In January, Finnair carried 85,600 passengers, which was 92.4% less than in the corresponding period of 2020 and 7.5% less than in December 2020. The COVID-19 impact, including the exceptionally strict travel restrictions imposed by several countries, still affected all passenger traffic figures. It was especially visible in the North Atlantic figures (no scheduled passenger flights in January).
The overall capacity measured in Available Seat Kilometers (ASKs) decreased in January by 89.8% year-on-year. Finnair operated 74 daily flights (cargo-only included) on average, which was 20.8% compared to January 2020. The differences between capacity figures are explained by the shorter operated flights on average and by the smaller gauge of operated aircraft compared to January 2020. Finnair’s traffic measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPKs) decreased by 96.7%. The Passenger Load Factor (PLF) decreased by 52.6% points to 25.4%.
The ASK decline in Asian traffic was 88.6%. The North Atlantic capacity decreased by 100.0%. For European traffic, the ASKs were down by 91.5%. The ASKs for domestic traffic decreased by 74.6%. RPKs decreased for Asian traffic by 98.6%, in North Atlantic traffic by 100.0%, in European traffic by 94.9% and in domestic traffic by 79.1%. The PLF was 10.1% in Asian traffic but it was supported by the strong cargo operations and a high cargo load factor.
The PLF was 42.9% in European traffic and 52.3% in domestic traffic, whereas there was no PLF figure for North Atlantic traffic since there were no passenger flights in January. Passenger numbers decreased in Asian traffic by 98.6%, in North Atlantic traffic by 100.0%, in European traffic by 93.4% and in domestic traffic by 82.2%.