Tag Archives: ZRH

Swiss dedicates its first Bombardier CS300 to Swiss Romandy and its citizens

Swiss International Air Lines on June 14, 2017 made this announcement:

As a testimony to its commitment, Swiss International Air Lines is dedicating its very first Bombardier CS300 to Swiss Romandy and its citizens. A wide-scale two-phase competition was held over a number of months. Firstly, Swiss asked the Swiss Romands: “What does Swiss Romandy mean to you?” The response quote was phenomenal: more than 7,000 people answered with a slogan, a phrase or just a word. Their replies once again demonstrated the diversity and richness of Swiss Romandy. But all the answers had one thing in common: pride in the region, its nature, its inhabitants and their achievements. There was also a second question: “Who is your Swiss Romand hero?” Swiss received many testimonies inspired by very poignant personal stories, sometimes amusing but mostly moving. SWISS then chose 49 of these stories at random and their heroes’ names are each printed on one of the seats of the new aircraft.

The artist: Mathias Forbach, also known as Fichtre

The artist was truly inspired by the competition results. Mathias Forbach, also known as Fichtre, immersed himself in the replies before producing a graphic interpretation of the plethora of ideas put forward on this beautiful region. He says of the project: “Every artist’s goal is to broadcast their art and give it wings … what better way to do that than on an aeroplane!”

A special livery for the first Swiss CS300

“The Swiss Romands’ aeroplane”, the CS300, will wear its new colors for the next 12 months. No less than 300 square meters of special film were printed and carefully applied to the plane in a 36-hour-long process. The aircraft will be based in Geneva and will serve 27 destinations including Palma (in summer), St. Petersburg (in winter) and Dublin (all year round).

Swiss renews its Geneva fleet

The CS300 has 145 seats, 20 more than the CS100. By the end of 2018, the SWISS short-haul fleet in Geneva will consist exclusively of Bombardier C Series. In total, the company plans to add one CS100 and seven CS300s to replace (amongst others) the seven Airbus A320-family aircraft currently stationed at Cointrin airport. Swiss is thus reaffirming its commitment to the Geneva site and Swiss Romandy as a whole.

Biography – Mathias Forbach

Mathias Forbach (Fichtre) studied at the École Cantonale d’Art in Lausanne and graduated from there in 2005 with a Bachelor in Media & Interaction Design. He began teaching illustration at the École Cantonale d’Art in Sierre, Valais in 2009, and decided in 2012 to proceed his artistic education by following the Work.Master programme at the Haute École d’Art et de Design in Geneva. In 2014, he co-founded STADIO art gallery in Vevey with Joëlle Nicolas, Guillaume Ehinger and Jacques Duboux, and was awarded a Masters degree in Visual Arts in 2015. As a freelance graphic artist, he uses drawing and illustration as means for experimentation and research. The exhibition space is core to his approach, and he is constantly questioning and changing it. It is a multi-faceted vector, with infinite possibilities, a revival of graphic languages. The result is a “hyperarea”, a continent with undefined edges, which reminds us that visual art is limitless, as is the variation of its medium.

Copyright Photo: Swiss International Air Lines Bombardier CS300 (BD-500-1A11) HB-JCA (msn 55010) (Swiss Romandy) ZRH (Rolf Wallner). Image: 938219.

Lufthansa Group airlines to fly to 255 destinations in 101 countries this winter

The airlines in the Lufthansa group – Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Lufthansa and Swiss International Air Lines – will be even a more attractive option for winter holidaymakers and business travellers this winter.

In the forthcoming 2016/2017 winter flight timetable, the airlines of the Lufthansa Group will offer its customers precisely 19,838 flights each week around the world. This winter, the Lufthansa Group airlines will link 255 destinations in 101 countries via its hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna and Brussels, but also via many point-to-point routes. These services will be supplemented by more than 18,000 code-sharing flights with some 30 partner airlines, offering passengers a network which almost spans the globe. The winter flight timetables for the individual Group airlines apply from Sunday, 30 October 2016 to Saturday, 25 March 2017.

