In September, Finnair carried 890,500 passengers, which was 198.7% more than in September 2021. The number of passengers in September 2022 was 1.1% more than in August 2022 (month-on-month figures are not fully comparable as there was one day less in September).
The COVID-19 impact, including the strict travel restrictions imposed by many countries, still affected passenger traffic figures, and it was particularly visible in the Asian figures. The Russian airspace closed at the end of February due to the counter-sanctions related to the war in Ukraine, which resulted in route and frequency cancellations in Asian traffic. Thanks to robust demand for cargo, Finnair, however, continued operating to most of its Asian destinations despite the longer routings. Thus, the negative impact of the airspace closure on Asian passenger traffic figures, which were already affected by the pandemic, remained moderate in September. The distance-based reported traffic figures do not take into account longer routings caused by the airspace closure as they are based on Great-Circle distance.
The overall capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASK), increased in September by 117.5% year-on-year but decreased by 2.3% month-on-month. Finnair operated, on average, 268 daily flights (cargo-only included), which was 86.1% more than in September 2021 and 5.9% more than in August 2022. The differences between capacity figures compared to September 2021 are explained by the longer average stage length of flights operated and by the larger gauge of aircraft operated. Finnair’s traffic, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs), increased by 306.4% year on year but decreased by 4.9% month-on-month. The Passenger Load Factor (PLF) increased by 35.2% points year on year but decreased by 2.1% points month-on-month to 75.7%.
The ASK increase in Asian traffic was 136.3% year-on-year. The North Atlantic capacity increased by 67.4%. In European traffic, the ASKs were up by 147.5%. The ASKs in domestic traffic increased by 39.4%.
RPKs increased in Asian traffic by 827.9%, in North Atlantic traffic by 578.7%, in European traffic by 201.5% and domestic traffic by 53.9% year-on-year.
In September, the PLF improved particularly in Asian traffic (76.1%) and North Atlantic traffic (65.4%) year-on-year. The PLF was 79.8% in European traffic and 78.0% in domestic traffic.
Passenger numbers increased in Asian traffic by 828.8% year-on-year. In North Atlantic traffic, the number of passengers increased by 559.0%. In European traffic, passenger numbers increased by 197.2% and in domestic traffic by 81.7%.
In September, 84.5% of all Finnair flights arrived on schedule (92.7%). On-time performance decreased year-on-year and was impacted by various capacity challenges in the European aviation system. Finnair’s Helsinki hub is functioning well, however, and Finnair’s relative on-time performance was good.
