Finnair repays government covid bail out loan.

Finnair and the State of Finland signed an agreement on a hybrid loan of maximum of 400 million euros to support Finnair due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2021. In April 2022, the hybrid loan instrument was converted to a capital loan that was deemed an equity instrument. Both arrangements had the approval of the EU Commission’s competition authority in line with the European Union’s state aid rules. Finnair drew down the entire amount of 400 million euros during 2022.

In Finnair's rights offering of 570 million euros executed in November 2023, the State of Finland subscribed for its pro rata share of the new shares on the basis of subscription rights allocated to it. The State of Finland paid the subscription price of the shares by offsetting it against a corresponding amount of the principal of the capital loan. This totalled 318.6 million euros. Finnair has today repaid the remainder of the capital loan, i.e. 81.4 million euros, to the State of Finland. In addition, Finnair paid the related interest and other fees of 48.9 million euros to the State.

If the capital loan had not been repaid, it would have accrued approximately 52 million euros in interest and other fees in 2024.

After the repayment of the capital loan and the previously repaid hybrid bond, the company has no loans that are deemed equity capital.

Finnair brings back flights to Nagoya; updates its winter ‘24 traffic programme

Finnair brings back flights to Nagoya; updates its winter ‘24 traffic programme

Finnair will start two weekly frequencies to Nagoya, Japan, on 30 May 2024. Finnair is also updating its winter 2024 traffic programme and adding flights to the British Isles, Iceland and leisure destinations in Portugal and the Canary Islands.

“We are delighted to resume our connection to Nagoya, where we used to fly before the pandemic. We already fly to Tokyo Haneda and Narita, as well as Osaka. In the summer season of 2024, we’ll have a total of twenty weekly frequencies to Japan,” says Ole Orvér, Chief Commercial Officer at Finnair.

“We will also have a very compelling leisure offering to popular holiday destinations for the winter season of 2024,” Orvér continues.  

From October 2024, Finnair will begin scheduled flights to three of its former charter destinations. There will be two weekly frequencies to Faro in Portugal and Lanzarote and Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands.

Finnair will also start operating two popular leisure destinations with widebody aircraft. There will be three weekly incremental frequencies to Dubai with the Airbus A330 aircraft. Las Palmas flights will be operated with the Airbus A350.

Finnair reports strong growth and profitability in the busiest quarter of the year.

Europe's leading outsourcing airline Finnair has reported strong growth and profitability during what it terms as the busiest quarter of the year. The financially constrained carrier saw 3 million passengers and had a passenger load factor of 81% during the period. The airline's revenue grew by 13.7% year-on-year to €817 million and the comparable operating profit was €94 million euros, equaling a comparable EBIT margin of 11.5%.  The net result was also positive for the fourth consecutive time, this time €53 million euros.

July – September 2023                                 

• Earnings per share were 0.03 euros (-0.03)*.
• Revenue increased by 13.7% to 817.3 million euros (719.2).
• The comparable operating result was 94.3 million euros (35.2) and the operating result was 90.0 million euros (19.2). Both were adversely impacted by the more expensive fuel price towards the end of the period.
• Cash funds were 1,346.3 million euros (31 Dec 2022: 1 524.4) and they decreased mainly due to the 200-million-euro hybrid bond redemption during the period. The equity ratio was 11.5 per cent (31 Dec 2022: 9.9).
• Net cash flow from operating activities was 95.5 million euros (11.8), and net cash flow from investing activities was 45.1 million euros (-0.4).** Gross capital expenditure totalled 73.2 million euros (37.5).
• Number of passengers increased by 6.6% to 3.0 million (2.8).
• Available seat kilometres (ASK) increased by 11.8% to 9,343.9 million kilometres (8,356.5).
• Passenger load factor (PLF) was 80.9% (80.1).

January – September 2023                           

• Basic earnings per share were 0.12 euros (-0.39).
• Result for the period included a positive, one-off deferred tax item of 99 million euros based on previous years’ tax losses.
• Revenue increased by 35.5% to 2,261.3 million euros (1,669.3).
• Comparable operating result was 161.4 million euros (-181.8) and operating result was 164.1 million euros (-238.6). Both were adversely impacted by the more expensive fuel price towards the end of the period.
• Net cash flow from operating activities was 478.1 million euros (229.1), and net cash flow from investing activities was -286.3 million euros (-21.2).** Gross capital expenditure totalled 209.4 million euros (137.8).
• The number of passengers increased by 26.0% to 8.4 million (6.6).
• Available seat kilometres (ASK) increased by 17.3% to 27,106.9 million kilometres (23,112.9).
• Passenger load factor (PLF) was 77.5% (65.9).

