The COVID-19 pandemic impact was clearly visible in the September traffic figures, cargo demand still strong
In September, Finnair carried 115,500 passengers, which is 91.0% less than in the corresponding period of 2019 and 40.1% less than in August 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 September) and, compared to August, also in European figures.
The overall capacity measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASK) decreased in September by 87.6% year-on-year. Finnair operated 83 daily flights (cargo-only included) on average which was 21.8% compared to September 2019. The differences between capacity figures are explained by the shorter operated flights on average and by smaller operated aircraft compared to September 2019. Finnair’s traffic measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs) decreased by 95.2%. The Passenger Load Factor (PLF) decreased by 49.9% points to 31.8%.
The ASK decline in Asian traffic was 86.7%. The North Atlantic capacity decreased by 100.0%. In European traffic, the ASKs were down by 87.9%. The ASKs in domestic traffic decreased by 64.2%.
RPKs decreased in Asian traffic by 96.9%, in North Atlantic traffic by 100.0%, in European traffic by 93.8% and in domestic traffic by 66.5%.
The PLF was 18.5% in Asian traffic but it was supported by the cargo operations and very high cargo load factor. The PLF was 41.7% in European traffic and 66.0% in domestic traffic, whereas there was no PLF figure in North Atlantic traffic due to zero passenger flights in September.
Passenger numbers decreased in Asian traffic by 96.9%, in North Atlantic traffic by 100.0%, in European traffic by 92.7% and in domestic traffic by 74.5%.
Available scheduled cargo tonne kilometres decreased by 87.1% year-on-year and revenue scheduled cargo tonne kilometres decreased by 82.6%, both due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on scheduled flights. However, cargo related available tonne kilometres decreased by 79.0% and revenue tonne kilometres decreased by 71.5% and they both include also the cargo-only flights mainly operated between Europe and Asia as well as Europe and North America. The total cargo tonnes were down only by 1.3% from August 2020 due to continued strong demand for the scheduled cargo capacity. As a result, the cargo load factor was still clearly higher than in the corresponding period of 2019.
In September, 96.2% of all Finnair flights arrived on schedule (85.3%).
Traffic statistics for October 2020 will be published on Friday 6 November 2020.
| Finnair Traffic Performance September 2020 | ||||
| Month | % Change | YTD | % Change | |
| Total traffic | ||||
| Passengers 1,000 | 115.5 | -91.0 | 3,207.3 | -71.2 |
| Available seat kilometres mill | 496.0 | -87.6 | 11,681.9 | -67.2 |
| Revenue passenger kilometres mill | 157.8 | -95.2 | 7,783.8 | -73.5 |
| Passenger load factor % | 31.8 | -49.9p | 66.6 | -15.9p |
| Cargo tonnes total | 3,995.7 | -74.7 | 52,126.4 | -59.2 |
| Available tonne kilometres mill | 107.6 | -81.7 | 2,029.4 | -61.0 |
| Revenue tonne kilometres mill | 42.5 | -89.2 | 1,038.9 | -69.8 |
| Asia | ||||
| Passengers 1,000 Asia | 6.4 | -96.9 | 488.0 | -75.0 |
| Available seat kilometres mill Asia | 259.9 | -86.7 | 5,460.4 | -68.9 |
| Revenue passenger kilometres mill Asia | 48.1 | -96.9 | 3,737.8 | -74.7 |
| Passenger load factor % Asia | 18.5 | -62.2p | 68.5 | -15.6p |
| Europe | ||||
| Passengers 1,000 Europe | 61.4 | -92.7 | 1,894.0 | -73.4 |
| Available seat kilometres mill Europe | 189.6 | -87.9 | 4,652.2 | -65.7 |
| Revenue passenger kilometres mill Europe | 79.0 | -93.8 | 2,957.6 | -73.3 |
| Passenger load factor % Europe | 41.7 | -40.4p | 63.6 | -17.8p |
| North Atlantic | ||||
| Passengers 1,000 North Atlantic | 0.0 | -100.0 | 82.3 | -76.6 |
| Available seat kilometres mill North Atlantic | 0.0 | -100.0 | 848.9 | -722 |
| Revenue passenger kilometres mill North Atlantic | 0.0 | -100.0 | 647.1 | -75.7 |
| Passenger load factor % North Atlantic | N/A | N/A | 76.2 | -10.9p |
| Domestic | ||||
| Passengers 1,000 Domestic | 47.7 | -74.5 | 743.1 | -57.1 |
| Available seat kilometres mill Domestic | 46.6 | -64.2 | 720.5 | -48.6 |
| Revenue passenger kilometres mill Domestic | 30.7 | -66.5 | 441.2 | -51.6 |
| Passenger load factor % Domestic | 66.0 | -4.3p | 61.2 | -3.7p |
| Cargo Traffic | ||||
| Europe tonnes | 293.9 | -90.7 | 8,259.2 | -67.0 |
| North Atlantic tonnes | 0.0 | -100.0 | 2,542.2 | -74.8 |
| Asia tonnes | 2,183.5 | -80.7 | 26,895.6 | -70.8 |
| Domestic tonnes | 31.9 | -33.6 | 250.3 | -43.8 |
| Cargo scheduled traffic total tonnes | 2,509.3 | -84.1 | 37,947.4 | -70.3 |
| Cargo flights, tonnes** | 1,486.4 | 100.0 | 14,179.1 | 100.0 |
| Cargo Traffic tonnes total | 3,995.7 | -74.7 | 52,126.4 | -59.2 |
| Available tonne kilometres* mill | 34.0 | -79.0 | 558.7 | -60.4 |
| Revenue tonne kilometres mill | 28.5 | -71.5 | 343.1 | -57.6 |
| Available sched. cargo tonne kms*, mill | 21.0 | -87.1 | 428.2 | -69.6 |
| Revenue sched. cargo tonne kms, mill | 17.4 | -82.6 | 239.8 | -70.4 |
| Cargo load factor* % | 83.6 | 22.2p | 61.4 | 3.9p |
| – North-Atlantic cargo load factor* % | N/A | N/A | 66.3 | 10.5p |
| – Asia cargo load factor* % | 87.9 | 21.5p | 60.7 | -1.5p |
| Scheduled traffic Cargo load factor*, % | 82.9 | 21.4p | 56.0 | -1.4p |
* 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.
