Finnair Traffic Performance in June 2022
Finnair Plc Investor News 6 July 2022 at 9:00 a.m. EEST
Good passenger load factor, continuing cargo strength in June; clear improvement in other passenger traffic figures
In June, Finnair carried 907,300 passengers, which was 609.4% more than in June 2021. The number of passengers in June 2022 was 16.6% more than in May 2022 (month-on-month figures are not fully comparable as there was one day less in June).
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 June. The reported traffic figures do not take into account longer routings caused by the airspace closure.
The overall capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASK), increased in June by 352.8% year-on-year and by 2.0% month-on-month. Finnair operated, on average, 255 daily flights (cargo-only included), which was 214.8% more than in June 2021 but 2.3% less than in May 2022. The differences between capacity figures compared to June 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 941.7% year-on-year and by 31.5% month-on-month. The Passenger Load Factor (PLF) increased by 45.1% points year-on-year and by 17.9% points month-on-month to 79.8%.
The ASK increase in Asian traffic was 163.2% year-on-year. The North Atlantic capacity increased by 508.5%. In European traffic, the ASKs were up by 521.7%. The ASKs in domestic traffic increased by 150.6%.
RPKs increased in Asian traffic by 1,277.0%, in North Atlantic traffic by 1,771.2%, in European traffic by 785.1% and in domestic traffic by 179.2% year-on-year.
The PLF improved particularly in Asian traffic (75.3%) and North Atlantic traffic (78.5%) in June. The PLF was 82.5% in European traffic and 81.4% in domestic traffic.
Passenger numbers increased in Asian traffic by 1,282.5% year-on-year. In North Atlantic traffic, the number of passengers increased by 1,728.8% to 67,000, which is a new record. In European traffic, passenger numbers increase by 661.9% and in domestic traffic by 229.7%.
Despite the Russian airspace closure, most cargo figures improved year-on-year, although June figures were slightly behind May 2022. Available scheduled cargo tonne kilometres increased by 185.9% year-on-year (decreased by 10.1% month-on-month) and revenue scheduled cargo tonne kilometres increased by 126.1% (decreased by 11.4% month-on-month), both due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on scheduled flights, especially in Asian traffic, in June 2021. Cargo-related available tonne kilometres increased by 59.4% year-on-year (decreased by 10.3% month-on-month) and revenue tonne kilometres increased by 24.6% (decreased by 11.3% month-on-month). These figures also include the cargo-only flights which were, however, almost entirely replaced by scheduled passenger flights carrying cargo in June. Strong demand for cargo capacity continued in June as the total cargo tonnes increased by 51.3% year-on-year (decreased by 8.0% month-on-month).
In June, 72.8% of all Finnair flights arrived on schedule (87.9%). 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.
Traffic statistics for July 2022 will be published on Friday 5 August 2022.
| Finnair Traffic Performance June 2022 | ||||
| Month | % Change | YTD | % Change | |
| Total traffic | ||||
| Passengers 1,000 | 907.3 | 609.4 | 3,874.7 | 603.4 |
| Available seat kilometres mill | 2,689.9 | 352.8 | 14,756.4 | 463.3 |
| Revenue passenger kilometres mill | 2,145.9 | 941.7 | 8,543.6 | 1,053.3 |
| Passenger load factor % | 79.8 | 45.1p | 57.9 | 29.6p |
| Cargo tonnes total | 9,402.2 | 51.3 | 64,345.4 | 59.6 |
| Available tonne kilometres mill | 370.3 | 161.7 | 2,266.8 | 164.5 |
| Revenue tonne kilometres mill | 249.5 | 285.8 | 1,191.6 | 228.0 |
| Asia | ||||
| Passengers 1,000 Asia | 65.9 | 1,282.5 | 258.5 | 1,143.2 |
| Available seat kilometres mill Asia | 654.2 | 163.2 | 4,050.1 | 197.6 |
| Revenue passenger kilometres mill Asia | 492.9 | 1,277.0 | 1,954.7 | 1,156.2 |
| Passenger load factor % Asia | 75.3 | 60.9p | 48.3 | 36.8p |
| Europe | ||||
| Passengers 1,000 Europe | 670.8 | 661.9 | 2,682.6 | 779.7 |
| Available seat kilometres mill Europe | 1,329.0 | 521.7 | 6,425.6 | 652.3 |
| Revenue passenger kilometres mill Europe | 1,096.3 | 785.1 | 4,452.4 | 1,007.3 |
| Passenger load factor % Europe | 82.5 | 24.5p | 69.3 | 22.2p |
| North Atlantic | ||||
| Passengers 1,000 North Atlantic | 67.0 | 1,728.8 | 224.2 | 4,695.6 |
| Available seat kilometres mill North Atlantic | 639.9 | 508.5 | 3,623.8 | 2,165.8 |
| Revenue passenger kilometres mill North Atlantic | 502.3 | 1,771.2 | 1,683.5 | 4,915.0 |
| Passenger load factor % North Atlantic | 78.5 | 53.0p | 46.5 | 25.5p |
| Domestic | ||||
| Passengers 1,000 Domestic | 103.6 | 229.7 | 709.4 | 221.8 |
| Available seat kilometres mill Domestic | 66.9 | 150.6 | 656.9 | 168.3 |
| Revenue passenger kilometres mill Domestic | 54.5 | 179.2 | 453.0 | 203.0 |
| Passenger load factor % Domestic | 81.4 | 8.3p | 69.0 | 7.9p |
| Cargo traffic | ||||
| Europe tonnes | 2,170.8 | 1,181.6 | 10,449.4 | 903.6 |
| North Atlantic tonnes | 2,831.8 | 311.6 | 17,802.6 | 1,450.3 |
| Asia tonnes | 4,267.0 | 63.5 | 27,227.2 | 92.4 |
| Domestic tonnes | 28.9 | 13.4 | 175.0 | 8.3 |
| Cargo scheduled traffic total tonnes | 9,298.4 | 166.3 | 55,654.1 | 237.2 |
| Cargo flights tonnes** | 103.7 | -96.2 | 8,691.3 | -63.5 |
| Cargo Traffic tonnes total | 9,402.2 | 51.3 | 64,345.4 | 59.6 |
| Available tonne kilometres* mill | 90.6 | 59.4 | 680.1 | 86.9 |
| Revenue tonne kilometres mill | 57.7 | 24.6 | 428.9 | 44.1 |
| Available sched. cargo tonne kms* mill | 89.6 | 185.9 | 594.4 | 315.5 |
| Revenue sched. cargo tonne kms mill | 57.0 | 126.1 | 362.9 | 208.3 |
| Cargo load factor* % | 63.7 | -17.8p | 63.1 | -18.7p |
| - North-Atlantic cargo load factor* % | 60.6 | -15.0p | 60.4 | -17.1p |
| - Asia cargo load factor* % | 79.6 | -6.5p | 70.2 | -15.8p |
| Scheduled traffic cargo load factor* % | 63.6 | -16.8p | 61.1 | -21.2p |
* 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, N/A = not available).
- Available seat kilometres. ASK: Total number of seats available multiplied by 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.
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