Finnair's strategy takes an (almost) 180° turn

Finnair has been until 2019 the airline specialising in Asia with a network that included many secondary cities with little or no service from competitors. At the time, the Finnair network included cities such as Sapporo and Fukuoka in Japan and Xian in China. " But the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has changed everything. And our management had to take on board the fact that the closure of Russian airspace is likely to be complete by 2023. Hence a 180° turn in our strategy" says Javier Roig, Director for France and Southern Europe.

Finnair had already begun redeploying its long-haul aircraft to North America during the pandemic. The company opened routes to Dallas, Los Angeles and Seattle. This is due to the persistence of entry restrictions in most Asian countries.

A geopolitical situation that weighs heavily on the network

But if the opening up of most Asian countries is now a reality - with the exception of China - it's not just a question of their ability to attract foreign investment. the geopolitical situation which is now weighing on traffic between Europe and Asia. " We have two to four hours extra flying time to destinations such as India, Japan and Hong Kong. With fuel costs and inflation, we are obliged to limit our presence on this continent." continues Javier Roig.

In North-East Asia, Finnair now offers only two or three flights a week to China and a single service to Tokyo. " We resume our daily flight to Haneda airport and are once again serving three times a week Hong Kong" adds the Director for France. Development in Asia will therefore focus on Bangkok, Singapore, Phuket this winter and India (Delhi and Mumbai). " Where our offer and our product remain competitive with the competition "according to Javier Roig.

Among other things, this will mean 11 flights a week to Bangkok this winter, three flights a week to Phuket and a daily flight to Singapore. The Airbus A350-900s on Bangkok and Singapore offer the best of both worlds. new business class and economy premium products of Finnair. " The new configuration with the 100% lie-flat seat-bed will be available from 25 November on Bangkok and Phuket." says Javier Roig. The new cabins are also available this winter on Tokyo and New York. The new Business, Premium Economy and Economy products will eventually equip the entire long-haul fleet in 2024.

Target profits in 2023

As part of this adaptation strategy, the recent agreement with Qatar Airways is enabling Finnair to dedicate some of its aircraft to serving routes from all over Scandinavia to Doha. In cooperation with Qatar Airways, Airbus A330s will connect Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki to Doha on a daily basis. " But it will be staff, service and Finnair travel cabins" explains the Director of Southern Europe. From Doha, passengers have de facto access to Qatar Airways' huge intercontinental network, particularly to the Asia-Pacific region.

About Europe, Finnair to continue strengthening on Scandinavia/Mediterranean route. This means that there is little new on the rest of the Europe network. " In France, there are still four daily flights to Paris-Helsinki and now three flights a week all year round to Nice.. We also fly to Brussels and Geneva. Brussels has two daily flights to Helsinki and Geneva seven weekly flights.says Javier Roig.

The aim of the new strategy for reorienting supply and capacity is to enable the airline to return to profit in 2023. Which would be ideal for celebrating its 100th anniversary in style.