* Unless otherwise stated, comparisons and figures in parentheses refer to the comparison period, i.e., the same period last year.

** In Q3, net cash flow from investing activities included 63.2 million euros of redemptions (29.1 million euros) in money market funds or other financial assets (maturity over three months). In Q1–Q3, investments totalled to 128.6 million euros (26.1 million euros of redemptions). They are part of the Group’s liquidity management.

Finnair Group Interim Report 1 January – 30 September 2023

Passenger numbers creep upwards at Finnair.

In September, Finnair carried 921,800 passengers, which was 3.5% more than in September 2022 but 5.0% less than in August 2023 which the carrier says is just due to the normal seasonality fluctuation. 

September passenger traffic figures improved year-on-year as the COVID-19 pandemic impacts have mostly faded and as the Russian airspace was closed already during the comparison period. The negative impact of the Russian airspace closure especially on Asian passenger traffic figures was, however, still visible in September 2023 compared to the pre-pandemic figures. The distance-based reported traffic figures do not take into account longer routings caused by the airspace closure as they are based on Great-Circle distance.

The overall capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASK), increased in September by 9.8% year-on-year but decreased by 5.5% month-on-month. Finnair's traffic, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs), increased by 13.0% year-on-year but decreased by 7.9% month-on-month. The Passenger Load Factor (PLF) increased by 2.2% points year-on-year but declined by 2.0% points month-on-month to 77.9%.

Finnair is taking part in Plan International’s #GirlsTakeover campaign

Finnair is taking part in Plan International’s #GirlsTakeover campaign

Finnair is taking part in Plan International's #GirlsTakeover campaign, where girls step into the shoes of political, social and economic leaders as part of the UN's International Day of the Girl celebrations.   

At Finnair, 17-year-old Siru Nuutinen will take over the role of CEO Topi Manner and work with Finnair's Executive Board on 9 October. The takeover is part of campaign by Plan International, a children's rights organisation that seeks to raise awareness about discrimination against girls and, at the same time, highlighting their potential.  

"In recent years, we have seen growth in the importance of companies as socially responsible actors. At Finnair, we strongly believe in a diverse and equitable society, which is why we wanted to join Plan's initiative," says Manner.  

The theme for the takeovers is equality in working life. Globally, girls still have fewer opportunities than boys to get an education, to access decision-making positions and earn equal pay. There is also room for improvement in equality in working life in Finland.  

At Finnair, the campaign focuses not only on the position of girls but also on the broader theme of equality and diversity. Updated objectives and actions will be published during the takeover.  

"We have long enjoyed a multicultural and diverse working environment. However, after long years of crisis, now is a good time to update our goals and restart the systematic actions to achieve a more equitable and inclusive workplace," says Manner. “We want to be an attractive employer also in the future, and by working with Siru, we believe we can get good ideas on how to concretely advance equality and inclusion". 

Finnair Traffic Performance in August 2023

Close to one million passengers and solid passenger load factor

In August, Finnair carried 969,800 passengers, which was 10.1% more than in August 2022 but 8.7% less than in July 2023.

August passenger traffic figures improved year-on-year as the COVID-19 pandemic impacts have mostly faded and as the Russian airspace was closed already during the comparison period. The negative impact of the Russian airspace closure especially on Asian passenger traffic figures was, however, still visible in August 2023 compared to the pre-pandemic figures. The distance-based reported traffic figures do not take into account longer routings caused by the airspace closure as they are based on Great-Circle distance.

The overall capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASK), increased in August by 13.6% year-on-year but decreased by 2.0% month-on-month. Finnair's traffic, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs), increased by 16.6% year-on-year but decreased by 7.8% month-on-month. The Passenger Load Factor (PLF) increased by 2.1% points year-on-year but decreased by 5.0% points month-on-month to 79.8%.

The ASK increase in Asian traffic was 41.5% year-on-year explained e.g. by the additional capacity to Japan and South Korea. The North Atlantic capacity decreased by 40.7% as the operations between Stockholm and the North American destinations were discontinued at the end of October 2022. In European traffic, the ASKs were up by 7.8%. The Middle Eastern capacity surged by 1,588.6% due to the Qatar Airways cooperation commenced in November 2022 and low traffic during the 2022 summer season. The ASKs in domestic traffic increased by 23.3%.