Key news from the Lufthansa group airlines:

Lufthansa

Lufthansa lists a total of 194 destinations in its winter flight timetable and offers approximately 9,668 flights a week. There is some good news for travellers who love South Africa: Lufthansa is adding a service from Frankfurt to Cape Town (South Africa) to its flight timetable again this winter. Starting on 2 December 2016, a Lufthansa aircraft will take off from Frankfurt every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday bound for the port city near Table Mountain. This year-round service expands the Lufthansa Group’s multi-hub portfolio and perfectly complements the seasonal service previously operated out of Munich and Zurich in conjunction with Edelweiss.

Flights will also run to San Jose (USA) in Silicon Valley over winter, along with the attractive dream destinations of Mauritius, Malé (Maldives) and Cancún (Mexico). Lufthansa has significantly increased the number of connections to Nairobi (Kenya), Dallas (USA) and Poona (India).

Funchal (Madeira) is being added to the European program, with a once-weekly flight to the city commencing on 29 October 2016. Thanks to mild weather all year round, the Portuguese island primarily attracts walkers during the winter season.

The list of new European destinations served out of Frankfurt also includes Tromsø (Norway) and Ivalo (Finland), with one flight to each per week. With these two new destinations and its existing twice-weekly service from Munich to Kittilä (Finland), Lufthansa will fly to three attractive tourist destinations in the far north of Europe. This region is gaining in popularity among winter sports enthusiasts and holidaymakers keen to see the northern lights. The summer destination of Tirana (Albania) will remain on the winter flight timetable, with daily flights to the city from Frankfurt. There will be an increase in the number of connections from Frankfurt to Friedrichshafen and Wrocław (Poland) over winter.

A new year-round service to Marrakesh (Morocco) will be offered out of Munich. Lufthansa will start operating this route on 30 October, taking passengers to the Moroccan city twice a week. Denver (USA) and Tehran (Iran) will be added to the winter flight timetable as new destinations and there will be more frequent services to Los Angeles, Miami (both USA) and Tel Aviv (Israel).

Debrecen (Hungary), Odessa (Ukraine) and Porto (Portugal) will remain on the timetable. Passengers will be able to fly from Munich to the Polish city of Rzeszów this winter for the first time. There will also be additional weekly services to Ancona (Italy) and Graz (Austria). Twice as many flights will run to Malta.

Austrian Airlines

In winter 2016/2017, Austrian Airlines will offer its passengers a wide range of up to 130 destinations in 56 countries. The Austrian carrier is stepping up its focus on tourist destinations over winter. For instance, a Boeing 767 will fly to the Cuban city of Havana once a week starting on 25 October. In addition, there will be direct flights from Vienna to the Maldives and Mauritius up to twice a week. The airline will offer as many as two weekly connections to Marrakesh and a once-weekly flight to Colombo in Sri Lanka in its winter flight timetable. With these additions, Austrian will address its strong seasonality and fly to an interesting range of sunny destinations in winter as well as in summer.

Brussels Airlines

Brussels Airlines will serve a large number of new destinations this winter. Starting on 6 March 2017, the Belgian airline will fly to the Indian metropolis of Mumbai from Brussels five times a week. The new service to Toronto (Canada), which was introduced during the last flight timetable period, will continue to run over winter.

There is good news for anyone looking to travel to Africa. The seating capacity on flights to the popular winter destinations of Banjul (Gambia) and Dakar (Senegal) will be increased and more frequent services to Entebbe (Uganda) and Kigali (Rwanda) will make it easier to travel to East Africa.

Compared with last winter, Brussels Airlines has significantly expanded its flight timetable, adding services from Brussels to Porto (Portugal), Naples (Italy), Belfast (Ireland), Nuremberg (Germany) and Nantes (France). On top of this, the airline is increasing its weekly flights to Lisbon (Portugal), Málaga, Tenerife (both Spain), Edinburgh (UK) and Billund (Denmark).

