Finnair steers toward third straight yearly loss, shares fall

Finland's national carrier Finnair (FIA1S.HE) posted a deeper-than-expected quarterly loss on Tuesday, and said the Ukraine war and lingering impact of the pandemic would keep the company in the red for a third straight year in 2022. The company said in the second quarter to end June it operated at just 64% of 2019 capacity as Russian airspace closures restricted flights to key Asian markets such as Japan and South Korea. While Finnair said demand has almost normalized in Europe and the United States, it plans to unveil a new strategy in the autumn to address the uncertain outlook that includes high fuel prices, the pandemic and the Ukraine war. "Finnair estimates that the difficult operating environment, inclusive of the closed Russian airspace, will prevail for a longer period," it said. "Therefore, the company is preparing a new strategy to improve its weak profitability and to strengthen its financial position."<br/>