Santa Claus has taken time out of his busy December schedule to name a new aeroplane for Tui.
The holiday company has introduced a policy of naming its aircraft after destinations, so its new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft will become “ambassadors for holiday regions”.
Tui’s fourth Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft – out of a total of 72 on order – is the first to be christened.
It has been called Kittila, after the airport in Finnish Lapland which Tui uses for its customers travelling on winter holidays to the region.
As the region is home to Santa Claus, he was chosen as the godfather and carried out the name-giving ceremony with a snowball.
Guests at ceremony at Kittila airport were the Tui partner company Lapland Safari, representatives of Lapland tourism associations, and local hotel and business partners.
Santa Claus said: “I feel proud of the fact that the name of Kittila is now carried by this aircraft of Tui and that it will become the ambassador to Lapland.”
Compared to previous aircraft in the Tui fleet, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 has lower fuel consumption rates and generates 20% fewer CO2 emissions.