Eurowings

Eurowings will further add to its growing list of services from Austria in the new winter flight timetable. For the first time, Eurowings Europe aircraft will fly from the new base in Salzburg to Zurich (Switzerland) six times a week, Geneva (Switzerland) three times a week, Brussels (Belgium) four times, Paris (France) five times and Hamburg (Germany) three times a week. There will be seven flights per week to Cologne-Bonn (Germany).

A host of attractive new destinations will be served out of Vienna this winter. Eurowings passengers will be able to fly to Málaga, Fuerteventura and Las Palmas twice a week or head to the Andalusian city of Jerez de la Frontera (all Spain) once a week. Rome and Pisa will be added to the list of destinations in Italy. Passengers looking to soak up the Egyptian sun over winter can now fly from Vienna to Marsa Alam (Egypt) once a week. A new once-weekly service will also be available to Faro (Portugal). Passengers will also be able to fly to Nuremberg (Germany) eleven times a week over winter. Thanks to the expansion of the flight timetable at the new foreign base in Vienna, passengers will be able to reach 18 destinations for the first time.

During the winter season, the long-haul programme will be expanded with a once-weekly flight from Cologne to the Cuban capital of Havana. The first winter service from Cologne to Miami (USA) and back will also be introduced. This US destination was first included in the flight timetable in summer 2016. There will be more frequent long-haul services from Cologne to Varadero (Cuba), Mauritius and Phuket (Thailand).

The destinations of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura (both Spain) and Lisbon (Portugal) will be added to the list of flights out of Düsseldorf. Passengers will be offered new services from Hamburg to Tenerife and Fuerteventura (both Spain) this winter.

In the new winter flight timetable 2016/2017, Eurowings will serve 91 destinations in 34 countries.

Swiss

In the forthcoming winter flight timetable, the new Swiss long-haul aircraft, a Boeing 777-300ER (above), will be used for flights to Miami and San Francisco for the first time. Starting on 3 March 2017, the new flagship will also fly to Singapore every day. This service is currently run three times a week using a Boeing 777-300ER. Swiss will also step up its weekly connections to Hamburg, Berlin (both Germany), Cracow (Poland) and Belgrade (Serbia) in winter. Between 4 and 25 February 2017, SWISS will also offer a number of new scheduled flights between Zurich, Sion (Valais, Switzerland) and London City (UK) to meet the demand for attractive services catering for winter tourism. Swiss will use larger aircraft on flights to Spain (Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia), Portugal (Lisbon) and Italy (Rome, Florence) this winter.

In the new winter flight timetable 2016/2017, SWISS will serve 100 destinations in 44 countries.

In addition to this, Swiss will offer connections to holiday destinations around the world in conjunction with its partner Edelweiss during the winter season 2016/2017. More frequent flights will be offered to the Canary Islands. For the first time, there will be five flights a week to Tenerife, four to Gran Canaria and two to both Fuerteventura and Lanzarote (all Spain). Passengers will also be able to fly to Seville (Spain) twice a week over winter for the first time.

Bombardier CS100 completes its first passenger demonstration flight

https://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/World-Airline-News/World-Airline-News-June-2016/i-rCspF6D/A

Bombardier issued this statement:

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft announced on June 6, 2016 the successful completion of a C Series aircraft demonstration flight carrying senior executives from about twenty Star Alliance member airlines and media representatives. The historic flight of the innovative C Series aircraft, which features state-of-the-art technologies, departed Dublin at the conclusion of the 2016 Annual General Meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on June 3, 2016.

The CS100 airliner carrying 100 passengers, along with six Bombardier crew members, was operated by Bombardier’s crew and featured the livery of launch customer Swiss International Air Lines. With the passengers, their luggage and fuel on board, Bombardier confirmed to passengers that its calculations indicated the aircraft could have flown direct from Dublin to Montréal. The one hour and 50 minutes ride from Dublin to Zurich consumed 20 per cent less fuel than competing single-aisle aircraft currently flying that route.

