Finnair turns Asia focus to megacities due to Ukraine war

Airlines have battled through a terrible time over the past few years as the COVID pandemic upended travel and lockdowns grounded fleets. But few have endured as much as Finnair, which continues to face a closure of airspace over Russia after its neighbor invaded Ukraine, cutting off a main route for the airline and choking business from its key Asian markets. While major airlines recover from the pandemic slump, Finland's flagship carrier is changing course to cope with its Russian airspace challenge, focusing on Asian megacities like Shanghai and exploring expansions in other regions. Jenni Suomela, vice president for global sales and channel management, told Nikkei Asia recently that while Asia was "very important" and "at the core of Finnair's strategy still," the company last September reformulated its strategy when it became apparent that Russia's war in Ukraine was unlikely to end soon. "When we talk about the more balanced network, [Asia] is not the only thing that we do," Suomela said at Finnair's headquarters, overlooking Helsinki's airport. "And that's also a mindset change within Finnair." Celebrating 100 years of operations this year, Finnair wants to leave the past few years behind. After years of basing its growth strategy almost entirely on its role as a transit hub between Europe and Asia, Finnair is now looking also at expanding in Europe and the Middle East. Finnair used to boast the fastest connection between key Asian cities and Europe, but these flights now take 10% to 40% longer because its planes can no longer fly over Russia. Helsinki-Tokyo service that used to take around nine hours, now grinds on for around 13. This means higher labor, navigation and fuel costs. In the third quarter of 2022, Finnair made its first profit since 2019, before the pandemic struck. <br/>