Stories about Finnair friendships – when your co-worker is your best friend

Friendships are formed throughout life, whether in kindergarten, studies, hobbies or workplaces. Finnair has approximately 5,800 employees and many long careers, so there are also numerous friendships. In this story, six Finnair employees tell how they found their best friend from work.

Mandi and Jenni – like siblings they never had

Mandi Honkaniemi and Jenni Sinkkonen got to know each other at work in 2017. Jenni started working as a Finnair cabin crew member in 2015, and Mandi in 2017. Surprisingly, the first encounter between these colleagues did not take place on a flight but at a fashion show.

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of Finnair cabin crew uniforms, a fashion show was held at Helsinki Airport in spring 2017. At the event, Mandi represented the 1975’s uniform, while Jenni presented the 2011’s uniform. Mandi remembers the first impression well.

"I immediately felt that Jenni was my kind of person. However, my shyness still overwhelmed my attempt to get to know each other better at that point," Mandi recalls.

Finnair has a total of approximately 2,000 cabin crew members. So, it is by no means presumed that in multi-shift work you would encounter the same flights with your friend. However, Mandi and Jenni worked two shifts together, both heading to Chicago and back. The connection was established on the very first flight together.

“In general, all the cabin crew members are really nice and like-minded, but Mandi and I had something special and we somehow synced better than with the others," Jenni recalls.

As Mandi and Jenni got to know each other, the friendship deepened. The girls have common interests such as organising theme parties and a similar taste in music.

"We are both only children in our families, and Mandi has become like a sister to me," Jenni says.

From sky high to office work

There was wistfulness in the air on their second flight together, as it was going to be the friends' last work shift together. In 2022, Jenni left cabin crew duties to pursue new challenges in office work. In addition to the wistfulness, turbulence provided memorable moments for Jenni’s last cabin crew work shift.

"There was a lot of turbulence on the way out, and the sensation of turbulent motion continued during the same evening when we got to Chicago. The next day, we went shopping, spent time laughing and enjoying ourselves. I was happy that Mandi was there with me to share my last long-haul flight as a cabin crew member,” Jenni recalls.

Jenni continues her career in aviation, now as a Senior Manager Leisure Sales & Development in the Revenue Management & Pricing unit at Finnair. In other words, Jenni is responsible for selling quotas for tour operators and developing their operations.

Sharing remarkable moments

Despite Jenni’s move to a new role, their friendship didn't flinch. Today, Jenni and Mandi are in touch almost daily, and living close to each other helps them catch up regularly.

“If we don't have time to visit each other, we can at least chat on the way home,” Mandi describes.

"Luckily our spouses also get along well, so it's usually quite easy to spend time together," Jenni continues.

Mandi and Jenni became so close that Jenni was Mandi's maid of honour at her wedding in summer 2023. That was the ultimate theme party to put together for the theme party loving friends.

"Jenni was my bridesmaid and boy, she did everything! Jenni is gorgeous, cheerful and supportive. I know that Jenni will always be there for me. And at this point, there are no more things that you can't tell and discuss with the other person," Mandi enthuses.

Jenni describes empathy and positivity as the best attributes of Mandi.

"Mandi brings joyful energy to any space and she always thinks of others. Mandi is a reliable and supportive friend who gives a lot of energy to others just by being herself and standing up for herself and her loved ones when needed. A very beautiful person, both internally and externally".

Alena and Clemens: New home country – new true friendship

You don’t always have to work together to become friends. Finnair Cabin Crew Member Alena Heiska-Kaliská and Finnair Revenue Technology Manager Clemens Thiel had a bit different start to their friendship.

Alena and Clemens work in different units. However, they have similar interests, so they met in Young Finnair Hobby Club in 2020. Young Finnair is a hobby club that brings colleagues from various Finnair units together and gives them the chance to see different sides of Finnair and aviation through its events.

“I am a board member of the Young Finnair hobby club, and we met in person to discuss some ideas that Alena had proposed for future Young Finnair activities. My first impression of Alena was that she was a very lively person with a lot of enthusiasm for life and the things important to her,” Clemens recalls.

Alena recalls being impressed by Clemens’s German punctuality and how neatly organised he was.

“I was also impressed by his professionalism even though this was a free-time activity. He seemed like a fun person and had a smile on his face whilst talking.”

Supporting each other through hard times

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the hobby club activities were cancelled in 2020. However, the connection between Alena and Clemens stayed. Alena had just moved to Finland from Central Europe a year before to pursue a career as cabin crew, so a new friendship was invaluable. Living as foreigners in Finland unites them: Clemens is originally from Germany and joined Finnair in 2018.

“Since we are both expats in Finland and did not have a local support network, we started supporting each other,” Clemens describes.

“When you move to a new country, you start your life over. Making friends as an adult is not easy. I'm privileged I get to call Clemens my friend and that we both continue to choose to involve each other in our lives,” Alena says.

They both agree that their friendship deepened during the pandemic.

“The common need of having somebody who understands and is going through the same thing made us chat and talk all the time for months. It was one of the hardest times in my life and Clemens was there for me when I was feeling low. I don't know where I would be today if we had never met. I don't think he fully realises how much his friendship means to me,” Alena describes.

