Finnair ekes out new strategy as Russia headaches intensify

Germany's EW Discover to boost Finnair wet-lease

Finnair aid cleared as Ryanair loses legal challenge

Ryanair (FR, Dublin Int'l) has lost another attempt to halt European Union approval of state aid to Finnair (AY, Helsinki Vantaa), after Europe’s Luxembourg-based General Court said it had dismissed its action in its entirety.

In June 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on every airline, the European Commission cleared the Finnish government’s plans to contribute to the flag carrier’s recapitalisation by subscribing to new shares in a rights issue to the tune of EUR286 million euros (USD326 million at the time).

The antitrust regulator had justified this by saying: “Finnair ensures the essential domestic and international connectivity needs of Finland. Given the geographical location of the country, the national economy, many jobs, and the development of foreign trade rely on these services.”

Ryanair launched legal action against the commission on the grounds that it had neglected to initiate a formal investigation into the aid despite doubts it should have had about the compatibility of the aid with the rules of the EU’s internal market. According to the low-cost carrier, the...

Finnair wet-leases an A320 for peak summer 2022 season

Finnair (AY, Helsinki Vantaa) has announced it will wet-lease an A320-200 from DAT LT (R6, Kaunas) between June 20 and October 29, 2022.

"DAT LT will be operating selected flights on our Helsinki Vantaa-Copenhagen Kastrup route in June, and on Oulu and Lisbon routes between July and October. The leased aircraft and crew are supporting Finnair's operational stability during the busy summer season," the Finnish carrier said.

The ch-aviation schedules module indicates that the aircraft will operate 2x daily between Helsinki and Copenhagen from June 20 through July 1. Subsequently, it will be deployed daily to Lisbon and 5x weekly to Oulu.

The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that Finnair's in-house narrowbody fleet comprises six A319-100s, ten A320-200s, and nineteen A321-200s. In turn, DAT LT's A320 Family fleet includes two A320-200s and one A321-200s. One of the A320s is wet-leased to Corendon Airlines Europe (XR, Malta Int'l) and the A321 to Corendon Airlines (XC, Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen),...

Editorial Comment: The article updates with schedule details. - 01.06.2022 - 15:10 UTC

British Airways cuts summer schedule due to staff shortage

British Airways (BA, London Heathrow) will cut its summer 2022 season schedule by 10%, mainly by trimming its short- and medium-haul plans, so as to avoid an operational collapse precipitated by a lack of staff.

"The rebuild is challenging. The US carriers had similar rebuild problems earlier in the process, we see problems in Europe and the UK industry getting the system back up and running," Chief Executive Sean Doyle said during a quarterly earnings call.

The cuts affect 8,000 round trips scheduled throughout the season. Following the adjustment, the entire IAG International Airlines Group now expects to reach 80% of its pre-pandemic capacity during the summer season, down from 85% in the original forecast. The holding hopes to increase its capacity to 85% in the third quarter and 90% in the fourth quarter, partially thanks to a hiring spree that should see 6,000 new staff enlisted by the end of 2022.

IAG Chief Executive Luis Gallego said the current shortages pertained to ground staff for the most part. The airline group, much like many other...