HELSINKI - Would you board flight 666 to HEL on Friday the
13th?
For superstitious travellers, that might be tempting fate. But
Finnair passengers on AY666 to Helsinki — which has the 3 letter
designation HEL — don't seem too bothered. Friday's flight is
almost full.
"It has been quite a joke among the pilots" said veteran Finnair
pilot Juha-Pekka Keidasto, who will fly the Airbus A320 from
Copenhagen to Helsinki. "I'm not a superstitious man. It's only a
coincidence for me."
The daily flight AY666 from Copenhagen to Helsinki falls on Friday
the 13th twice in 2013. Friday the 13th is considered bad luck in
many countries and the number 666 also has strong negative biblical
associations.
Some airlines, like Scandinavian Airlines, take these fears
seriously and don't have a row 13 on board. However, the negative
connotations are a relatively new phenomenon for northern
Europeans, and Finnair and other regional carriers like Norwegian
and Estonian Air keep row 13.
"Less than 100 years ago, the number 13 did not have this sinister
meaning; it's quite recent in the north," said Ulo Valk, professor
of comparative folklore at the University of Tartu in Estonia.
"There are 12 hours, 12 months and in Christianity 12 apostles and
this is a divine number. Add one more and it brings in a certain
element of chaos," he said.
But passengers on flight 666 to HEL should have a calm flight over
the Baltic at this time of year.
"It's hopefully smooth skies" says Keidasto. "And if there's some
passenger who is anxious about this 666 our cabin crew is always
happy to help them."