Finnair scales back full-year guidance after strike-hit first quarter loss

Finnair has slightly scaled back its full-year revenue and capacity expectations for 2024 after posting a first-quarter comparable operating loss of E11.6m for the first three months of the year. The loss compares to a small profit of nearly E1m for the first quarter of last year and partly reflects the impact of strike disruption by transport workers protesting government reforms during the period. Finnair revenues fell 2% to E681.5m in Q1, with lower cargo yields also responsible for the reduced turnover: cargo revenues were 13% down compared with the same period in 2023. ”Demand remained good in the quarter and customers booked trips especially for the upcoming summer season,” says Finnair interim chief executive Jaakko Schildt. ”As a result of the successful pricing, our yields remained strong despite a slight decrease year on year.” Finnair, which is this year bringing back some of the aircraft which it redeployed on wet-lease operations following the pandemic, had originally expected to increase capacity by more than 10% across 2024 and for revenues to grow at a “somewhat slower pace” than capacity.<br/>