The commute: Take to the skies with Finnair CEO Turkka Kuusisto
We join the CEO of Finland’s flag carrier, Turkka Kuusisto, in cabin as he makes his cross-border commute from Helsinki to Milan.
Turkka Kuusisto took the helm of Finnair in 2024 at a pivotal moment for the Finnish flag carrier. Facing the ongoing fallout from the closure of Russian airspace, which disrupted the airline’s lucrative long-haul connections between Europe and Asia, the former postal-service CEO has focused on rebuilding the airline to succeed in this new geopolitical reality. To see how he manages his company from the cabin, Monocle joins Kuusisto on his commute from Helsinki Airport in Vantaa to Milan for a leadership meeting.
What time does your alarm go off?
At about 07.00. Today my flight isn’t until 16.10, so there’s no need to get up earlier than usual.
What’s on your early-morning menu?
Breakfast has never been my strong suit but I’m trying to step up my game and have started making smoothies with bananas, blueberries, frozen strawberries, quark, milk and protein powder. They set me up for the long day ahead.
You arrive at the airport. What’s next?
When I go through security, I like to time how long it takes: usually between three and 10 minutes, depending on the time of the day. I know how important priority security is to business travellers. I occasionally visit our lounges to check how things are working but otherwise I go to Finnair’s crew café and meet our staff. These are valuable encounters for a CEO.
Window or aisle seat?
Window. I like seeing how the view from above is different in every city.
Do you travel light?
Yes. Hand luggage only but my gym gear is always in the bag.
Do you treat the plane as a mobile office or take the chance to snooze?
To me, it’s both. For example, I recently flew from Sydney to Singapore on a plane without wi-fi. It was the first time in about 10 years that I had seven hours straight without being connected to the rest of the world. Those seven hours were very valuable. It felt luxurious to watch movies and be by myself.
Do you read or listen to something?
It depends. I sometimes have to read work documents to prepare for the next day but I make sure to set aside some time for myself. I listen to audiobooks such as Welsh author Ken Follett’s fantastic works.
When you’re not wearing headphones, do you talk to fellow passengers?
I chat mostly with our staff. If I know someone on the flight, I speak to them and ask how their journey has gone. That’s when I’m in customer-service mode.
It’s touchdown at Milan Malpensa. How does the rest of your day look?
As soon as I land, I head to my hotel, put on my gym gear and work out. Later, other members of the leadership team will join me for an executive team meeting, during which we review our strategy and future direction.
