair Mestari Control sneaker come about? Because it seems, the unique Mestari shoe is one among the brand’s most iconic models, and for good reasons, that continued to draw public consumers and Finnair.

Initially released within the Seventies as a running shoe, the Mestari quickly became famous for its classic, evergreen style. The shoe can also be well-liked for its durable construction and lasting comfort, as is the primary sports brand to own patented air-cushion technology. Given how the Mestari has turn out to be such an icon of its brand, the shoe was the primary to feature this technology.

And in response to Remko Nouws, Global Lifestyle Manager at , Finnair had approached the brand because it was in search of a life-style shoe that might be each comfortable and durable enough for the roles of the cabin and ground crew members. Because the oneworld alliance member was already a fan of the unique Mestari shoe, worked on adding extra functionality to create the proper sneaker for the aviation industry.

Given the inspiration and thought process, it’s no surprise why Finnair selected to work with and its well-loved Mestari shoe, as Nouws further emphasized:

“All the pieces we make must be cool, credible, and stay true to our heritage. Our collaborations have to have a connection to those attributes too, so we’ve been incredibly completely satisfied to work with Finnair on this project because the airline celebrates its a centesimal birthday.”

Launching this autumn

While the announcement of the Finnair Mestari Control sneaker is undoubtedly exciting, it may not seem very nice to those that wish to get a pair for themselves – as evident from the varied questions posed on the airline’s social media, since the shoes will only be available exclusively for its employees, who will start wearing the shoe this autumn.

What do you think that of the Finnair Mestari Control sneaker? Tell us within the comments below.

• Reducing costs will play a key role in helping Finnair return to profitability. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Easy Flying

  Finnair

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  AY/FIN

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Helsinki Airport

  12 months Founded:

  1923

  Alliance:

  oneworld

  CEO:

  Topi Manner

  Country:

  Finland