RPKs increased in Asian traffic by 54.8% year-on-year but decreased in North Atlantic traffic by 35.9%. In European traffic, RPKs increased by 4.7%, in Middle Eastern traffic by 1,450.6% and in domestic traffic by 7.9%.

Finnair starts direct flights between Rovaniemi and Tromsø

Coming in December is a new air service between Rovaniemi, Finland, and Tromsø, Norway from leading outsourced airline Finnair. 

There will be two weekly flights between Tromsø and Rovaniemi that are operated by 68-seater ATR aircraft on Thursdays and Saturdays. The connections will be operated as tag flights: Helsinki-Rovaniemi-Tromsø and Tromsø-Rovaniemi-Helsinki. The flight time between Rovaniemi and Tromsø is 1.5 hours. The flights will begin on 2 December 2023 and continue until 30 March 2024. Finnair also operates to Tromsø from its home base of  Helsinki. 

"The Arctic nature and high-quality travel experiences appeal to travellers from various parts of the world, such as Asia and Central Europe," says Antti Tolvanen, SVP Network & Revenue Management at Finnair. "With this new connection, visitors to the Arctic region can conveniently combine both Lapland and Northern Norway in one trip." 

Rovaniemi is the capital of Lapland and is an urban city surrounded by arctic nature, where Lappish culture and a wide range of activities meet. The tourist authority promises that in Rovaniemi you can visit Santa Claus and cross the Arctic Circle every day of the year.  

Yes, the city’s most famous resident can be visited any day you like in the Santa Claus Village right on the Arctic Circle, it's an attraction that draws more than 500,000 annual visitors from all around the world.  Santa Claus’ original home lies in the mysterious Korvatunturi (“Ear Fell”) in Finnish Lapland. Since the exact location is a secret only known to a chosen few, he decided to establish an office in Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland, in 1985. Rovaniemi received the status of the Official Hometown of Santa Claus in 2010.

But there is way more than just meeting Santa you can do in and around Rovaniemi, such as biking, cycling, hiking, snowboarding, ice treks, fishing, floating, zoo tours, ice breaker tours, husky rides, saunas, local crafts and of course food! Find out more at Visit Rovaniemi - the Official Hometown of Santa Claus

Here are some of the top hotels and places to stay in and around the city.

ARCTIC CITY HOTEL

Arctic City Hotel is a modern, family-owned hotel set in the very centre of the town of Rovaniemi. The warm and personal service as well as delicious cuisine create a cozy base for business and pleasure.

ARCTIC LIGHT HOTEL

The Arctic Light Hotel is a multi-award-winning, family-owned boutique hotel situated in the heart of Lapland-Rovaniemi. Experience the stylish Arctic hideaway offering a unique combination of Lappish heritage and the ultimate in contemporary style.

Check out the availability and prices of these hotels here..

ARCTIC SNOWHOTEL & GLASS IGLOOS

The luxury of sleeping under a 360º glass roof and the unique experience of staying in a hotel made of only snow and ice.

ARCTIC TREEHOUSE HOTEL

Welcome to the luxury comfort of the first Arctic TreeHouse Hotel. We offer you a brand new way to experience the Arctic Circle and the beauty of the Northern Lights in the nest-like atmosphere of our thoughtfully designed suites.

BEANA LAPONIA

Beana Laponia is a wilderness boutique hotel that offers guests personal service and unforgettable activities in small groups. Adults only

Check out loads more places to stay....

Topi Manner to leave Finnair next year

The CEO of Finnair, Topi Manner, is to leave the outsourcing carrier early next year, the firm confirmed this week after he gave them notice. 

Manner is to join Elisa Corporation as their new CEO, starting at the latest on 1 March 2024. Until then, Manner continues as normal in his CEO role at Finnair the airline said in a statement on Friday.

“Topi Manner has done a stellar job with his team in leading Finnair through the double crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of Russian airspace. I want to thank Topi warmly for his leadership during the past, very difficult years. Finnair has emerged from the double crises as a strong airline, as witnessed by our Q2 financial performance”, says Sanna Suvanto-Harsaae, the Chair of Finnair Board of Directors. “The Finnair team has shown their ability to adapt and transform, and we are in an excellent position to continue to connect Asia, Europe and North America. I wish Topi the best of success in his new chapter.”

