Finnair scheduled passenger traffic increased over 47 percent in April 2004

Finnair scheduled traffic demand (RPK's = revenue passenger kilometers) increased in April by 47.6%. Passenger load factor was 66.7%, 11.2 percentage points higher than in April the year before. During the month, Finnair Group airlines transported 690,000 passengers, 28.0 % more than in 2003.

The total traffic (RPK's), summing up both scheduled and leisure traffic, increased by 36.0%, while the capacity (ASK) was up by 20.8%, resulting in a passenger load factor of 69.7%, 7.8 points higher than last year. The April 2003 comparison figures were weakened by the Iraq war and SARS, despite this, demand is rising steadily, as the total traffic growth rate compared with April 2002 was +11.8%.

Departure punctuality of scheduled flights was 93.7% (based on a fifteen minute standard), same as in April 2003. Including leisure flights departure punctuality was 93.0% (+0.0 p.p).

Finnair's subsidiary Aero Airlines AS, operating Tallinn-Helsinki route, carried 12,100 passengers (+13.0%). During April, Nordic Airlink carried 51,500 passengers on its Stockholm-based routes to Oslo, Copenhagen, Gothenburg and Lulea.

Scheduled traffic

Scheduled traffic (international + domestic) revenue passenger kilometers increased by 47.6%. The change in capacity was +22.8%. Passenger load factor was 66.7%, 11.2 percentage points higher than last year.

Scheduled international traffic, total number of passengers was up by 49.6%, partly affected by adding Nordic Airlink figures. Capacity in ASKs was +26.9%, while RPKs increased by 56.1%.

European scheduled traffic, ASKs increased by 21.5%, and as RPKs increased by 35.1%, the passenger load factor was 60.5%, up 6.1 points from 2003.

North Atlantic scheduled traffic, capacity decreased by 11.4%. Change in RPKs was +25.6%, and passenger load factor for April was 87.8%, 25.9 points higher than 2003.

Asian scheduled traffic, capacity increase was 49.6% due to the addition of Osaka flights in June and Shanghai flights in September 2003. Passenger traffic was up by 105.1%. Passenger load factor was 75.7%, 20.5 percentage points up. Compared with April 2002 the Asian traffic RPK's increased by 48.3%.

Domestic scheduled traffic increased by 10.9% on a capacity increase of 5.0%. Passenger load factor increased by 3.1 percentage points to 58.4%.

Leisure traffic

ASKs for leisure traffic increased in April by 15.0%, and RPKs increased by 12.4%, resulting in a passenger load factor of 79.2%, 1.8 points lower than last year.

Cargo

Cargo traffic increased by 13.4% in terms of cargo tonnes carried. Growth in scheduled traffic was +13.3%. Increase in Asian traffic was 34.4%. Volume in European traffic increased by 3.5%. In North-Atlantic traffic cargo volume decreased by 12.0%. Cargo traffic carried on chartered cargo flights increased 13.6%. Cargo load factor including all traffic categories was 59.1%. The cargo load factor in the Far Eastern traffic was 83.5% and in the North Atlantic traffic 72.9%.