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World's first Sharklet at Helsinki Airport

Article published
15.12.2013 at 12:22
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Water being sprayed onto an airplane.
The first A321 Sharklet in the world will start flights from Helsinki Airport. It arrived at the airport from the Hamburg factory of Airbus on 6 September 2013. The aircraft was welcomed with the traditional water jet greeting.

Sharklets are Finnair's latest addition to the Airbus family. The company has ordered a total of five of these new aircraft. Three will enter traffic this year, and two in early 2014.

The new aircraft will replace Finnair's old Boeing 757 aircraft. They have mainly been used for flights to holiday resorts, such as the Canary Islands. The new Sharklet has been available to passengers from October, for Aurinkomatkat package holidays, for example.

An ecological aircraft

The special wingtips are the first thing one notices about the Sharklet. However, that is not just a visual detail, but a well-considered choice of design. The new Airbus 321 is the most fuel-efficient, low-emission and quiet narrow-frame aircraft in its class.

The wingtips, about 2.5 metres high, substantially reduce the wingtip vortex, which is one of the main culprits for drag on aircraft. Thanks to the new design, fuel consumption is reduced by more than 5% per seat. Compared to the old B757 aircraft, the reduction is up to 7%.