How has Finnair got through 2020?
Javier Roig - Despite the total closure of borders, Finnair ensured service continuity with the rest of Europe. We have received financial support from the government and in exchange we have only never stopped serving Finland. Frequencies have certainly been reduced, since we were only operating 8% of our capacity at the height of the crisis. But we still have maintained routes to Europe's major cities, including BrusselsCopenhagen, London, Frankfurt and Paris. Our seating capacity has now reached 15%. It should gain further momentum in the coming months. We are proceeding cautiously and gradually because demand is not yet there.
How was the cancellation of flights managed for customers?
Javier Roig - It's something I'm very proud of. We have exchanged all passengers' tickets free of charge, whatever their class of travel. And we have undertaken to systematically reimburse any customer who requests it.. It's a question of respect and also a simple rule of thumb. Delaying a refund creates an unhappy customer. And therefore a customer who will be lost to us in the future...
We are once again connecting Paris CDG with a daily flight, and in September we should be increasing this to 14 weekly flights.
How is Finnair's network shaping up this summer?
Javier Roig - We are once again serving 60 destinations this summer certain routes to the United States and Asia. To Paris, for example, Finnair reduced its frequencies from five daily flights to once a week.. We are once again connecting Paris CDG with a daily flight and we should be increasing this to 14 weekly flights by September.. We are also back in Nice.
Asia was an essential segment for Finnair before the crisis. What is the situation today?
Javier Roig - It has become a very difficult market because hermetically sealed. Of the 21 destinations we offered in the pre-Covid period, we are flying to six airports again. These are Bangkok, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo-Narita and Shanghai. And the strange thing is that on this last destination, which we only serve once a week, the flight is full. Even though many passengers have to undergo PCR tests 24 hours before boarding the plane, as required by the Chinese authorities. This obliges us to get passengers to spend the night in Helsinki. But that doesn't seem to be an obstacle! On the other hand, we are disappointed with American position which remains adamant for the time being about opening up the United States to Europeans. They keep putting off their decision. But it seems that a decision could finally be announced at the end of the summer.
Have you taken advantage of the covid crisis to develop your product?
Javier Roig - We have completely overhauled our pricing structure and I believe that what we are now proposing corresponds to what our passengers want. There are three fare options in each cabin - economy or business. A "Light" fare is designed for passengers with hand baggage who can no longer change their ticket - unless we cancel a flight. We offer a classic fare with baggage and more flexibility. Finally, there is our flex fare, which gives passengers complete freedom to amend their ticket. We have also fine-tuned our strategy. We have just signed a commercial partnership agreement [editor's note: Joint Business] with the Chinese company Juneyao on Helsinki-Shanghai with the possibility of code-sharing beyond this line. Finally, we are strengthening our position at Stockholm with long-haul routes this winter. This winter we will be offering flights to Miami, Bangkok and Phuket. An Airbus A350 will be parked at Arlanda airport.