“My time at Finnair has been characterised by the exceptional crises we faced. This has been the ultimate stress test for the entire Finnair team. I am extremely proud of the way our organisation has responded, adapted, and succeeded. It has been an honour to be a part of this team effort and feel the Finnair spirit”, says Topi Manner. “When I move to my new challenge, I will take many learnings with me. Finnair will always remain important for me. Meanwhile, I am committed to continuing to lead Finnair with my strong team for the rest of my time with this excellent company.”

Manner's departure will come as a shock to many staff as he was a key part of future plans beyond 2025.  "It is a great loss to the airline, he was the only sane one of the top leadership,"  one senior Finnair pilot told us on Friday evening. 

It has been said that Manner was the man to turn to in times of crisis, indeed the period that he's been in charge has been a tumultuous one in aviation. During his tenure, he's had to steer the airline through the Covid Pandemic grounding, Russian airspace closure, staff disenfranchisement, financial struggles and forcing forward difficult decisions of outsourcing and service stripping, yet the carrier is in a stronger position now, that almost everybody thought less than two years ago.

Will the telecoms and digital sector that he's moving into have as much passion and drama as the aviation industry has seen in recent times remains to be seen, but Manner,  the safe pair of hands looks set to continue being dependable in times of need. 

Perhaps aviation just wasn't in Manner's blood, the 49-year-old has had a long career in management positions at Nordea, the largest financial group in the Nordic countries, and from 2016 he has worked as a member of Nordea's Group Executive Management and as Head of Personal Banking.  Then taking over roles at Finnair and becoming the vice chairman of Finland's Chamber of Commerce. 

Finnair to move its loyalty programme to Avios in 2024.

The former legacy airline of Finland,  the Helsinki-based Finnair is joining forces with IAG Loyalty to fully renew and update its Finnair Plus loyalty programme by introducing Avios as its new loyalty currency in early 2024. 

Partnering with IAG Loyalty to adopt Avios will bring new opportunities for existing and new Finnair Plus members to collect and use the programme’s new loyalty currency.  The airline has also announced that its programme will also move to a new spend-based platform as it seeks to outsource almost all functions of administration.  

The partnership is the next step in the expansion of the Avios currency worldwide, ensuring the 40 million+ members can enjoy Avios on even more routes and on even more rewarding experiences. 

It follows last year’s ground-breaking partnership between IAG Loyalty and Qatar Airways that saw the airline join British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling as adopters of Avios. 

IAG Loyalty CEO, Adam Daniels, said: “Finnair’s adoption of Avios is recognition of the global significance of our currency, the incredible value and the wide range of benefits it has for members. We are delighted to be able to play a central role in a new era for Finnair’s loyalty programme, as we continue to grow the Avios currency globally and extend our leadership in loyalty.” 

Finnair says that as an extra incentive to join Finnair Plus its members will now also receive complimentary internet access for messaging on its short-haul European flights operated on the carrier's Airbus aircraft - regardless of their tier status.  

The Finnair Plus programme was launched in 1992 and the airline says has over four million members, although it is unknown how many are active travellers or the exact liability amount of their accounts.  

Finnair SVP Customer Engagement, Rogier Van Enk said: “2024 marks the start of an exciting era for our loyalty program, with new benefits and improved options for our members to use Avios - both within Finnair and within IAG Loyalty’s partner network. We look forward to a great and long-lasting partnership for many years to come.” 

As part of the changes, Finnair will also increase the number of award seats available on its flights, in many cases, double as the airline will guarantee at least 4 award seats on Finnair flights within Europe and 8 on Finnair long-haul flights. 

Finnair Plus award points will be converted to Avios with a 3:2 ratio, and the purchasing power of the current points remains unchanged – Avios prices are also updated with the same 3:2 ratio.  

The new loyalty currency, Avios, will be collected, and members will be able to move from one tier to another based on the money spent on Finnair’s flights and travel extras. Tier limits will be revised to reflect the switch to Avios and the new spend-based earn of tier points. Collecting tier points and loyalty currency on partner-marketed or operated flights will continue to be based on the travel class, booking class, and distance flown. The new programme will work on miles rather than kilometres, flown.

Finnair Plus members will be able to earn Avios when they shop online with thousands of leading brands via shopping.ba.com and with IAG Loyalty’s growing list of partners around the world that range from BP, Nectar, and Uber in the UK, Areas airport retail, and Cabify in Spain and Bilt in the US.  

