|
|
 |
Title: Aero O.Y.
Description: This Aero O.Y. advertisement depicts an early Suomi Junkers G-24W seaplane flying over the gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea. While Junker airplanes were ubiquitous during the period, it was customary to produce specific models for different countries. This particular model, the Suomi Junker G-24W seaplane, is a Finnish iteration: the “K” in the seaplane’s registration number, K-SALC – visible on the underside of the near wing – designates Finland, and “Suomi” means “Finland” in Finnish. With the support of the Finnish Government, Aero O.Y. was established on November 1, 1923, in Helsinki. Passenger service between Helsinki and Reval was inaugurated on March 20, 1924 and was carried out using a Junkers F. 13. By June, the company’s success led to a partnership with Swedish airline AB Aerotransport (Akiebolag Aerotransport) to create a trans-Baltic route. Operating between Stockholm and Helsinki, the airlines offered one-stop flights via Turku, Finland. Aero O.Y. continued to expand service from |
Helsinki, later crossing the Gulf of Finland to Tallinn in the Soviet Union. In 1926 domestic service increased, offering passenger services to Mariehamm, Tampere, Vaasa, Oulu, Kemi, Rovaniemi, Ivalo and Petsamo. Flying to sparsely inhabited but economically important Finnish cities, Aero O.Y. aircraft flew to cities from the southern island of Aland to the northern port of Petsamo. It also flew to the coastal cities along the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland, and the interior cities of Lappland. In spite of challenging geography and weather conditions, the airline thrived in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940. Thanks in great part to the use of the Suomi Junkers G-24W seaplane pictured in the poster, Aero O.Y. safely navigated air routes above Finland’s watery landscape including thousands of miles of sea coast, 55,000 lakes and ponds, and frozen northern reaches, which comprises one third of the world’s land north of the Arctic Circle. Following the Finnish government’s acquisition of a majority stake in the aviation company in 1946 and a succession of federally-mandated aviation industry consolidations, Aero O.Y. was eventually subsumed into Finland’s first national carrier, Finnair, in 1953. |
|
|
Bibliography |
|
 |
|