Swiss will take delivery of the first C Series aircraft.

C-GWXZ is pictured arriving at Zurich after the historic first passenger flight.

Copyright Photo: Swiss International Air Lines Bombardier CS100 (BD-500-1A10) C-GWXZ (msn 50005) ZRH (Rolf Wallner). Image: 933229.

Edelweiss returns to Calgary with seasonal flights to Zurich

https://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/World-Airline-News/World-Airline-News-May-2016/i-7D7hdtb/A

Edelweiss returned to the Alberta on Sunday, May 29, 2016 with the inaugural flight of its nonstop seasonal service from Calgary International Airport (YYC) to Zurich. The service from the Swiss airline is a result of close cooperation between The Calgary Airport Authority and its many tourism partners such as the Government of Alberta, Travel Alberta, Tourism Calgary, and Banff and Lake Louise Tourism.

Edelweiss will operate twice-weekly from June to September with an Airbus A330 aircraft adding nearly 600 seats a week into the Calgary market, aligning with YYC’s strategic plan to create more connections for Albertans across the world.

Air Canada increases the number of weekly flights on the Brisbane route

https://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Canada/Airlines-Canada/i-kZhbVwD

Air Canada (Montreal) has announced it plans to increase its new nonstop flights from Vancouver to Brisbane, Australia to daily from three times weekly beginning June 17, 2016.

The route is operated with Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft featuring 20 International Brouteusiness Class lie-flat seat suites, 21 Premium Economy and 210 Economy Class seats.

As a result of its ongoing expansion, Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 63 airports in Canada, 52 in the United States and 86 in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America.

This year to date, Air Canada has launched new international services from Montreal-Venice, Montreal-Mexico City, Toronto-Amsterdam, Toronto-Dubai, Toronto-Delhi and Vancouver-Osaka.

Next summer, Air Canada will be launching new international services from Montreal-Casablanca, Montreal-Lyon, Toronto-Prague, Toronto-Budapest, Toronto-Glasgow, Toronto-London Gatwick, Toronto-Warsaw, Toronto-Seoul, Vancouver-Brisbane and Vancouver-Dublin.

Air Canada aircraft slide show:

SAS schedules the last Boeing 717 revenue flight for October 31

Scandinavian Airlines-SAS (Stockholm) is now planning to operate the last Boeing 717 revenue flight on October 31. The last flight is currently scheduled to be flight SK1768 between Prague and Stockholm (Arlanda) according to Airline Route. The 717s are operated by Blue1 (Helsinki) for SAS.

As previously reported, SAS sold Blue1 to CityJet and will continue to operate operate other aircraft types for SAS under contract.

Copyright Photo: Andi Hiltl/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 717-23S OH-BLP (msn 55064) in the Star Alliance scheme departs from Zurich.

Blue1 aircraft slide show:

Airline Aircraft Type “Endangered Species List” (kept up to date): CLICK HERE

Germania Flug (Switzerland) takes delivery of its first Airbus A321

Germania Flug AG (Holiday Jet) (Switzerland) (Zurich) has taken delivery of its first Airbus A321. The pictured Airbus A321-211 HB-JOI (msn 5843, ex D-ASTD) was delivered on October 21 from the German parent Germania (Berlin-Schonefeld). The new type went into service yesterday (October 25) from Zurich and Geneva to Pristina, Kosovo and Skopje for tour operator Air Prishtina according to ch-aviation.

Copyright Photo: Andi Hiltl/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A321-211 HB-JOI prepares for takeoff at Zurich with the new Swiss registration and flag.

Germania Flug (Switzerland) aircraft slide show:

CityJet to acquire Blue1, CityJet will operate 8 CRJ900s for SAS

Scandinavian Airlines-SAS (Stockholm) has made this announcement today:

SAS’s strategy is to offer frequent travelers a broad network with frequent flights to, from and within Scandinavia. To adapt the size of the production to traffic flows SAS utilizes hired capacity, known as a wet lease, with smaller regional jet and turboprop aircraft.