IAG Loyalty currently partners with over 125 leading global brands such as American Express, Nectar, Uber and Marriott.

More than one million passengers flew with Finnair in July.

In July, Finnair carried 1,062,500 passengers, which was 6.3% more than in July 2022 and 6.5% more than in June 2023. Month-on-month figures are, however, not fully comparable as there was one day less in June.

July passenger traffic figures improved year-on-year as the COVID-19 pandemic impacts have mostly faded and as the Russian airspace was closed already during the comparison period. The negative impact of the Russian airspace closure especially on Asian passenger traffic figures was, however, still visible in July 2023 compared to the pre-pandemic figures. The distance-based reported traffic figures do not take into account longer routings caused by the airspace closure as they are based on Great-Circle distance.

The overall capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASK), increased in July by 12.0% year-on-year and by 3.9% month-on-month. Finnair's traffic, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs), increased by 9.8% year-on-year and by 9.2% month-on-month. The Passenger Load Factor (PLF) decreased by 1.8% points year-on-year but increased by 4.1% points month-on-month to 84.8%.

The ASK increase in Asian traffic was 54.5% year-on-year explained e.g. by the additional capacity to Japan and South Korea as well as the Mumbai route opened in August 2022. The North Atlantic capacity decreased by 42.9% as the operations between Stockholm and the North American destinations were discontinued at the end of October 2022. In European traffic, the ASKs were up by 1.8%. The Middle Eastern capacity surged by 1,520.1% due to the Qatar Airways cooperation commenced in November 2022 and low traffic during the 2022 summer season. The ASKs in domestic traffic increased by 10.6%.

Half-year report from Finnair shows revenues of over €749 million

One of the leading European outsourcing airlines Finnair has released its 2023 half-year report which shows revenue increased by 36. also2% to €749.2 million euros as the cost-cutting programme demonstrates benefits. The airline saw stronger demand with the passenger load factor up to 76.3% (67.3).

January – June 2023                                    

Revenue increased by 52.0% to 1,443.9 million euros.

The comparable operating result was 67.1 million euros (-217.1). The operating result was 74.1 million euros (-257.8).

Net cash flow from operating activities was 382.6 million euros (217.3), and net cash flow from investing activities was -331.4 million euros (-20.8).** Gross capital expenditure totalled 136.2 million euros (100.3).

The number of passengers increased by 39.8% to 5.4 million (3.9).

Available seat kilometres (ASK) increased by 20.4% to 17,763.0 million kilometres (14,756.4).

April – June 2023                                          

The comparable operating result was 66.2 million euros (-84.2). The operating result was 65.8 million euros (-92.9).

Cash funds were € 1,530.6 million euros

Net cash flow from operating activities was €175.8 million euros (182.0), and net cash flow from investing activities was -187.7 million euros (2.8).** Gross capital expenditure totalled 62.5 million euros (34.1).

The number of passengers increased by 19.4% to 2.8 million (2.4).

The passenger load factor was 75.7%.

The airline says it expects the travel demand to continue stronger than previously anticipated as more and more people have confidence in the safety of air travel. like many airlines, Finnair has seen a slight lowering of the previously excessively high fuel prices which has played a key part in the firm's performance. On top of this is the implementation of various cost-cutting measures the airline has introduced which has progressed better than anticipated.

Almost one million passengers travelled with Finnair in June...

In June, Finnair carried 997,200 passengers, which was 9.9% more than in June 2022 and 3.8% more than in May 2023. Month-on-month figures are, however, not fully comparable as there was one day less in June.

June passenger traffic figures improved year-on-year as the COVID-19 pandemic impacts have mostly faded and as the Russian airspace was closed already during the comparison period. The negative impact of the Russian airspace closure especially on Asian passenger traffic figures was, however, still visible in June 2023 compared to the pre-pandemic figures. The distance-based reported traffic figures do not take into account longer routings caused by the airspace closure as they are based on Great-Circle distance.

The overall capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASK), increased in June by 15.1% year-on-year but decreased by 2.6% month-on-month. Finnair's traffic, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs), increased by 16.4% year-on-year and by 6.2% month-on-month. The Passenger Load Factor (PLF) increased by 0.9% points year-on-year and by 6.7% points month-on-month to 80.7%.

