-i'd still go by boat though. regular commuters might think differently.
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=25600
Extra Finnair Flights to Boost Russian Travel
Next year Finnair will start operating four daily flights between St.
Petersburg and Helsinki, a total of eight flights per week more than it
currently operates, the company announced last week at a press conference.
Russian passengers can already fly to over 40 destinations across Europe
and
Asia by using Helsinki's Vantaa air****t as a transfer hub.
Finnair will operate the new flights to St. Petersburg in cooperation with
Rossiya Airlines. Starting this month, Finnair has doubled the number of
flights between Moscow and Helsinki and now operates four flights a day in
cooperation with Aeroflot.
Jukka Hienonen, president and executive director of Finnair, listed the
Asian and Russian markets as top priorities for the airline.
"During recent years our company has been concentrating on flights between
Europe and Asia. We have good networks both in Europe and Asia. We have
one
of the youngest fleets, a good quality of service, and solid financial
resources which should facilitate our expansion," Hienonen said.
Finnair's fleet consists of 23 Embraer planes (76-100 seats), 29 Airbus
planes seating 105-196 passengers, and 15 larger Airbus planes seating
269-295. The company has also ordered a further 15 new Airbus planes.
"By 2016 we will have 25-30 planes for long-distance flights. The average
age of our Embraers is six years old, and we will use them for the next 15
years. Modernization problems will not arise in the near future," Hienonen
said.
Last year Finnair's turnover reached 2.2 billion euros ($3.45 billion).
The
airline served 8.6 million passengers on regular flights and trans****ted
98.7 million kilograms of cargo.
European-Asian flights generated about half of Finnair's profits - last
year
the company's turnover in Asia increased by 32.6 percent. During the last
eight years the number of flights to Asia offered by Finnair has increased
by more than 600 hundred percent. The company currently operates flights
to
11 destinations in Asia, and this year 1.3 million people are expected to
use these routes.
"The number of long-distance flights has increased dramatically over
recent
years. In 2001 we operated flights to Tokyo, New York, Beijing, Bangkok
and
Singa****e. Now we have far more long-distance flights," Hienonen said.
"In Japan we have become the third largest airline, outpacing British
Airways. We operate 70 flights a week to Asia," he said.
Hienonen expects that the number of transit flights through Helsinki will
increase.
"We plan to develop transit flights between North America and Asia. The
most
popular long-distance flights fly over Finland. Take flights from New York
to Delhi. It takes 14 hours. Fuel expenditure on a direct flight is 20
percent higher compared to a transit flight, and landing in Helsinki also
increases the occupancy of planes," he said.
Helsinki-Vantaa air****t could also become a substitute for other popular
European transit hubs, Hienonen said.
"Passenger flows in Europe are growing, and large European air****ts are
overloaded. We are sure that Vantaa air****t in Helsinki will benefit from
this. It will remain competitive, as it's not overloaded, and there is
room
for development," Hienonen said.
In view of the growing passenger flow and increasing share of business
class
travelers, Finnair plans to open a spa-center adjacent to Helsinki-Vantaa
air****t's new terminal.
The 1,500-square meter spa will open in September next year, and the spa
facilities will be available to business class travelers and privileged
clients of Finnair and the Oneworld alliance, which accounts for 15
percent
of passengers on long-haul flights, Hienonen said. Other passengers will
be
able to use the spa-center on a paid basis.
At the moment Russian passengers account for a tiny share of Finnair's
turnover - Hienonen estimated it at about two percent. "But Russia is a
very
im****tant and rapidly developing market. It offers huge op****tunities," he
said.
As well as flights to Moscow and St. Petersburg, from fall this year
Finnair
will operate flights from Helsinki to Yekaterinburg three times a week.
Hienonen said that Finnair is also considering other destinations in
Russia.
"We are interested in all the cities in European Russia with a population
of
more than one million. The choice of destinations will depend on our
partners and the willingness of regional authorities," he said.
"We have partner****p agreements with Aeroflot and Rossiya Airlines, and
through these partner****ps we economize on purchases and other expenses.
Our
clients benefit from such partner****p programs," Hienonen said.
Finnair, in its turn, provides technical servicing of cargo planes and
training for the personnel of its Russian partners.
"The bureaucracy here is enormous, but we can deal with this problem,"
Hienonen said.
In Russia, foreign airlines are not allowed to operate internal flights.
"Russian aviation officials told me in a private talk that if Russia
allowed
foreigners to operate internal flights, in 2-3 months half of the Russian
airlines would go bust," Hienonen said.
However, Hienonen expects that when Russia joins the WTO, the situation
will
change.
"Artificial barriers cannot last long. Twenty years ago the European
market
was just as closed as the Russian market. Now any European airline can
operate internal flights in Finland. We saw how it affected the market,
and
I think Russia will reach that stage sooner or later," Hienonen said.
"Many Russian airlines have not modernized their fleets, which is one of
the
reasons for high prices here. However, it's a matter of time. In 3-5 years
the situation will start to change," Hienonen said.
Finnair is considering charter flights, but Hienonen could not specify
when
the flights would start.
"We face organizational and legal difficulties. It's a seasonal business -
we can operate charter flights for about half the year, but high customs
taxes and VAT make this business unprofitable. This situation goes against
the interests of Russian customers," Hienonen said.
He indicated that about 40 percent of Finnair flights sold to Russian
customers originate from Helsinki air****t.
Commenting on general trends, Hienonen indicated that during the last five
years the price of flights in Europe has decreased by 30 percent, while
fuel
prices have tripled or quadrupled.
"In Europe there are about 40 budget airlines, and about half of them
operate flights to Finland. This has strongly affected the performance of
all the airlines. We had to dismiss 2,000 people, decreasing our staff
from
11,500 employees to 9,500 last year. At the same time we increased the
number of flights, so that the efficiency of our employees has increased
by
90 percent," Hienonen said.
Finnair entered the Russian tourism market in an attempt to diversify its
business. "We believe that the flow of tourists going abroad from Russia
will grow. That's a huge op****tunity for us," he said. Last year Finnair's
subsidiary, Suntours, acquired the St. Petersburg-based tourism company
Kalipso.
"The op****tunities for growth in Finland are limited. We liked Kalipso,
its
management team and clients. Through this acquisition we will acquire
knowledge of the local tourism market, and if we are successful, we will
expand our tourism activities here," Hienonen said.
In Finland, Suntours holds 37 percent of the tourism market, selling
400,000
to 450,000 tours a year.
Hienonen indicated that in Russia the average price of tourism services is
30 percent higher than in Finland. "We are seeing weak competition in this
market. There are not enough flights or packages deals and discounts here
in
this market," he said.
"We want to sell package deals in Russia and reorganize Kalipso according
to
our business model. By selling package deals, we could decrease prices and
during the next 10 years we could become a serious competitor in the
tourism
market," Hienonen said.
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