Finnair, which has flown off-and-on to Miami International Airport since the late 1980s, chose Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood because of the large Finnish community in the Lake Worth area, "smoother" Customs processing, and because package tour organizers' accommodations "are more conveniently located" near Fort Lauderdale, said Usko Maatta, a Finnair spokesman in Helsinki.
The majority of the 227 seats onboard the Boeing 757s are to be sold by Finland's three largest tour operators, though individual seats also will be available, he said. The weekly flights, which will stop in Halifax, Canada, to refuel, will run from Nov. 10 to March 23.
Ticket sales, which just recently began, have been "very good," Maatta said, via e-mail. "USA as [a] holiday destination is increasing its appeal, boosted by the strong value of [the] euro against [the] dollar."
For years, Finns have congregated in the Lake Worth/Lantana/Boynton Beach area, which boasts the largest Finnish population in the United States, said Peter Makila, honorary consul for Finland in Lake Worth. He estimates that 5,000 to 10,000 Finns live in the area, and another 4,000 to 5,000 spend winter months here.
In those communities, Finns have been drawn to motels with saunas and Finnish-speaking personnel, and bakeries that serve pulla -- Finnish coffee cake. Finns could also attend concerts, performances and dances at the Finland House and the American Finnish Community Club, Makila said. "Tango is a big thing."
In the five-square-mile town of Lake Worth, Finns can also book a trip, buy a house or purchase insurance -- in their native tongue.
"For Finns especially, there are certain age groups, [over 60], that like to come to Lake Worth because they feel comfortable here and that they are in a Finnish community," he said.
Yet in recent years, the number of Finnish snowbirds has dwindled, as more Finns chose to vacation in Thailand and other Asian countries. Even those who owned property here have also diminished, as have the businesses that catered to Finns, Lake Worth Finnish community leaders say.
"The American dollar was pretty expensive for many years and there were people selling their homes and moving back to Finland," said Roger Stjernvall, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce in Lake Worth, the first Finn to hold the position in the organization's 96-year history.
But with the weakening dollar, hopefully the area now will gain in appeal, local Finns say.
"I think this Finnair flight will bring more potential investors and tourists to this area, because it's so cheap," Stjernvall said.
In fact, the New Sun Gate Motel, which Stjernvall sold two years ago, and which caters to Finns, now has a contract with a Finnish tour operator for 10 rooms from November to March, said owner Mike Mahmoudi.
Lake Worth had tried to attract Finnair to Palm Beach International Airport, but it was "never seriously considered as alternative, because the Finnish tour organizers prefer Fort Lauderdale," Maatta said.
The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau also had been trying to lure the business, and had attended an annual tourism-trade show in Helsinki.
"The fact that Finnair has finally decided to fly here has been several years in the making," said Alfredo Gonzalez, vice president of tourism and international business development for the bureau.
Lena Hartikainen, manager of Lake Worth's Aimo Travel, which partly specializes in Scandinavia, is among those looking forward to the flights.
"It's definitely created a lot of interest within our clientele," she said.
Finnair last flew out of Miami International Airport in March 2006, said MIA spokesman Greg Chin. In an unusual twist, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood has yet to be contacted by the airline, and no agreement currently exists, said airport spokesman Greg Meyer.
"The officials at Fort Lauderdale Airport will be contacted by our handling agreement people for official agreement for slots and other details in due course of time, latest in June," Maatta said.
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