The ASK increase in Asian traffic was 58.7% year-on-year explained e.g. by the reopening of Hong Kong route in July 2022, additional capacity to Japan and South Korea as well as the Mumbai route opened in August 2022. The North Atlantic capacity decreased by 41.6% as the operations between Stockholm and the North American destinations were discontinued at the end of October 2022. In European traffic, the ASKs were up by 4.1%. The Middle Eastern capacity surged by 1,809.9% due to the Qatar Airways cooperation commenced in November 2022 and low traffic during the 2022 summer season. The ASKs in domestic traffic increased by 9.7%.

Finnair to start flights to Wroclaw, Poland......

Finnair also adds frequencies to Europe and Japan for the summer of 2024

Finnair has updated its planned flight schedule for the summer of next year - 31 March - 26 October 2024. The carrier has seen an increased global travel demand over the last few months and is going to add frequencies between its Helsinki hub and destinations in Northern and Central Europe as well as Japan for the summer season of 2024. 

Finnair will start a service to Wroclaw in Poland on 2nd April, which will be a new destination for the airline.  

In Scandinavia, Finnair is adding frequencies to Tromsø and Trondheim in Norway and bringing back the flights it used to operate before the pandemic between Helsinki and Bergen that make a stopover in Stockholm, Arlanda. There will also be an additional morning frequency from Helsinki to Arlanda, as well as more frequencies to Billund, Denmark. 

In Germany, there will be more frequencies to Düsseldorf and Hamburg. In the UK and Ireland, Finnair is adding frequencies to Manchester, Dublin and Edinburgh. Finnair is also adding more frequencies to both Tokyo Narita and Osaka in Japan. 

In Poland, Finnair will increase frequencies to Krakow, reintroduce flights to Gdansk and introduce Wroclaw as a brand-new destination. Several large companies that originate from Finland and Asia are located in Southern Poland in or near Wroclaw. The vibrant city, known as Poland’s Silicon Valley, has a picture-perfect old town and a lively scene of art museums, cafes, restaurants and vintage shops. 

 “We are delighted to introduce Wroclaw as a new destination,” says Ole Orvér, Chief Commercial Officer at Finnair. “We believe Wroclaw is not only a welcome addition for business travellers but also an intriguing leisure destination for people looking for a city break in a picturesque setting.” 

.There are many great things to do in Wroclaw, first of all,  to get a great view of the city,  The Sky Tower is a great place to start any trip to this destination of beauty. Located on the top 49th floor of Sky Tower is one of the greatest attractions of Wrocław. The tourists can get on top in 1 minute with the lift that carries 20 people.   The entrance to the lifts is located in ul. Gwiaździsta. The last visitors can enter 30 minutes before the closing.

The cableway Polinka crosses over the Oder and last just over two minutes and the cable cars carry 15 people.  It is about 380m and the cars are about 7m above the water and is a rather nice thing to do, especially in fine weather! 

Wrocław Multimedia Fountain is the biggest fountain in Poland and one of the biggest in Europe. It was initiated on 4th June 2009 on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the first free elections in postwar Poland.  It's located in the beautiful Szczytnicki Park, near the Centennial Hall and Wrocław Congress Centre, attracting many Polish and foreign tourists alike and a real must-see for any visitor. The shows take place every hour during the day and to really enjoy the place, go during the day and once during the evening after dark, for a different atmosphere and sight to see. 

Finnair issues positive profit warning....

 Finnair updates its profit outlook for 2023

Finnair raises its guidance for comparable operating result for the full year 2023, as it expects the travel demand to continue stronger than previously anticipated, fuel price development has been more favourable than expected and as the company’s strategy implementation has progressed better than anticipated.

Contrary to the previous guidance, the company estimates that the comparable operating result will probably reach or even exceed the 2019 level (162.8 million euros). In terms of 2023 revenue, Finnair still estimates that it will not yet reach the 2019 level (3,097.7 million euros).

As a result of the improved profit outlook, Finnair's strategic comparable operating profit margin target of at least 5 per cent from mid-2024 onwards would be reached 12–18 months earlier than anticipated. However, uncertainty in Finnair’s operating environment continues as the fuel price is still high and also since the end of the closure of Russian airspace is not in sight. In addition, the extent of the impacts of inflation and rising interest rates on demand and costs is uncertain.

