March 2011 Traffic Performance

In March the effects of the Japan disaster were evident particularly in demand directed from Europe to Asia, but they were also reflected in overall Asian traffic demand.

“Total load factors declined, because demand was weaker than expected, partly due to the situation in Japan. This was evident not only in Asian flight demand but also in a decline in European feeder traffic. First quarter of the year is seasonally the weakest for Finnair, particularly in long-haul traffic, and this year demand compared to the flight capacity was somewhat weaker than seasonal average. A part of the previously added longhaul capacity will be redirected to the Singapore route launch in the end of May.” says Finnair CFO Erno Hildén.

The change in domestic traffic capacity was mainly due to the changes in the feeder traffic purchasing agreement with Finnish Commuter Airlines. Flights previously operated by Finncomm are now included in Finnair figures. In addition, some flights were added to the busiest routes.

As a result of unrest in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, leisure traffic to Egypt and Tunisia had to be cancelled almost completely at the end of the season. An effort was made to redirect freed capacity to Canary Islands routes, but the company managed to direct only part of the demand to alternative destinations.

The situation in Japan, the Middle East and North Africa also decelerated growth in cargo demand. Cargo growth figures, moreover, reflect cargo flight operations, which began spring 2010.

The positive trend in the arrival punctuality of Finnair flights continued in March; 84.6% all flights arrived according to schedule, compared with 81.8% in March of the previous year. The arrival punctuality of scheduled flights was 86%.