Finnair and QANTAS Airways have entered into a long-term agreement, in which Finnair first leases two Airbus A330 aircraft with crew (wet lease) to QANTAS for a period of two years, and after the wet lease period, dry leases (aircraft lease with no crew) two of its A330s to QANTAS for a period of 2.5 years, starting in 2025. The wet lease of the first aircraft will start in October 2023, and the wet lease of the second aircraft will start in early 2024.
The agreement with QANTAS is a part of Finnair’s determined efforts to ensure the optimal use of its A330 fleet, which is range-limited in its deployment in Finnair’s own long-haul operations due to the closure of Russian airspace. The agreement with QANTAS concludes the optimization of Finnair’s fleet following the Russian airspace closure.
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.
The collaboration supports the efficient and profitable deployment of Finnair’s A330 fleet. Since the closure of the Russian airspace, Finnair has built a geographically more balanced network, as avoiding the Russian airspace lengthened the flight times between Finnair’s Helsinki hub and its Asian destinations.
Top Copyright Photo: Finnair Airbus A330-302 OH-LTR (msn 1067) MUC (Gunter Mayer). Image: 960551.
In March, Finnair carried 953,000 passengers, which was 55.1% more than in March 2022 and 15.7% more than in February 2023. Month-on-month figures are, however, not fully comparable as there were three fewer days in February.
As the COVID-19 pandemic impacts are fading, March passenger traffic figures improved year-on-year. Further, Russian airspace was closed already during the comparison period, which resulted in route and frequency cancellations in Asian traffic. The negative impact of the Russian airspace closure on Asian passenger traffic figures was, however, visible in March 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 March by 27.0% year-on-year and by 11.9% month-on-month. Finnair’s traffic, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs), increased by 87.7% year-on-year and by 15.6% month-on-month. The Passenger Load Factor (PLF) increased by 25.1% points year-on-year and by 2.5% points month-on-month to 77.7%. It was e.g. only 0.6% points lower than in March 2019.
The ASK increase in Asian traffic was 87.0% year-on-year. 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 12.5% whereas the Middle Eastern capacity increased by 539.3% due to the Qatar Airways cooperation commenced in November 2022. The ASKs in domestic traffic increased by 23.9%.
RPKs increased in Asian traffic by 265.0% year-on-year and in North Atlantic traffic by 18.0%. In European traffic, RPKs increased by 33.9%, in Middle Eastern traffic by 507.2% and in domestic traffic by 29.5%.
In March, the PLF improved particularly in Asian traffic (78.1%) and North Atlantic traffic (68.7%) year-on-year. The PLF was 81.3% in European traffic, 74.1% in Middle Eastern traffic and 77.4% in domestic traffic.
Passenger numbers increased in Asian traffic by 251.0% year-on-year and in North Atlantic traffic by 15.1%. In European traffic, passenger numbers increased by 39.7%, in Middle Eastern traffic by 467.1% and in domestic traffic by 38.3%.
Many cargo figures increased year-on-year in March due to Qatar Airways cooperation and increased Asian capacity even though discontinued operations between Sweden and the US cut North Atlantic cargo capacity. Available scheduled cargo tonne kilometres increased by 28.2% year-on-year and revenue scheduled cargo tonne kilometres increased by 18.3%. The total cargo tonnes (including cargo-only operations) increased by 16.3% year-on-year. Month-on-month increase of 14.6% was mainly explained by the longer month.
In March, 84.6% of all Finnair flights arrived on schedule (85.7%).
Traffic statistics for April 2023 will be published on Friday 5 May 2023.