Finnair estimated in its guidance published on 27 April 2023 that its 2023 revenue will significantly increase and comparable operating result will significantly improve year-on-year, especially as the first half of 2022 was heavily burdened by both the pandemic and the closed Russian airspace. However, the company estimated that revenue and comparable operating result would not yet reach the level of 2019.

Finnair will update its outlook and guidance for the full year 2023 in connection with its half-year report to be published on 21 July 2023.

In May, Finnair carried 960,400 passengers

In May, Finnair carried 960,400 passengers, which was 23.4% more than in May 2022 and 10.6% more than in April 2023. Month-on-month figures are, however, not fully comparable as there was one day less in April.

May passenger traffic figures improved year-on-year as the COVID-19 pandemic impacts have mostly faded and as the Russian airspace was closed already during the comparison period. The negative impact of the Russian airspace closure especially on Asian passenger traffic figures was, however, still visible in May 2023 compared to the pre-pandemic figures. The distance-based reported traffic figures do not take into account longer routings caused by the airspace closure as they are based on Great-Circle distance.

The overall capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASK), increased in May by 20.4% year-on-year and by 8.0% month-on-month. Finnair's traffic, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs), increased by 44.1% year-on-year and by 7.8% month-on-month. The Passenger Load Factor (PLF) increased by 12.2% points year-on-year but decreased by 0.2% points month-on-month to 74.0%.

The ASK increase in Asian traffic was 71.8% year-on-year. The North Atlantic capacity decreased by 32.0% as the operations between Stockholm and the North American destinations were discontinued at the end of October 2022. In European traffic, the ASKs were up by 3.2%. The Middle Eastern capacity surged by 2,446.9% due to the Qatar Airways cooperation commenced in November 2022 and low traffic during the 2022 summer season. The ASKs in domestic traffic decreased by 3.2%.

RPKs increased in Asian traffic by 120.0% year-on-year but decreased in North Atlantic traffic by 7.1%. In European traffic, RPKs increased by 19.0%, in Middle Eastern traffic by 2,495.1% and in domestic traffic by 8.9%.

In May, the PLF improved particularly in Asian traffic (70.5%) and North Atlantic traffic (70.0%) year-on-year. The PLF was 80.3% in European traffic, 61.3% in Middle Eastern traffic and 74.9% in domestic traffic.

Johanna Karppi will leave Finnair in autumn 2023.......

Finnair has appointed Kaisa Aalto-Luoto as Finnair's Chief People Officer and member of the Executive Board. Aalto-Luoto will start in her new role at the latest on 23 November 2023. Johanna Karppi, Finnair's current Senior Vice President, Human Resources, continues in her role until autumn 2023 and will leave Finnair at a date to be decided later.

"Johanna has done an excellent job in extremely difficult circumstances as Finnair has faced a double crisis caused by the pandemic and the closure of Russian airspace, both of which have also required difficult decisions regarding our personnel", says Topi Manner, Finnair CEO. "Cooperation with our personnel groups has been central to Finnair's survival and recovery, and Johanna has played a key role. I would like to thank Johanna warmly for her contribution to Finnair and I wish her all the best for the future."

"At the same time, I want to warmly welcome Kaisa to the Finnair team. Kaisa's broad experience will be valuable as we take Finnair to the next stage. The acute crisis is now behind us, and in our next phase, employee experience, competence development and new ways of working are essential elements in implementing Finnair's strategy."

Finnair to lease two Airbus A330 aircraft to Qantas

The Oneworld alliance airline based in Helsinki, Finnair has agreed to lease two Airbus A330 jets to Australian oneworld partner airline, Qantas for four and a half years.

Initially, the two A330's will be wet-leased (aircraft, crew, insurance) to the Qantas (aircraft and crew) for two years, after that the jets will be on a dry lease (aircraft only) to the Australian airline for 2 and half years.  

The deal has been struck as Finnair has been hard hit by the closure of Russian airspace which has resulted in longer reroutes for some of its long-haul flights. These A330s loads have been limited because of the increased time and range the reroutes are range limited by the rerouting. 

During the wet lease period, the aircraft will be deployed in Qantas’ network on routes from Sydney and Singapore as well as Sydney and Bangkok. Finnair pilots will fly scheduled Finnair flights from Helsinki to Singapore and from Helsinki to Bangkok; then, they will continue flying scheduled Qantas flights between Singapore, Bangkok and Sydney before returning to their home base in Helsinki. 

