Finnair will reduce its fleet, cut costs and seek to build a geographically more balanced network by increasing cooperation with partner airlines, the Finnish flag carrier said on Wednesday in a new strategy to return to profitability. Finnair has been working on a new strategy and seeking new commercially-feasible routes since the closure of Russian airspace due to the war in Ukraine cut off its previously lucrative Asian connections via a short northern route. The company, headed for a third straight annual loss, had said it needed a new strategy to address high fuel prices, the pandemic and the impact of war in Ukraine. "Now we need to get along without the geographic competitive advantage and adapt to the reality that geography has changed, the Russian airspace is closed," Finnair's CE Topi Manner told Reuters. To adapt, Finnair will seek to reduce costs in order to enter new, more competitive markets such as the Middle East where there is less regulation, Manner said. The company is seeking additional savings of the same scale as the E200 programme it has already completed, he said. The cost savings include reductions to Finnair's fleet, to be decided later according to demand, Manner said. "For our long-haul fleet, it is clear that we will continue operating our Airbus 350s but also the Airbus 330s because they are part of our recently announced Qatar cooperation," he said.<br/>
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Dnata ground handlers have called off next week’s 24-hour strike after securing an immediate 12.6% pay rise. The TWU said the deal also stopped “attempts to scale back overtime entitlements” and would amount to a 17% pay increase over four years. Workers had been due to strike on Monday in a move that would have caused huge disruption for Qantas international passengers, as well as those flying with Emirates and Etihad. The Flying Kangaroo outsourced 2,000 in-house ground handling roles to third-party companies, including Dnata and Swissport last year. The Federal Court twice ruled that decision breached the Fair Work Act, but crucially said those employees won’t be able to get their old jobs back and instead must accept compensation. The TWU had argued that the deal struck between Qantas and Dnata led to worse working terms than ground handlers previously received while working direct for the airline. The union’s national secretary, Michael Kaine, said, “After more than two years of turmoil for Dnata workers denied JobKeeper, they’re thrilled to have locked in greater financial security and the possibility of converting casual and part-time roles to secure, full-time positions. “It’s a relief for hardworking families that last resort strike action is no longer necessary. It shouldn’t be so hard for workers to achieve pay increases above bare minimums and job security. In Qantas’ supply chain, workers have had to take on a corporate dictatorship squeezing pay and conditions through commercial pressures after Qantas management illegally outsourced work.”<br/>
A Qantas passenger says up to 60 people were not screened in a security mishap at Sydney airport, leading to armed federal police escorting weary travellers through a Melbourne terminal on Wednesday night. Qantas flight QF487 from Sydney to Melbourne landed at 9.01pm, before the captain informed 225 passengers and crew onboard that security officials would take them through the airport because a person had boarded without completing airport security in Sydney.<br/>A passenger, who spoke on Melbourne radio station 3AW on the condition of anonymity, said he was at the centre of the security incident after he flew from Orange – which does not screen passengers – and was not checked before entering the screened area of Sydney airport. “I reckon there were between 40 to 60 passengers that all were unscreened,” he said. The passenger said he reported not being checked to Qantas staff in the Sydney business lounge as he was a regular traveller and knew he should have been screened, before going back through Sydney airport security. “I thought that would be the end of it,” he said. The man said airport staff told him “they had never seen a security breach like this before” and they attempted to review CCTV footage to determine how many people had not been screened. The passenger said he thought the armed escort at Melbourne airport would have occurred for other flights landing elsewhere, given he was not the only Qantas passenger to enter the air-side of the Sydney terminal without being checked. A Qantas spokesperson said in a statement that a passenger boarded the Melbourne-bound flight after inadvertently passing from an unscreened to a screened part of Sydney airport.<br/>