Finnair is preparing to increase demand this summer

Finnair is recalling crews from vacation and opening new routes as it plans to increase demand in the summer of 2022.

“The second half of 2021 showed that there is a great deal of deferred demand,” CEO Topi Manner said after the airline announced its 2021 financial results on February 17, 2022.

The carrier returned to operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2021, for the first time since the last three months of 2019, thanks to a return in demand for travel.

Omicron encouraged customers to reschedule flights and led to an increase in illness of Finnair staff and partners, but the carrier said the effects were diminishing.

“Omicron has proven to be softer than previous versions, and when the Omicron wave starts to weaken, European countries are lifting restrictions. The pandemic is entering an endemic phase when COVID-19 is considered a common respiratory infection, ”Manner added.

The Finnish carrier expects that in the second half of 2022, with the exception of China and Hong Kong, operations will be close to pre-crisis levels with a return to 2019 levels in 2023.

Other European carriers, such as Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air, are also looking forward to demand in the summer of 2022.

While restrictions in Europe are easing, the Finnish airline has been forced to postpone its expectations to return to significant trips to Asia, one of the key markets.

“We believe that, apart from China and Hong Kong, next summer we will be closer to a normal operational environment, even if the discovery of Asia is delayed compared to our previous assessment,” said Manner.

In October 2021, Finnair expected Asia to be “significantly” open to travelers in early 2022. Now the wave of COVID-19 Omicron has beaten that estimate. While some countries, such as Singapore, Thailand and India, are open, Finnair now believes that other Asian markets will only open “gradually” for travel by the end of the second quarter of 2022.

In 2021, Finnair’s comparable operating losses amounted to 469 million euros ($ 533 million), which exceeds the losses in 2020 of 595 million euros ($ 677 million).

Finnair expects losses to continue until the first half of 2022 due to the ongoing effects of Omicron, travel restrictions in Asia and rising fuel prices.