The cabin crew are provided by Finnair partners based in Singapore and Bangkok, and the aircraft maintenance is performed by Finnair partners at the Qantas destinations. Finnair has secured sufficient pilot resources to match its fleet size, including the aircraft leased to Qantas. The Qantas agreement does not impact the number of cabin crew at Finnair, as they are fully deployed in other operations.

Baggage and meal cuts on Finnair flights and new seat only fare to start next month.

The financially struggling and one of the leading outsourced airlines in Europe, Finnair is to follow more of the low-cost-carrier model and introduce a seat-only fare, which it is calling Superlight. 

From 1st June, the Superlight ticket replaces Economy Light tickets on Finnair journeys within Europe and won't include any hold luggage - just one small bag  (40x30x15cm)  that has to go on the floor in front of you. No other carry-on baggage will be allowed and anything extra has to be disposed of at the airport or sent as cargo.  

Passengers need to be careful, as anything they buy at the airport is counted in the allowance, so they must also fit into the under-seat bag.  Passengers should also take care as Finnair's dimensions given for a small bag are  40x30x15cm which is smaller than the normal industry standard for cabin bags.  

The airline says excess amounts of carry-on baggage cause delays in boarding and impact both punctuality of flights and travel comfort, although it hasn't provided any figures or facts to back up these claims. 

Finnair heads towards low-cost-carrier model with seat only fare, reductions in meals and baggage allowances.

The financially struggling and one of the leading outsourced airlines in Europe, Finnair is to follow more of the low-cost-carrier model and introduce a seat-only fare, which it is calling Superlight. 

From 1st June, the Superlight ticket replaces Economy Light tickets on Finnair journeys within Europe and won't include any hold luggage - just one small bag  (40x30x15cm)  that has to go on the floor in front of you. No other carry-on baggage will be allowed and anything extra has to be disposed of at the airport or sent as cargo.  

Passengers need to be careful, as anything they buy at the airport is counted in the allowance, so they must also fit into the under-seat bag.  Passengers should also take care as Finnair's dimensions given for a small bag are  40x30x15cm which is smaller than the normal industry standard for cabin bags.  

The airline says excess amounts of carry-on baggage cause delays in boarding and impact both punctuality of flights and travel comfort, although it hasn't provided any figures or facts to back up these claims. 

Ole Orvér, Chief Commercial Officer of Finnair said “Punctuality is very important for our customers, and the target of the changes we are now making is to ensure smooth boarding, on-time departures, and comfortable travel for everyone. Excess carry-on baggage on board is a known issue, impacting both punctuality as well as travel comfort. We are also enhancing monitoring of carry-on baggage at airports, and excess carry-on baggage will be moved to the cargo hold at cost.” 

868,400 people travelled with Finnair in April.

The Helsinki-based national carrier Finnair has reported strong growth in passenger traffic year-on-year and a solid load factor during April 2023. 

In April, Finnair carried 868,400 passengers, which was 27.7% more than in April 2022 but 8.9% less than in March 2023. Finnair says that the lower passenger numbers in April are because the month was a day shorter and the aircraft maintenance schedule resulted in lower capacity as well as the ending of both Finnish Lapland’s high season after Easter and winter season in Middle Eastern traffic as well as slowing down of corporate travel around Easter.

The negative impact of the Russian airspace closure on Asian passenger traffic figures was, however, visible in April 2023 compared to the pre-pandemic figures. The distance-based reported traffic figures do not take into account longer routings caused by the airspace closure as they are based on Great-Circle distance.

The overall capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASK), increased in April by 17.0% year-on-year but decreased by 1.6% month-on-month. Finnair's traffic, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs), increased by 45.7% year-on-year but decreased by 6.1% month-on-month. The Passenger Load Factor (PLF) increased by 14.6% points year-on-year but declined by 3.5% points month-on-month to 74.2%.

The ASK increase in Asian traffic was 149.7% year-on-year. The North Atlantic capacity decreased by 22.2% as the operations between Stockholm and the North American destinations were discontinued at the end of October 2022. In European traffic, the ASKs were up by 4.4% whereas the Middle Eastern capacity increased by 1,015.7% due to the Qatar Airways cooperation that commenced in November 2022. The ASKs in domestic traffic decreased by 4.3%.

RPKs increased in Asian traffic by 145.1% year-on-year but decreased in North Atlantic traffic by 21.8%. In European traffic, RPKs increased by 19.6%, in Middle Eastern traffic by 904.2% and in domestic traffic by 3.5%.