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The Angry Birds outlet is one of a number of pop-up store successes at Helsinki Airport |
FINLAND. Helsinki Airport has hailed the strong performance of a number of temporary “˜pop-up’ stores over the past six months, with an Angry Birds outlet (selling merchandise related to the hugely popular online game) among the biggest successes.
A store unit close to gate 20 has housed three different concepts in the past half-year. The current incumbent is Globe Hope, known for its ecological products. This will remain in place until the end of April. Separately, the Angry Birds outlet (found between gates 32 and 40) will be open until the end of August.
“The attraction of the temporary shops has exceeded our expectations. The pop up premise concept has got off to a great start,” said Vice President Jukka Isomäki, who oversees commercial operations at Helsinki Airport.
According to Isomäki, the pop-up shops enhance the service environment and contribute variety and surprise to the offer.
“During the Design Capital year, we particularly wish to give new brands and young designers an opportunity to test their wings at the airport. We are always on the lookout for innovative ideas; the airport benefits from the attention as well,” Isomäki said.
In related Helsinki news, the airport is to strengthen its status as a vital long-haul hub with a number of new routes. These include a new service to Chongqing in China and the return of a seasonal Chicago service in 2012. Further expansion is expected spring 2013 when Japan Airlines starts operating to Helsinki.
“Helsinki Airport’s compact and well-designed terminal allows for minimum connection times as short as 35-40 minutes, making the airport an excellent transit point to and from 54 cities within Europe,” said Junji Tanaka, Regional General Manager, Germany, Central, Eastern and Northern Europe for Japan Airlines.
Helsinki Airport claims to have the most direct scheduled flights to Asia in Northern Europe. It offers the shortest and fastest route between Asia and Europe.
Helsinki Airport’s traffic between Europe and Asia has grown strongly during the last ten years. In 2011, 15 million passengers travelled to or from Helsinki with 1.63 million of those (up by +15.4% year-on-year) travelling to Asia. Japan was the main destination with over 400,000 passengers (up +8.1%).
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Helsinki is poised for further growth with new long-haul routes announced |
