Finnair is making more commercial changes – this time cutting services to two of its domestic destinations.
Finnair ATR72-500 at Helsinki Vantaa Airport – Image, Economy Class and Beyond
The Finnish national carrier will cease flying between Helsinki and the cities of Turku and Tampere with a bus connection as of May 1, 2023. Currently, the scheduled flight time to Turku and Tampere is 35 minutes, but the actual flight time is about 25 minutes
The mid-day flights to these cities have been converted from air to bus operations already. This will mark the total conversion to bus operation.
Load factors on these routes are low, averaging at 35% load, which is no doubt contributing to the decision, with Finnair noting that most customers from the Tampere region come by rail, bus or car anyway.
The airline uses ATR72-500 turboprops on these routes.
During the summer of 2023, Finnair will operate four bus services per day between Turku and Helsinki Airport and four bus services per day between Tampere and Helsinki Airport. As of May 8, these routes start from the central bus stations of Turku and Tampere.
Bus connections can be purchased together with the connecting flight. With the bus connection included in the booking, Finnair also guarantees connections in case bus or flight schedules are delayed. In addition, customers arriving by bus at Helsinki Airport can use priority check-in, bag drop, and security for a smooth connection.
The buses run on biodiesel and have internet connectivity and USB charging possibilities for convenience.
In Quotes
Perttu Jolma, Vice President of Network, said
“The flights to Tampere and Turku are very short, and the relatively low passenger numbers – around 35 percent load factors – on these routes cause them to have a higher CO2 emission per passenger than many other short routes in our network, ”
“Road, or rail, transportation is a more sustainable option for connections between Helsinki Airport and these cities.”
“We understand that this decision disappoints customers who have used the flights, and we regret the inconvenience this causes them. We must, however, take both economic and environmental considerations into account,”
35% load factor… ouch.
Considering Finnair operates their ATR72-500 in a single-class layout, with 72 seats installed, that gives an average load of just over 25 passengers per flight.
Ouch.
Whilst there are plenty of noises being made about the environmental impact of such a short flight, if you were yielding a higher load – it might be viable.
25 passengers trying to fill an aircraft of 72 seats suggests more of a feeder route with Public Service Obligations, rather than a commercial operation, especially when passengers are making their own way to the Finnair hub in Helsinki.
Whilst the offering of a bus option may be useful (especially with the connection guarantees), it’ll be interesting to see the uptake in the medium term.
And if these Air-Bus routes survive.
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