Finnair sees fewer passengers in March

DF File Photo.

National flag carrier Finnair carried a total of 916,100 passengers in March this year, which was 2.3% less than in March 2024, said Finnair in a press release on Tuesday.

The number of passengers increased significantly in North Atlantic traffic and remained stable in Asian and European traffic but declined in Middle Eastern and domestic traffic.

The number of passengers was negatively affected by industrial action and Easter, said the airline.

Overall capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASK), remained stable. After the wet lease outs to British Airways ended close to the end of March 2024, majority of this additional narrow-body capacity was allocated to routes in northern Europe, resulting in an increase in ASKs in European and domestic traffic.

In addition, capacity in North Atlantic traffic grew significantly, driven by added frequencies to Dallas.

In Middle Eastern traffic, ASKs decreased due to the end of cooperation with Qatar Airways on flights between Stockholm, Copenhagen and Doha on 15 January 2025. Including wet lease outs, overall capacity decreased by 1.2%.

Finnair's traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), decreased by 2.0%. RPKs increased significantly in North Atlantic traffic and remained stable in Asian and European traffic but declined in Middle Eastern and domestic traffic.

Passenger load factor (PLF) decreased by 2.1% points to 72.8%. PLF improved in Asian and Middle Eastern traffic but declined in North Atlantic, European and domestic traffic.

Total cargo tonnes decreased by 7.0%, driven by a decline in Asian and Middle Eastern cargo traffic. Revenue cargo tonne kilometres remained stable.

In March, 85.8% of all Finnair flights arrived on schedule compared to 83.7% in the comparison period.