Finnair Traffic Performance March 2023
Month
% Change
YTD
% Change
Total traffic
Passengers 1,000
953.0
55.1
2,592.7
71.8
Available seat kilometres mill
2,988.1
27.0
8,550.2
23.6
Revenue passenger kilometres mill
2,322.4
87.7
6,418.4
96.3
Passenger load factor %
77.7
25.1p
75.1
27.8p
Cargo tonnes total
11,321.8
16.3
30,658.3
-11.8
Available tonne kilometres mill
429.6
20.0
1,221.9
6.2
Revenue tonne kilometres mill
275.9
56.9
761.5
42.6
Asia
Passengers 1,000
112.4
251.0
321.8
202.5
Available seat kilometres mill
1,089.9
87.0
3,159.0
46.4
Revenue passenger kilometres mill
851.3
265.0
2,417.0
202.4
Passenger load factor %
78.1
38.1p
76.5
39.5p
Europe
Passengers 1,000
540.6
39.7
1,445.6
57.8
Available seat kilometres mill
1,076.1
12.5
3,036.1
21.8
Revenue passenger kilometres mill
874.8
33.9
2,346.5
52.1
Passenger load factor %
81.3
13.0p
77.3
15.4p
North Atlantic
Passengers 1,000
31.4
15.1
81.9
10.4
Available seat kilometres mill
354.5
– 42.9
981.4
– 43.4
Revenue passenger kilometres mill
243.6
18.0
636.8
12.7
Passenger load factor %
68.7
35.5p
64.9
32.3p
Middle East
Passengers 1,000
47.5
467.1
141.0
592.9
Available seat kilometres mill
283.2
539.3
829.4
589.2
Revenue passenger kilometres mill
209.9
507.2
625.6
615.9
Passenger load factor %
74.1
– 3.9p
75.4
2.8p
Domestic
Passengers 1,000
221.1
38.3
602.5
53.7
Available seat kilometres mill
184.4
23.9
544.3
32.6
Revenue passenger kilometres mill
142.8
29.5
392.4
42.9
Passenger load factor %
77.4
3.4p
72.1
5.2p
Cargo traffic
Europe tonnes
1,726.3
40.1
4,336.8
37.4
North Atlantic tonnes
1,363.7
-59.9
3,894.3
-54.2
Middle East tonnes
2,115.7
541.8
5,901.5
490.9
Asia tonnes
6,002.1
62.6
16,321.2
15.0
Domestic tonnes
34.6
11.2
97.8
9.7
Cargo scheduled traffic total tonnes
11,242.4
29.4
30,551.6
13.4
Cargo flights tonnes**
79.4
-92.4
106.6
-98.6
Cargo traffic tonnes total
11,321.8
16.3
30,658.3
-11.8
Available tonne kilometres* mill
119.7
15.7
342.2
– 11.6
Revenue tonne kilometres mill
68.4
4.2
187.8
– 22.5
Available sched. cargo tonne kms* mill
118.8
28.2
340.9
9.7
Revenue sched. cargo tonne kms mill
67.8
18.3
187.1
2.2
Cargo load factor* %
57.1
– 6.3p
54.9
– 7.7p
– North-Atlantic cargo load factor* %
53.3
– 13.8p
53.7
– 4.9p
– Asia cargo load factor* %
63.0
– 2.2p
59.9
– 4.9p
Scheduled traffic cargo load factor* %
57.1
– 4.8p
54.9
– 4.0p
* Based on average operational cargo capacity
** Including purchased traffic
Change %: Change compared to the figures of the respective periods in the previous year (p = points, N/A = not available).
Available seat kilometres. ASK: Total number of seats available multiplied by kilometres flown.
Revenue passenger kilometres. RPK: Number of revenue passengers carried multiplied by kilometresflown.
Passenger load factor: Share of revenue passenger kilometres of available seat kilometres.
Available tonnekilometres. ATK: Number of tonnes of capacity for carriage of passengers, cargo and mail multiplied by kilometres flown.
Revenue tonnekilometres. RTK: Total revenue load consisting of passengers, cargo and mail multiplied by kilometres flown.
Overall load factor: Share of revenue tonne kilometres of available tonne kilometres.
Top Copyright Photo: Finnair Airbus A330-302 OH-LTT (msn 1088) ARN (Stefan Sjogren). Image: 960390.
Finnair is increasing the use of sustainable aviation fuel as part of its goal to reduce carbon emissions from flying. Finnair has purchased 750 tons of sustainable aviation fuel from its partner Neste for use on flights departing from Helsinki Airport. Finnair’s customers are also involved in reducing carbon dioxide emissions from flights: a small part of the price of each flight ticket is directed to the costs of using sustainable aviation fuel.
Finnair aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, and sustainable aviation fuel is one of the most essential tools for reducing air travel emissions in the coming years. Using Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80%* over the fuel’s life cycle compared to using fossil jet fuel. The fuel volume now purchased is Finnair’s largest single batch of sustainable aviation fuel purchased to date. The SAF will be delivered by Neste to Helsinki Airport in early 2023. The 750 tons of SAF corresponds to approximately 400 flights between Helsinki and Stockholm using unblended, 100% SAF.