In line with this strategy, SAS has entered into an agreement with CityJet (Dublin) on the wet lease of eight new Bombardier CRJ900s. SAS already operates twelve regional jet aircraft of this type through its subsidiary, Cimber.

The new aircraft, which each have 90 seats and are painted in SAS colors, will be put into service from March 2016 on routes and at times when there is a need for smaller aircraft. The wet lease agreement is for three years and covers eight Bombardier CRJ900s with an option on a further six aircraft.

As part of this collaboration, CityJet is acquiring 100% of the shares in SAS subsidiary Blue1. The sale of Blue1 will lead to a marginal impact on SAS’s income before tax, cash and net debt. The Group’s income after tax during Q4 2014/2015 will be negatively impacted of around MSEK 90, primarily due to write down of capitalized loss carry forwards. The sale and the new wet lease agreement are expected to increase cost efficiency and flexibility.

Above Copyright Photo: Rolf Wallner/AirlinersGallery.com. It is unclear what CityJet will do with Blue1. Blue1 currently operates five Boeing 717-200s and SAS is selling the 717s to Volotea and Delta. The type is due to be retired at Blue1 next month. Will Blue1 operate the CRJ900s for SAS? Boeing 717-23S OH-BLM (msn 55066) taxies at Zurich.

Airline Aircraft Type “Endangered Species List”:

CityJet is a European airline that was founded in 1992. CityJet has a fleet of 18 Avro RJ85 jet aircraft and it operates over 680 flights per week throughout Europe.

In the meantime, CityJet made this announcement today:

CityJet wins major contract to operate SAS regional routes and places order for up to 14 Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft.

Irish airline CityJet has been awarded a major wet lease contract by SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) to operate a network of regional routes from Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm . Commencing in March 2016, CityJet will operate services on behalf of SAS using eight new aircraft, with an option to increase to 14 aircraft in 2017.

CityJet has also announced that it is to acquire eight 90-seat Bombardier CRJ900 regional jets, major components of which are manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace in Belfast. The CRJ900 fleet will be operated exclusively on behalf of SAS, with all aircraft in SAS colors and crewed by CityJet staff.

In addition to the eight aircraft in 2016, the contract has potential to add six further aircraft in 2017, bringing the total aircraft value to over $650m;

Since becoming independent last year, CityJet has seen continual growth across its network, and will carry over two million passengers this year on its scheduled services, charter services, and a Paris-based wet lease programme for Air France.

The airline has recorded 40% growth on its key route Dublin to London City route in the last six months, as well as strong advance bookings for the new Cork to London City service, which commences today and will see up to eighteen flights a week on the route.

CityJet now employs almost 500 staff, with over 300 based at its headquarters in Swords, County Dublin, and additional crew bases in London and Paris.

Top Copyright Photo: Paul Bannwarth/AirlinersGallery.com. SAS Bombardier CRJ900 (CL-600-2D24) OY-KFD (msn 14221) prepares to land in Zurich.

SAS aircraft slide show:

CityJet aircraft slide show:

Blue1 aircraft slide show:

SAS to open new routes to Los Angeles and Miami

Scandinavian Airlines-SAS (Stockholm) is expanding and opening three new nonstop routes to USA in 2016. The new routes being launched are Los Angeles from Stockholm (Arlanda), Miami from Oslo and Miami from Copenhagen.

SAS is also increasing the number of departures from Stockholm (Arlanda) to New York (JFK) and Chicago (O’Hare) and between Copenhagen and Shanghai.

That means that SAS will now offer over 330,000 additional seats on its intercontinental routes in 2016.

The first flight to Los Angeles will depart on March 14, 2016 and SAS will have daily departures from Stockholm to Los Angeles throughout the summer season and five-six departures a week in the winter season.

