The COVID-19 pandemic impact was clearly visible in the November passenger traffic figures, a very strong month for cargo
In November, Finnair carried 85,000 passengers, which was 92.2% less than in the corresponding period of 2019 and 15.6% less than in October 2020. The COVID-19 impact, including the exceptionally strict travel restrictions imposed by Finland, still affected all passenger traffic figures. It was visible especially in the North Atlantic figures (no scheduled flights in November).
The overall capacity measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASK) decreased in November by 88.9% year-on-year. Finnair operated 81 daily flights (cargo-only included) on average which was 23.4% compared to November 2019. The differences between capacity figures are explained by the shorter operated flights on average and by smaller operated aircraft compared to November 2019. Finnair’s traffic measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs) decreased by 96.3%. The Passenger Load Factor (PLF) decreased by 51.7% points to 25.4%.
The ASK decline in Asian traffic was 87.5%. The North Atlantic capacity decreased by 100.0%. In European traffic, the ASKs were down by 90.1%. The ASKs in domestic traffic decreased by 70.7%.
RPKs decreased in Asian traffic by 98.3%, in North Atlantic traffic by 100.0%, in European traffic by 94.9% and in domestic traffic by 75.8%.
The PLF was 10.4% in Asian traffic but it was supported by the strong cargo operations and a high cargo load factor. The PLF was 39.6% in European traffic and 55.0% in domestic traffic, whereas there was no PLF figure in North Atlantic traffic due to zero passenger flights in November.
Passenger numbers decreased in Asian traffic by 98.3%, in North Atlantic traffic by 100.0%, in European traffic by 93.8% and in domestic traffic by 80.3%.
Available scheduled cargo tonne-kilometres decreased by 85.9% year-on-year and revenue scheduled cargo tonne-kilometres decreased by 80.4%, both due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on scheduled flights. However, cargo-related available tonne kilometres decreased by 56.8% and revenue tonne-kilometres only by 38.8% as they both include also the cargo-only flights operated between Europe and Asia as well as Europe and North America. Cargo-only tonnes were up by 124.1% and the total cargo tonnes by 54.0% from October 2020 due to very strong demand for the cargo capacity, especially in Asia. As a result, the cargo load factor was still clearly higher than in the corresponding period of 2019.
In November, 91.3% of all Finnair flights arrived on schedule (86.1%).
Traffic statistics for December 2020 will be published on Thursday 7 January 2021.
| Finnair Traffic Performance November 2020 | ||||
| Month | % Change | YTD | % Change | |
| Total traffic | ||||
| Passengers 1,000 | 85.0 | -92.2 | 3,393.1 | -74.9 |
| Available seat kilometres mill | 402.7 | -88.9 | 12,549.6 | -71.0 |
| Revenue passenger kilometres mill | 102.2 | -96.3 | 8,033.1 | -77.4 |
| Passenger load factor % | 25.4 | -51.7p | 64.0 | -18.0p |
| Cargo tonnes total | 7,759.6 | -47.8 | 64,923.4 | -59.3 |
| Available tonne-kilometres mill | 153.2 | -71.5 | 2,300.0 | -63.7 |
| Revenue tonne-kilometres mill | 65.6 | -80.8 | 1,154.0 | -72.4 |
| Asia | ||||
| Passengers 1,000 Asia | 3.1 | -98.3 | 497.9 | -78.8 |
| Available seat kilometres mill Asia | 222.4 | -87.5 | 5,947.5 | -72.1 |
| Revenue passenger kilometres mill Asia | 23.2 | -98.3 | 3,811.8 | -78.6 |
| Passenger load factor % Asia | 10.4 | -68.0p | 64.1 | -19.3p |
| Europe | ||||
| Passengers 1,000 Europe | 40.5 | -93.8 | 1,988.0 | -76.9 |
| Available seat kilometres mill Europe | 130.9 | -90.1 | 4,939.8 | -70.1 |
| Revenue passenger kilometres mill Europe | 51.8 | -94.9 | 3,079.9 | -77.0 |
| Passenger load factor % Europe | 39.6 | -37.5p | 62.3 | -18.8p |
| North Atlantic | ||||
| Passengers 1,000 North Atlantic | 0.0 | -100.0 | 82.3 | -80.6 |
| Available seat kilometres mill North Atlantic | 0.0 | -100.0 | 848.9 | -77.3 |
| Revenue passenger kilometres mill North Atlantic | 0.0 | -100.0 | 647.1 | -79.8 |
| Passenger load factor % North Atlantic | N/A | N/A | 76.2 | -9.4p |
| Domestic | ||||
| Passengers 1,000 Domestic | 41.4 | -80.3 | 825.0 | -61.2 |
| Available seat kilometres mill Domestic | 49.4 | -70.7 | 813.3 | -52.2 |
| Revenue passenger kilometres mill Domestic | 27.2 | -75.8 | 494.3 | -55.6 |
| Passenger load factor % Domestic | 55.0 | -11.6p | 60.8 | -4.7p |
| Cargo Traffic | ||||
| Europe tonnes | 281.2 | -91.5 | 8,824.6 | -72.4 |
| North Atlantic tonnes | 0.0 | -100.0 | 2,542.2 | -79.9 |
| Asia tonnes | 2,319.5 | -77.4 | 31,651.3 | -72.3 |
| Domestic tonnes | 30.3 | -28.0 | 309.2 | -42.3 |
| Cargo scheduled traffic total tonnes | 2,631.0 | -82.3 | 43,327.3 | -72.8 |
| Cargo flights, tonnes** | 5,128.6 | 100.0 | 21,596.1 | 100.0 |
| Cargo Traffic tonnes total | 7,759.6 | -47.8 | 64,923.4 | -59.3 |
| Available tonne-kilometres* mill | 63.8 | -56.8 | 660.6 | -61.6 |
| Revenue tonne-kilometres mill | 56.6 | -38.8 | 436.1 | -56.7 |
| Available sched. cargo tonne kms*, mill | 20.8 | -85.9 | 469.6 | -72.7 |
| Revenue sched. cargo tonne kms, mill | 18.1 | -80.4 | 276.9 | -72.5 |
| Cargo load factor* % | 88.7 | 26.1p | 66.0 | 7.5p |
| – North-Atlantic cargo load factor* % | N/A | N/A | 66.3 | 10.1p |
| – Asia cargo load factor* % | 90.3 | 21.5p | 64.0 | 0.5p |
| Scheduled traffic Cargo load factor*, % | 86.9 | 24.3p | 59.0 | 0.4p |
* Based on average operational cargo capacity
** Including purchased traffic
- Change %: Change compared to the figures of the respective periods in the previous year (p = points).
- Available seat kilometres. ASK: Total number of seats available. multiplied by the number of kilometres flown.
- Revenue passenger kilometres. RPK: Number of revenue passengers carried. multiplied by kilometres flown.
- Passenger load factor: Share of revenue passenger kilometres of available seat kilometres.
- Available tonne-kilometres. ATK: Number of tonnes of capacity for carriage of passengers. cargo and mail. multiplied by kilometres flown.
- Revenue tonne-kilometres. RTK: Total revenue load consisting of passengers. cargo and mail. multiplied by kilometres flown.
- Overall load factor: Share of revenue tonne-kilometres of available tonne-kilometres.
Finnair Plc Investor News 8 December 2020 at 9:00 a.m. EET
