Finnish national carrier Finnair presented on Wednesday a new flight strategy that provides for connecting Europe and Asia without using the Russian airspace in accordance with Western sanctions
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th September, 2022) Finnish national carrier Finnair presented on Wednesday a new flight strategy that provides for connecting Europe and Asia without using the Russian airspace in accordance with Western sanctions.
"Finnair's new strategy aims to return to profitability regardless of closed Russian air space. As Finnair is now faced with a different competitive situation and the weight of the different markets in Finnair's business is changing, significant structural renewal is required to be competitive," the company said in a statement.
The new strategy will focus on achieving pre-pandemic comparable earnings of at least 5% before interest and taxes by mid-2024, according to the Finnish carrier.
To achieve this goal, the firm will pay special attention to building a geographically more balanced network connecting Europe to Asia, India and the middle East, and North America through the Finnair's hub in Helsinki. The plan also envisages a reduction of the company's fleet with a view to optimizing the network. In addition, the Finnish carrier intends to cut costs by around 15% from the 2019 figures.
"The target is to build a leaner Finnair that can return to the pre-pandemic levels of profitability. Reaching this will require profound change throughout the company," Finnair CEO Topi Manner said in the statement.
Cost reduction implies, among other things, a decline in personnel costs. The company pledged to start discussing terms of employment, outsourcing of the activities on some routes and changes in the structure of operations with its employees, according to the statement.
Global airports and airlines have struggled to operate amid labor shortages following the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, a huge number of jobs have been cut in the face of border closures, which has eventually led to significant disruptions in airport operations. Moreover, in February 2022, the European Union closed its airspace to all Russian flights as part of sanctions against Moscow over the country's special military operation in Ukraine.
