newstodate.aero

Apr 28, 2022 (newstodate): Finnair is heading for a thorough revamp of its strategy and routes structure after the Covid-19 and the "new normal" after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
   -Over the past two years, Finnair has encountered two major disruptions of historic proportions: a global pandemic, and the Russian invasion that resulted in the closure of the Russian airspace. Both impacted heavily during the first quarter of 2022, the company says in its Interim Report.  
   -We are now preparing for a prolonged Russian airspace closure and have already started to adapt our operations with many determined measures. As the first response, our updated network places more emphasis on connections to the west and South Asia. We opened a new route to Dallas at the end of March and will start new routes to Seattle and Mumbai during the summer. We launched a new cost reduction program, the first part of which targets 60 million euros of permanent savings from distribution, aircraft leases and the continuous improvement of operations. These savings will be on top of the already achieved 200 million euros of permanent annual savings during the pandemic. We will complement the cost savings program as we progress with determining our long-term response to the Russian airspace closure.
   Finnair is thus to turn its focus away from the North Asian markets to serving instead West and South Asian routes and, not least, the North Atlantic lanes, and this will have an impact on the size and composition of its aircraft fleet as well, and force the airline to operate in a new, highly competitive environment.
   Above all, the loss of Russian overflights deprives Finnair, as well as Helsinki Airport, of is key asset thanks to its geographical position: the shortest routes connecting Northern Europe and Asia, notably China.
    So far, Finland has been more lucky than its Scandinavian counterparts in securing additional rights to pass through the Sibir and Polar airlines, managing in 2017 to negotiate a rise in the limit from 65 to 80 weekly rotations, which allowed Finnair to increase its volume on these lanes by 15 percent.  
   As late as in September 2021, the Finnair Group CEO, Topi Manner met with the Director of Rosaviatsia for a talk on new potentials in the air services between the two markets, as well as Finnair's overflight rights.
   Starting from September 10, 2021, the new air services agreement allowed for 14 weekly flights between St Petersburg and Helsinki, against the seven weekly flights earlier allowed.
   The volume of flights between Helsinki and Moscow were also up to 14, instead of nine weekly rotations.