Finnair launches €60m saving plan amid consecutive losses

National flag carrier Finnair launched a new cost reduction plan aiming to save about 60 million euros as it reported a ninth consecutive quarterly loss on Wednesday, reported Xinhua.

The need for savings is largely due to the prolongation of the Russian airspace blocking.

In a statement, Finnair's CEO Topi Manner described the global pandemic and Ukraine crisis, which resulted in the closure of the Russian airspace, as "two major disruptions of historic proportions", adding that both impacted heavily during the first quarter of 2022.

The closure of Russian air traffic has had a significant impact on Finnair's operating environment, particularly affecting air traffic to Asia, which played an important role in Finnair's network.

"We will complete the cost savings program while continuing to determine a long-term solution for the Russian airspace closure, "said Manner.

The savings of 60 million euros will be in addition to the savings of 200 million euros already achieved. These savings are sought from distribution, aircraft leases, and continuous improvement of operations.

In the first quarter of 2022, Finnair saw a loss of 132.9 million euros in the comparable operating result, which is slightly less than that at the same time last year. The company's revenue increased by 252 percent to 400 million euros.

The CEO noted that despite continuous losses, Finnair's cash position is still stable and the 400-million-euro hybrid loan granted by the State of Finland supports the company's balance sheet.