Finnair deploys all-new fleet as traffic to India spurts

New Delhi: Nordic carrier Finnair has deployed an all-new fleet to India even as its passenger load factor on the Helsinki-New Delhi route has
seen a major spurt this year after the turbulent past season due to the global slowdown.
"The average age of aircraft deployed to India is just four months," said Kari Stolbow, Finnair's director for South Asia, underscoring how India has emerged as a major destination and growth centre for the 87-year-old carrier. "The oldest aircraft in the fleet is also just 11 months," Stolbow told media.
According to the senior Finnair executive, the Helsinki-based airline was now encouraged to look at restoring its service to Mumbai, apart from looking at some additional cities such as Chennai and Bangalore.
"We saw a passenger load factor of 91 percent in January and 84 percent in February. These are encouraging signs for us. Our strategy of keeping the fares competitive, despite the difficult year that 2009 was, seems to have paid off," said Stolbow.
Finnair currently flies six days a week to and out of the capital. While there is no service from Helsinki to the national capital on Mondays, there is no flight out of here on Tuesdays.
21/03/10 IANS/Economic Times

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Categories: Foreign Mar 2010