Celebrating life's milestones together

Their friendship has been there through many significant life moments. When Alena got married, Clemens was one of the witnesses at the intimate ceremony.

"We joke that he paid for our 'wedding reception' – all four of us went to get a warm drink and cake at the café where I first met my husband. He insisted on paying," Alena laughs.

Clemens also got to hold Alena's baby girl when she was less than one week old.

"We've supported each other through ups and downs – many breakups and broken hearts, happy moments, terrible dates, dark winters and fun summers. I appreciate how reliable Clemens is. 'Man of his word', you could say. Always willing to help and do anything in his power to make things easier for people he cares about," Alena says.

A friendship that became family

Today, their friendship has evolved into something even deeper. Clemens has become an integral part of Alena's family life in Finland.

"We're still great friends, and Clemens has single-handedly become a village for my little one, which helps tremendously when there's no family nearby. It's a friend turned into family, you could say – although he doesn't like being called 'uncle Clemens'," Alena shares with a laugh.

Her daughter has formed her own special bond with Clemens, often butchering his name into different playful versions and mentioning him frequently. She completely lights up and runs to give him a big hug whenever she sees him.

"You could say those two have also become great friends thanks to Finnair," Alena reflects.

"What I appreciate most about Alena is her care for the people around her. Her openness and her ability to lift me up when I'm down. I'm a rather introverted person and Alena is the one to get me out of my shell every now and then," Clemens says.

Their story is a testament to how workplace connections can transform into genuine, lasting friendships – and how those friendships can evolve into the family we choose for ourselves, especially far from home.

Maiju and Sirja – through awkward first encounter to friendship

Maiju Kaipainen and Sirja Engström met at Helsinki Airport in customer service tasks. Maiju had started working as Finnair's Gate Service Agent at the beginning of 2011 and Sirja about six months later.

Contrary to what one might imagine, Sirja and Maiju's first shift was more awkward silence than bonding. The duo, who usually worked different shifts, ended up behind the same check-in counter. However, this time they had to wait longer than usual for passengers heading to Rhodes, so there would have been time to chat with a colleague. But there was nothing to say.

"I thought, what the heck is this, we don't have anything to talk about. I wonder what we could come up with now," Maiju recalls.

"I also thought that I had to figure out something to talk about and not just sit around. At some point, we came up with the idea of discussing such a safe topic as travelling," Sirja laughs.

The road to friendship through dogs

After the initial awkward moment at work, the icebreaker topic on the next shift together was pets. It turned out that they both have dogs. Fittingly, during the next workday, they both happened to have a longer break between shifts in the middle of the day.

"Maiju has a Chihuahua and I have two Dachshunds. During the break, we came up with the idea to go and see my dogs because I lived near the airport," Sirja recalls.

"With the help of dogs, the friendship really started to ignite, and all of a sudden, the jokes just kept coming and coming, and it felt like I've always known Sirja. I've always said that Sirja is like a walking entertainment system, it's so easy to talk to her," Maiju continues.

Their most memorable moment working together is related to a social moment. At that time, Maiju and Sirja worked together at the departure gate of a plane departing for Ivalo.

"There were only about 70 passengers boarding, so you would think everything would go smoothly. We were talking to a nice customer, and suddenly, we became aware of a phone ringing. It was the chief purser calling and wondering who we were still waiting for, maybe some connecting passengers? Well, there was only this one passenger left that we two were chatting to," Sirja laughs.

"At that point, there were only about fifteen minutes left for the plane to depart, so our socialising almost delayed the flight”.

The friendship remained even though the job description changed

However, in April 2022, it was time for a change when Sirja said goodbye to her work as a Gate Service Agent. Today, Sirja works as a Planning Specialist doing resource planning for Finnair’s Technical Services unit.

"The change in friendship after this didn't terrify me at all. Of course, we had been at the same workplace for ten years, so one part of me did go with Sirja," Maiju recalls.

In addition to long phone calls, the friends have travelled a lot in their free time and supported each other during the coronavirus pandemic.

"We are actively in contact in our free time, and sometimes it can suddenly take up to three hours on the phone. Our most memorable trip has probably been a trip to Tahiti via Japan,” Maiju says.

"It's easy to travel with Sirja because she's so organised. A very reliable friend and such good company, there are no dull moments at all," Maiju says with a smile.

"I've shared so many things with Maiju, I haven't come across something that can't be talked about. Maiju is a reliable friend with whom I can always share my joys and sorrows," Sirja praises.

Back on the journey together

Today, Maiju and Sirja work in the same place once again, at Finnair's head office HOTT. Last May, Maiju moved from the airport to the Finnair Operations Control Center (OCC) to work as Customer Journey Lead – in the same building where Sirja now works.

A friendship that began at an airport workstation years ago has weathered role changes, life transitions, and a pandemic. Their story speaks to how workplace friendships can journey alongside us through change and sometimes lead us back to a shared path in unexpected ways.

Read more about the different careers at Finnair.