Finnair reports 6.2% increase in passenger numbers in October

In October 2023, Finnair reported an increase in passenger traffic compared to the same month in 2022. They carried 920,400 passengers, which was 6.2% more year-on-year. This improvement was attributed to the fading impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that the Russian airspace had already been closed during the same period last year. However, the closure of the Russian airspace continued to affect Asian passenger traffic compared to pre-pandemic levels. It’s important to note that the reported traffic figures did not account for longer routings caused by the airspace closure.

Finnair’s overall capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASK), increased by 9.9% year-on-year and by 3.7% month-on-month. Traffic, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs), increased by 17.0% year-on-year and by 2.9% month-on-month. The Passenger Load Factor (PLF) increased by 4.6% points year-on-year but declined by 0.6% points month-on-month to 77.3%.

The increase in ASK in Asian traffic was notable at 34.1% year-on-year, primarily due to additional capacity to Japan and South Korea. North Atlantic capacity decreased by 42.1% as operations between Stockholm and North American destinations were discontinued in October 2022. European traffic saw a 3.6% increase in ASK. Middle Eastern capacity surged by 799.0% due to the cooperation with Qatar Airways initiated in November 2022. ASKs in domestic traffic decreased by 6.4%.

RPKs increased in Asian traffic by 45.2% year-on-year but decreased in North Atlantic traffic by 25.6%. European traffic saw an RPK increase of 2.7%, and Middle Eastern traffic had a significant increase of 682.6%, while domestic traffic RPKs decreased by 3.4%.

In October, the PLF varied across different routes: 79.6% in Asian traffic, 75.2% in North Atlantic traffic, 77.3% in European traffic, 71.6% in Middle Eastern traffic, and 74.1% in domestic traffic.

Passenger numbers increased by 42.7% year-on-year in Asian traffic but decreased by 25.7% in North Atlantic traffic. European traffic saw an increase of 0.8% in passenger numbers. Middle Eastern traffic had a substantial increase of 555.6%, while domestic traffic saw a 3.9% decrease in passenger numbers.

Cargo figures increased year-on-year in October due to the Qatar Airways cooperation and increased Asian capacity, even though discontinued operations between Sweden and the US impacted North Atlantic cargo capacity. Available cargo tonne kilometers increased by 23.2%, and revenue cargo tonne kilometers increased by 21.8% year-on-year. The total cargo tonnes increased by 27.4% year-on-year and by 10.0% month-on-month.

In terms of flight punctuality, 81.3% of all Finnair flights arrived on schedule in October, a decrease from the previous month’s 86.9%