newstodate.aero
Aug 6, 2009 (newstodate): The Finnish air cargo market is dominated by the national carrier Finnair - but there is still room for competitors even in times of general recession.
-Finnair Cargo of course enjoys the significant benefit of a network with its hub at Helsinki, so the company is always offering an attractive time-frame for exporters.
-Finnair's cargo capacity is, however, not big enough to transport all Finnish export air cargo, and while the carrier is strong in the Asian traffic it does not offer all destinations or the best connections, says Ilkka Turku, SAS Cargo Manager Finland.
-This leaves room for other carriers to compete for customers. In this competition rates are crucial, but other factors are involved as well when exporters make decisions.
-Even if SAS has reduced capacity and frequencies on its North American routes, we can still offer many options, together with partner airlines, that compete favorably with other European carriers, due to the short distances to SAS' hubs at Stockholm, Copenhagen and Gothenburg.
-While continental European carrier will require a day on the road from Helsinki to their mainland hubs, we offer the market the benefits from earning a day by lifting cargo out of the SAS hubs. That is a significant competitive factor alongside the issue of rates.
-Even if Finnair Cargo is strong in the Asian market we also still attract much cargo destined for SAS routes to Asia, notably China that is seeing increasing volumes.
-European cargo is also a field where we compete with quite some success in Finland, using both SAS' own and Blue1's cargo capacity that is fully our responsibility to sell here. That comprises for instance blue1 flights from Helsinki to Athens that consists mainly of smaller shipments ideally suited for transportation on the Blue1 fleet.
-Generally speaking we are of course hit hard by the current downturn as are everybody else. We do however see the decline leveling out now and expect a rebound from this autumn.
-While we are a small company in Finland's air cargo market with five staff, we capitalize on the little company's flexibility and ability to tailor solutions that match the customers' needs, says Mr Turku.
-Finnair Cargo of course enjoys the significant benefit of a network with its hub at Helsinki, so the company is always offering an attractive time-frame for exporters.
-Finnair's cargo capacity is, however, not big enough to transport all Finnish export air cargo, and while the carrier is strong in the Asian traffic it does not offer all destinations or the best connections, says Ilkka Turku, SAS Cargo Manager Finland.
-This leaves room for other carriers to compete for customers. In this competition rates are crucial, but other factors are involved as well when exporters make decisions.
-Even if SAS has reduced capacity and frequencies on its North American routes, we can still offer many options, together with partner airlines, that compete favorably with other European carriers, due to the short distances to SAS' hubs at Stockholm, Copenhagen and Gothenburg.
-While continental European carrier will require a day on the road from Helsinki to their mainland hubs, we offer the market the benefits from earning a day by lifting cargo out of the SAS hubs. That is a significant competitive factor alongside the issue of rates.
-Even if Finnair Cargo is strong in the Asian market we also still attract much cargo destined for SAS routes to Asia, notably China that is seeing increasing volumes.
-European cargo is also a field where we compete with quite some success in Finland, using both SAS' own and Blue1's cargo capacity that is fully our responsibility to sell here. That comprises for instance blue1 flights from Helsinki to Athens that consists mainly of smaller shipments ideally suited for transportation on the Blue1 fleet.
-Generally speaking we are of course hit hard by the current downturn as are everybody else. We do however see the decline leveling out now and expect a rebound from this autumn.
-While we are a small company in Finland's air cargo market with five staff, we capitalize on the little company's flexibility and ability to tailor solutions that match the customers' needs, says Mr Turku.