FINNAIR Falls Flat On Its FACE

    Airplane trailer (Paramount,1980)

It was a long, meandering message. The gist: a company that  Finnair is associated with was breached. Some Finnair Plus members' info might be involved. Nothing serious, but they advised US to change our passwords. There was tel. no. to call. I called. A recoding said they would get back to me. Decided to call Finnair Plus and talk to someone.

Talked to an agent, in English.  I asked him about the breach. He knew nothing about it, said he would check and come back to me. I waited. Several minutes later he came back and confirmed there was a breach. I was surprised that he hadn't been informed.  And called customer service in Helsinki. He said that all I had to do was change my Password.

I went back to the original message and put in my email address and a new password. It didn't work. Thought I had made a mistake and tried three more times. Called Customer Service in Helsinki again. Another agent.  When I told her the problem, she explained that Finnair was still investigating the problem and I wouldn't be able to change the password until it was resolved. She wasn't sure when that would be – maybe tomorrow. I haven't received any updates from Finnair.  So am out to sea about what to do.

Finnair is three years short of its 100th anniversary. State-owned, it has iconic status in Finland. The blue and white carrier gives us confidence. We feel safe when we fly on one of its planes But the way the company handled this small glitch in the system was a red flag. Do they take US loyal passengers as a given? Especially now when airlines are reeling from the pandemic losses. After the virus is subdued and we get on the move again, the competition will be ferocious. Finnair WAKE UP.

cc: Topi Manner CEO Finnair

PS: After a week I received a message from Finnair Plus: there will be a five-day break in the Finnair Plus service while they fix the system.

Source: personal experience

Next week: TRUE FINNs 2.0

Note: I have only had good experiences with Finnair. Despite this hiccup, I like their track record. Also from a safety standpoint - they are the 6th oldest still working airline company, with no significant accidents since 1963. That's longer than I have lived.

Also, when we shot Chasing Esa-Pekka, they let us shoot an interview on a plane, on the ground. Gotta give kudos to the company for doing that.

CU

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Eki

CON-spiracy CULT

 

Blue Marble (The Earth as seen from Apollo 17), flattened.

2015:  Donal Trump rolled down  the escalator at Trump Tower to announce he was running for president  - like GOD descending to earth in a Sat. Night Live skit.  He paid a small crowd to cheer. His cartoony looks and rage-rant were comedic. The media zoomed in, so did we. Love him or hate him, he was not boring. By a fluke, he won.

Oath Keepers ad Proud Boys were waiting for a leader like Trump... Ok, ex-military and retired cops, are trained, armed and organized. PBs, white males with a mission to take back America, designated a terrorist org. in Canada. The two groups ignited the mob that stormed the capitol. Five people were killed. By comparison, Qanon is a quirky-jerky cult that touts Democrats are pedophiles, with headquarters in the basement of a pizzeria in Wash. D.C. A Qcon member was arrested after  he shot up the joint.

Trump also has built a rock-solid, adoring  Base. Terrified of being primaried by a T chosen candidate, most Republican senators and reps have bowed down and kissed his ring. After four years of a crack-pot president, in exile now plotting revenge, there are red alerts. The Economist picked How Democracies DIE* as the most important book  of the Trump era. A noted historian** urged the US to read The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.*** Corrupt politicians and conspiracies have been around since God. But Trump's Black-Magic is tapping Social Media on speed – that evil Genie can't be put back in the bottle.

PS: The Twitter ban has muted Trump, it's also victimized him.

PS2: A gold, six-foot statue of Trump dressed in shorts and clogs, is front and center at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Made in Mexico.

PS3:  Authorities warn that extreme right-wing groups have hatched a plan to bomb the Capitol when President Biden gives his first speech to a joint session of congress. The date has not been announced.

*Steven Levitsky & Daniel Ziblatt

**John Meacham

**William Shirer

Sources: The Economist, New York Times, Washington Post,  The Guardian, MSNBC, CNN, FOX News, the Shark

Next Week: FINNAIR Falls Flat On Its FACE

 

Note: I dunno.

I'm kindasorta bored of the Trumpist insanity. There are more relevant conspiracy theories out there - anti-vaxxers come to mind (though sure, there's overlap). I hope the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and the rest of MAGA conspiracists will soon flush down to their proper place in history: to the sewer of irrelevance along with the flat earthers, Area 51 nuts, evolution denialists, 911 was a hoax crowd, climate change denialists, chemtrail wackos and the already mentioned anti-vaxxers. 

I don't think they deserve the attention anymore, really. Or, more accurately, hope.

CU

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Eki