Finnair Traffic Performance in May 2017

In May, Finnair's overall capacity measured in Available Seat Kilometres increased by 1.2 per cent year‐on‐year, and traffic measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres grew by 12.8 per cent. The capacity operated with Finnair’s own fleet grew by 3.7 per cent year-on-year, while wet-lease operations decreased substantially. The number of passengers slightly exceeded a million and was 9.4 per cent more than a year ago. The passenger load factor rose by 8.4 percentage points to stand at 81.3 per cent. The strong growth is emphasised by the weak comparison period, when passenger demand was still affected by concerns about security in Europe and when Finnair had just launched two new long-haul destinations.

The capacity in Finnair’s largest traffic area, Asia, increased by 3.8 per cent in May and traffic grew by 22.5 per cent reflecting a higher passenger load factor on almost all routes. The selection of routes and frequencies was broadly unchanged year-on-year. The positive capacity growth was mainly due to the higher passenger capacity of the A350 aircraft rolled-out in Asian traffic.

The capacity in North Atlantic traffic decreased by 34.3 per cent, and traffic decreased by 27.7 per cent. The most significant change from a year ago in the flight programme was the suspension of the Miami route from 4 May until the end of September. All North Atlantic routes were operated with Finnair’s own fleet in May.

Finnair’s capacity in European traffic increased by 6.2 per cent reflecting new seasonal routes opened for the summer and four new A321 narrow-body aircraft, and traffic grew by 11.9 per cent year-on-year. Domestic capacity decreased by 5.6 per cent, and traffic decreased by 6.2 per cent year.

Available Scheduled Cargo Tonne Kilometres decreased by 3.9, but Revenue Scheduled Cargo Tonne Kilometres increased by 10.1 per cent. Finnair’s total cargo capacity also included three weekly freighter flights between Helsinki and Brussels, operated by DHL.

In May, 89.9 per cent of all Finnair flights arrived on schedule (91.0).

Traffic statistics for June 2017 will be published on Monday, 10 July 2017.