newstodate.aero

Feb 19, 2021 (newstodate): Cargo seldom hits the front page in commercial airlines' annual reports - but 2020 clearly makes a difference..
   -In the spring, we operated with a capacity of a few percent only, maintaining critical connections for Finland to key European cities, writes Topi Manner, Finnair Group CEO, in his opening page.
   -Even if people did not travel, goods had to keep moving, and we quickly ramped up our cargo-only operations. All in all, we operated over 1,300 cargo flights during 2020, and cargo, supported by the shortage of capacity and increased prices in  the market, played a significant role in our revenue, the message reads.
   Performing its first all-cargo operation on March 28, 2020, with an Airbus A350-900 passenger aircraft between Helsinki and Seoul, Finnair carried a total of 26,036 tonnes on all-cargo flights in 2020.
    Today, Finnair is serving the all-cargo segment with two converted Airbus A350-900 aircraft with all seats removed, in addition to all-cargo flights by other Airbus A350-900 aircraft offering belly-capacity only, as well as three Airbus A330-300 aircraft with all seats removed for cargo carriage.
   So far into 2021, the company has operated 21 all-cargo flights per week with Airbus A350-900 and Airbus A330-300 passenger aircraft.
   This month will see the opening of all-cargo flights between Helsinki and Chicago on February 21 and 23, in addition to the all-cargo flights between Helsinki and New York.
   Finnair will operate two weekly rotations on the route between Helsinki and Tokyo Narita Airport, and the carrier also plans to operate flights to Nagoya with two rotations on February 18 and 20, respectively, while the Chinese Year will bring flights from Helsinki to Beijing and Shanghai down to one weekly rotation.
   In total, Finnair currently plans for operating 40 all-cargo flights per week.