Photo: Finnair
Increasing the use of SAF will increase the airline’s costs, as SAF is clearly more expensive than fossil fuel. Finnair is preparing for this by allocating a small portion of each flight ticket sold, about 20 cents per ticket, to the cost of sustainable aviation fuel. This share may be higher in the future as the operating obligations imposed on airlines increase the use of SAF.
Finnair also encourages its customers to reduce the carbon emissions of their flights through their actions: since spring 2022, Finnair has offered its customers the opportunity to reduce the emissions of flying by combining sustainable aviation fuels and certified emission reduction projects. The service operates on the website of Finnair’s partner Chooose.
Sustainable aviation fuel
SAF is a renewable aviation fuel providing a more sustainable alternative to conventional, fossil-based jet fuel. Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel is produced from sustainably sourced, 100% renewable waste and residue raw materials, including used cooking oil and animal fat waste. Finnair is committed to the oneworld alliance’s aspiration of using 10% sustainable aviation fuel by 2030 and will also participate in oneworld’s joint procurements in 2025-2032. The use of SAF will also be increased due to the upcoming EU obligation to use SAF.
*) When used in neat form (i.e. unblended) and calculated with established life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies, such as CORSIA methodology
A savings agreement has been reached with Finnair’s cabin crew. As a result, Finnair has today concluded the change negotiations it started in November and discontinued the subcontracting plan for inflight services on routes to/from Thailand and North America. The savings agreement is valid until the end of 2025.
Finnair has earlier agreed on savings with pilots, senior white-collar employees and engineers, and cabin crew based in Japan and Korea, and made local agreements that increase efficiency in Finnair Technical Services and different ground operation units. The savings agreements cover 87% of Finnair’s personnel.
The cabin crew’s agreement includes, among other things, elements to increase the efficiency of cabin crew usage, changes to long-day compensation and, for example, changes to the crew layover hotel rules. With the agreement, cabin crew is included in Finnair’s staff incentive plan 2023-2025, along with all other employee groups who have made savings agreements. The staff incentive plan will produce a payout in the first quarter of 2026 if Finnair achieves the EBIT margin target set in the plan.
About 1,750 employees work as Finnair cabin crew in Finland.
In connection with the savings agreement, it was also agreed that the collective agreement applicable to Finnair’s cabin crew in Finland will be extended by one year, i.e. until January 31, 2025. In addition, a negotiation result was achieved on salary settlement for 2023 and 2024, which follows the general line of the technology industry. The salary settlement is subject to administrative approval.
Top Copyright Photo: Finnair Airbus A330-302 OH-LTM (msn 994) AMS (Ton Jochems). Image: 960269.
South African Airways Airbus A330-343 ZS-SXL (msn 1779) IAD (Brian McDonough). Image: 937840.
South African Airways (SAA) welcomes the announcement by Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, of a R 1 billion ($54.4 million) allocation to settle a portion of the outstanding obligations on the implementation of SAA’s 2020 Business Rescue Plan.
As noted by Minister Godongwana, the allocation is part of the government’s commitment to the business rescue process that SAA exited in April 2021. It will be used to cover outstanding liabilities, specifically those relating to the final dividend payment to creditors and the refund of legacy un-flown tickets to affected passengers – which date back to the period when SAA was placed in business rescue in December 2019.
South African Airways logo
SAA’s Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Professor John Lamola says, “SAA’s operations have progressed positively since the airline emerged from business rescue, and as reported to Parliament earlier this month, SAA is no longer technically insolvent, a milestone which we reached a year earlier than projected”
The Chief Financial Officer, Fikile Mhlontlo, adds, “SAA has reached a point where we cover our operating costs. It must be emphasised that the allocation announced relates only to historical debt. These funds are not meant to bolster the business plan we are currently executing.”
The R1bn allocation is part of original R 3.5 bn that was needed for SAA to settle all debt that the Business Rescue practitioners had ring-fenced into a Receivership. Due to the financial performance of SAA and the innovations of its management team, the total balance expected from National Treasury has been reduced to R2.586 bn. The airline will continue to negotiate with National Treasury for the balance of the funds and cooperate with all the conditions that may accompany the flow of these funds.
Top Copyright Photo: South African Airways Airbus A330-343 ZS-SXL (msn 1779) IAD (Brian McDonough). Image: 937840.
