Finnair leans on Manchester for Asia growth

THE chief executive of Finnair has underlined the airline’s commitment to the North West, saying he expects sales from Manchester airport to double this year, despite the impact of the recession on business travel.

In its first quart results the airline reported a 10% fall in turnover to E515.7m, with an operating loss of E47.5m and a pre-tax loss of E25m. Finnair said it also expects its full year results to be at a loss.

But despite falling profits the airline, which flies to ten Asian destinations from Manchester through its Helsinki hub, says it will continue to invest in Manchester airport.

For the Asian destinations Finnair serves, the airline’s market share stands at around 10.6 % from Manchester and it sees the airport as key to its Far East growth strategy.

Chief executive Jukka Hienonen told TheBusinessDesk: “Finnair continues to invest in Manchester as we believe there are still huge amounts of business to be won.

“Building on the strong product we’ve had in place for some time now, we continue to build our relationships with the Manchester and broader North West business community.

“We’re looking at doubling our sales from Manchester to Far East this year. The same goes for the UK market in total.”

Tomi Hanninen, the airlines UK sales director, added that although European business traffic has been impacted by the recession, volumes from the UK to the Far East have doubled – with Manchester volumes up by about a third.

Mr  Hienonen added: “Our target is to be the airline of choice to Far East Asia for the business travellers in the North West, without forgetting the large leisure customer base Manchester, and other areas in the airport catchment area, can offer.”

The airline is marketing its Manchester to Asia routes on the basis that Manchester has no direct routes to Asia other than Singapore. It says going via Helsinki rather than alternatives such as Paris or Frankfurt offers the shortest route for those travelling from the North West.