Finnair’s goal under its new Vision 2020 plan is to be recognized as the number-one airline in the Nordic countries and to be the most desired option among passengers flying between Western and Northern Europe and Asia.
The airline says it also wants to be among the three largest operators in terms of transit traffic between Asia and Europe. According to Finnair, the cornerstones of its growth strategy are Asia’s growing market, the ability to offer the best flight connections on Asia-Europe routes, and cost-competitiveness. “Our success factors are quality, freshness and creativity,” Finnair says in a May 6 statement.
“For us, number one in the Nordic countries means that we fly more and more profitably than others and we are the best in terms of quality,” explains Mika Vehviläinen, Finnair’s new president and CEO, who took the helm upon his predecessor’s retiring from the position at the end of January.
Finnair boasts that it has one of the most modern fleets of any European airline and says investment in new aircraft is the foundation of its strategy to grow in an environmentally sustainable way. This photograph shows one of the airline's Airbus A340-300 widebodies, which Finnair uses for flights between Helsinki and Asian destinations
In its marketing, Finnair will primarily target business, leisure and cargo customers in the Northern Europe market, and in Asia’s rapidly growing economies. “We will utilize the latest marketing and communications means to reach customers,” the airline says in its statement.
According to Finnair, the concept of communality is becoming increasingly global and it expects work- and leisure-related networking to expand massively in coming years. But while “technology offers many means for this, human, face-to-face interaction ― whether between business associates, relatives or friends ― will not be replaced,” says Vehviläinen.
At the same time, says Finnair, new worldwide sales channels such as the Internet are creating new global markets for many products. This growth will drive demand for cargo services. “Finnair’s wide and dense long-haul route network forms an effective part of this distribution network,” the airline states.
Finnair has embarked upon renewing its identity, which will be based on design ― a skill in which Finns, on occasion, lead the world. The airline says it is looking to answer customer needs and expectations with “open-minded and innovative solutions”, making the travel experience “enjoyable, easy and fresh”.
“Finnair’s design is authentic, straightforward, practical, stylish and timeless,” says Vehviläinen.
The airline says it plans to offer frequent flyers reliable and easy-to-use services which make business travel efficient and enjoyable. “Leisure travellers will enjoy a price-competitive product, which can be supplemented by the additional services of their own choosing,” Finnair adds ― which appears to mean it is adopting an à la carte policy toward main-cabin pricing, at least on short-haul routes.
“All customers are important to us. Our primary target group, however, is the business passenger travelling between Asia and Europe, irrespective of travel class,” says Vehviläinen.
Finnair says its best traffic-growth opportunities are between Asia and Europe and says its home market is expanding into Scandinavia, “where Finnair’s Asian product in particular stands supreme,” according to the airline. “Traffic between India and North America is also a natural direction of expansion,” it adds.
Aiming to be the choice of the quality- and environmentally conscious passenger, Finnair also plans to grow in an environmentally sustainable way. The carrier says its commitment to sustainable development is best evidenced in its investment in a modern fleet. Its goal is to reduce emissions by 24 per cent per passenger by 2017. If achieved, this would represent a 41 per cent reduction in emissions per passenger since 1999, says Finnair.
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