Summary
- Finnair’s February results show a dip in passenger numbers attributable to strike motion, despite increased capability.
- Punctuality also took a success, but cargo tonnage and revenue cargo tonne kilometers saw positive growth.
- Yr-to-date results have been affected, but Finnair will probably be aiming to bounce back with stronger performance later within the yr.
Earlier today, Finnair shared its financial results for the month of February 2024. While the Finnish flag carrier has generally been going from strength to strength, as exemplified by record-breaking full-year profits in 2023, last month represented a little bit of a hiccup for the airline, largely attributable to strike motion.
Fewer passengers despite increased capability
Generally speaking, recent years have seen airlines’ financial results and performance figures experience consistent growth, as the important thing players get better from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Nonetheless, despite February 2024 having an additional day attributable to it being a intercalary year, Finnair was down on several key metrics.
Most notably, its monthly passenger total of 804,700 was lower than the figure achieved for a similar month last yr by an element of two.3%. This was despite overall passenger capability in terms of obtainable seat kilometers (ASKs) increasing by 3.4% over the identical period. That being said, there may be, no less than, a transparent cause for the drop.
Photo: Finnair
Specifically, the oneworld member asserts that “.” As Easy Flying reported on the time, seven Finnish airports completely closed on February 1st and 2nd attributable to the economic motion.
Other key figures
The drop in Finnair’s passenger numbers also caused its traffic by way of revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) to fall, albeit by a smaller factor of just 0.8%. Meanwhile, the Finnish flag carrier’s average load factor fell by 3.1% to a figure of 72.1%. There was considerable regional variation on this front, with load aspects by market starting from 60.4% on North Atlantic routes to 79.5% within the Middle East.
Closer to home, Finnair also plays a very important role in keeping its home country connected with a various network of domestic flights. Last month, the airline transported 188,000 passengers on its internal flights, marking a year-on-year decrease of 4.3%. While RPKs and cargo factor for this market also experienced slight declines, domestic capability by way of ASKs saw a rise, climbing by 1%.
![OH-LZS Finnair Airbus A321-231 (1)](https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/oh-lzs-finnair-airbus-a321-231-1.jpg)
Inside Finnair’s Flight Academy As Airline Begins Accepting Pilot Applications
Finnair is hiring pilots and has a full Finnair Flight Academy to not only train latest pilots but provide continuing education.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Easy Flying
One other area that saw a year-on-year decline was punctuality, with Finnair’s on-time performance dropping from 79.7% in February 2023 to 75.4% this time around. That being said, it wasn’t all bad news, with increased European and Asian capability prompting a ten.3% in cargo tonnage. Revenue cargo tonne kilometers also increased in February this yr, with last month’s figure being 9.8% higher than in 2023.
The slump has also impacted year-to-date results
Finnair’s February struggles have also had a knock-on effect regarding its year-to-date results. For instance, its cumulative passenger total and cargo factor for January and February fell by 0.9% and three%, respectively, in comparison with the primary two months of 2023. That being said, there continues to be loads of flying yet to be done in 2024, and the carrier will probably be hoping to offset this blip with stronger performance later within the yr.
What do you make of Finnair’s latest results? Did you fly with the carrier last month? Tell us your thoughts and experiences within the comments!