Finnair (AY, Helsinki Vantaa) has announced its new strategy for 2020-2025 which includes an investment of EUR3.5-4 billion euros (USD3.8-4.4 billion) in new aircraft, with one-third of them for growth, the Finnish flag carrier said in a presentation during its Capital Markets Day.
Short of going into details about the fleet make-up in the future, Finnair said that it planned to operate around 30 widebody aircraft in 2025, up from the current 22, and around 70 narrowbodies and regional aircraft, up from the current 61.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, the airline's widebody fleet currently includes fourteen A350-900s and eight A330-300s. Finnair has a further five A350-900s on firm order from Airbus with deliveries scheduled to continue through the end of 2022.
In turn, the carrier's narrowbody fleet does not include any newest-generation aircraft and consists of eight A319-100s (18.6 years old on average), ten A320-200 (17.4 years), and nineteen A321-200s (8.4 years), as well as twelve ATR72-500s and twelve E190LRs operated by regional unit NoRRA Nordic Regional Airlines (N7, Helsinki Vantaa), a joint venture with DAT (Denmark) (DX, Kolding).
The carrier is currently evaluating options for the narrowbody fleet renewal which is due "to be initiated during the strategy period", i.e. by 2025. Chief Commercial Officer Ole Orvér underlined that the renewal of the narrowbody fleet will be prioritised over any decisions regarding the widebody fleet.
Out of the total investment in new fleet planned, one-third will be for growth and two-thirds for replacement of the existing aircraft.
The balance between replacement and growth skewed towards the former reflects Finnair's decision to slow down its expansion in the coming years. Chief Executive Topi Manner said that having undertaken "accelerated growth" in 2018, the Finnish flag carrier is now moving to the phase of "sustainable, profitable growth". Between 2015 and 2019, the airline recorded a compound annual growth rate of 10.5%, while for the next 3 years it plans to reach a level of 3-5%.
As part of its strategic growth, Finnair said it will introduce premium economy class on its widebody aircraft, with first installations scheduled in around a years' time from now and the retrofits continuing through 2022.
