Finnair Traffic Performance in May 2024

Jun 06, 2024

Number of passengers increased due to additional capacity whereas PLF declined year-on-year, increase in cargo figures continued

In May, Finnair carried 983,500 passengers. This was 2.4% more than in May 2023.

The overall capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASK), increased in May by 6.0% year-on-year as additional narrow-body capacity was deployed by Finnair after the wet lease outs to British Airways ended in March 2024. If wet lease outs are included, capacity increased by 8.0% due to the co-operation with Qantas. Finnair's traffic, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs), increased by 2.0%. The Passenger Load Factor (PLF) declined by 2.7% points to 71.3%. The distance-based reported traffic figures do not take into account longer routings caused by the airspace closure as they are based on Great-Circle distance in accordance with the industry practice.

The ASKs in Asian traffic were up by 2.0% year-on-year. The North Atlantic capacity decreased by 4.8%. In European traffic, the ASKs were up by 13.6% as majority of the increase in narrow-body capacity was allocated to Europe. The Middle Eastern capacity declined by 4.7% mainly due to cancelled flights to Israel. The ASKs in domestic traffic increased by 15.9% due to the additional narrow-body capacity.

RPKs increased in Asian traffic by 1.6% year-on-year. They increased by 7.7% in North Atlantic traffic and by 2.3% in European traffic. They decreased by 5.4% in Middle Eastern traffic and by 5.7% in domestic traffic.

In May, the PLF was 70.2% in Asian traffic, 79.1% in North Atlantic traffic, 72.3% in European traffic, 60.8% in Middle Eastern traffic and 61.0% in domestic traffic.

Passenger numbers increased by 0.8% in Asian traffic, by 4.4% in European traffic and by 5.8% in North Atlantic traffic. They decreased by 7.4% in Middle Eastern traffic and by 6.1% in domestic traffic.

The total cargo tonnes increased by 12.7% year-on-year in May due to growth in all traffic areas exclusive of domestic cargo traffic. Revenue cargo tonne kilometres increased by 9.1%.

In May, 77.2% of all Finnair flights arrived on schedule (86.5%). The on-time performance decline was due to the closure of one of the runways at Helsinki Airport for renovation work.

Traffic statistics for June 2024 will be published on Friday 5 July 2024.

Finnair Traffic Performance May 2024
	Month	% Change	YTD	% Change
Total traffic
Passengers 1,000	983.5	2.4	4,432,1	0.2
Available seat kilometres mill	3,365.8	6.0	15,343,1	4.6
Revenue passenger kilometres mill	2,399,5	2.0	11,050.4	0.9
Passenger load factor %	71.3	- 2.7p	72.0	- 2.6p
Cargo tonnes total	13,017.6	12.7	58,983.3	11.6
Available tonne kilometres mill	490,3	6.5	2,251.4	6.7
Revenue tonne kilometres mill	290,0	3.8	1,340.7	3.1
Available seat kilometres incl. wet lease out mill	3 582,6	8.0	16,383.8	4.9

Asia
Passengers 1,000	102.4	0.8	524.5	- 0.2
Available seat kilometres mill	1,108.0	2.0	5,712.6	7.9
Revenue passenger kilometres mill	777.7	1.6	4,081.4	3.2
Passenger load factor %	70.2	- 0.3p	71.4	- 3.3p

Europe
Passengers 1,000	702.7	4.4	2,765.3	2.7
Available seat kilometres mill	1,549.9	13.6	6,049.9	8.4
Revenue passenger kilometres mill	1,121,0	2.3	4,428.2	1.1
Passenger load factor %	72.3	- 7.9p	73.2	- 5.3p

North Atlantic
Passengers 1,000	39.8	5.8	144.4	- 5.1
Available seat kilometres mill	383.9	- 4.8	1,595.6	- 9.5
Revenue passenger kilometres mill	303.7	7.7	1,134.9	- 2.4
Passenger load factor %	79.1	9.1p	71.1	5.1p

Middle East
Passengers 1,000	31.3	- 7.4	196.2	- 6.5
Available seat kilometres mill	233.1	- 4.7	1,227.8	- 6.6
Revenue passenger kilometres mill	141.7	- 5.4	889.7	- 4.4
Passenger load factor %	60.8	- 0.5p	72.5	1.7p

Domestic
Passengers 1,000	107.3	- 6.1	801.7	- 4.7
Available seat kilometres mill	90.7	15.9	757.2	5.6
Revenue passenger kilometres mill	55.4	- 5.7	516.2	- 1.4
Passenger load factor %	61.0	- 13.9p	68.2	- 4.9p

Cargo traffic
- Europe tonnes	2,978.4	33.0	11,460.8	38.2
- North Atlantic tonnes	1,610.3	14.0	5,904.1	- 10.9
- Middle East tonnes	1,837.5	16.3	9,585.3	6.6
- Asia tonnes	6,547.0	5.0	31,782.9	11.1
- Domestic tonnes	22.9	- 32.9	107.2	- 32.3
- Cargo flights tonnes*	21.5	- 58.1	142.9	- 9.5
Cargo traffic tonnes total	13,017.6	12.7	58,983.3	11.6
Revenue cargo tonne kilometres mill	75.4	9.1	352.7	9.6

* 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.