The first flights to Miami are expected to depart in the fall of 2016 and the Miami route will have a daily departure from Scandinavia.

Timetable Stockholm Arlanda – Los Angeles

Daily departures from Arlanda (SK933) at 09.50 arriving in Los Angeles 12.15.
Daily departures from Los Angeles (SK934) at 14.15 arriving at Arlanda 10.00.

Timetable Copenhagen – Miami

Departures Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays from Copenhagen (SK953) 09.30 arriving in Miami 13.50.

Departures Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from Miami (SK954) 15.50 arriving in Copenhagen 07.10.

Timetable Oslo – Miami

Departures Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays from Oslo(SK955) 09.35 arriving in Miami 13.50.
Departures Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays from Miami (SK956) 15.50 arriving in Oslo 07.05.

Stockholm – Hong Kong, September 2015

In addition to the new routes, SAS is increasing the frequency of its long haul routes starting with the winter program. SAS will then offer daily flights on the following routes:

Copenhagen – Shanghai (two additional departures each week)
Stockholm – Chicago (one additional departure each week)
Stockholm – New York (one additional departure each week)
Oslo – New York (one additional departure each week)
Copenhagen – San Francisco (one additional departure each week)

These new long haul routes and additional departures mean SAS will now offer its customers over 330,000 more seats on its intercontinental routes in 2016. SAS currently offers long haul flights from Scandinavia to New York, Washington DC, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo.

SAS aircraft slide show:

Finnair narrows its second quarter loss, hopes to break even or better for the year

Finnair (Helsinki) reported a second quarter net loss of €6 million, down from a larger 2Q net loss of €23.9 million in the same period a year ago.

CEO Pekka Vauramo commented on the results:

Our passenger traffic revenue from tickets and ancillary services saw strong growth in the second quarter of 2015, and we achieved a new record in June by carrying more than 37,500 passengers in one day. At the same time, ancillary sales grew by one third from the previous year. Our customers have heartily welcomed the Chicago route as well as our new seasonal summer routes, with demand exceeding our expectations. Furthermore, business travel has picked up noticeably.

Profitability improved significantly, although the operational result still showed a loss of 12.9 million euros. The result improvement is attributed to revenue growth in our core business operations, the progress of cost reduction measures and the decline in fuel prices, which is reflected in our costs gradually due to our hedging policy. The appreciation of the dollar diluted the benefit from fallen jet fuel price and significantly increased our other dollar-denominated costs, but at the same time, the appreciation of our income currencies boosted our revenues particularly in Asia. In addition, our positive performance was supported by the result improvement at Aurinkomatkat Suntours.

While we cannot be satisfied with our loss-making result, our financial position and liquidity are very strong. Our long-haul fleet renewal, which will start this autumn, will significantly improve the cost-competitiveness and customer experience of our long-haul traffic. At the same time, we will continue to focus on increasing our revenue through, for example, ancillary services and product improvements in intercontinental traffic.

We are moving in the right direction and our strategy, which was updated in the spring, is clear. Our goal is profitable growth, which we will be better equipped to achieve once the Airbus A350 aircraft start joining our fleet later this year. They will enable the gradual growth of capacity and substantially reduce our fuel costs on long-haul flights. In addition, we have begun to recruit cabin crew with a view to future growth. Our whole team is enthusiastically preparing for Finnair’s next phase.

Here are the details:

Finnair Plc. Interim report August 14, 2015:

April-June 2015

Revenue on a par with second quarter of 2014, at 561.0 million euros (565.7).
Operational result improved to -12.9 million euros (-19.6).
Operational EBITDAR was 37.4 million euros (35.5).
Net cash flow from operating activities stood at 88.4 million euros (69.2), and cash flow from investments totalled -53.7 million euros (-92.3).
Unit cost at constant currency excluding fuel (CASK excl. fuel) increased by 0.7% year-on-year.
Unit revenue at constant currency (RASK) decreased by 1.9% year-on-year.
Earnings per share amounted to -0.06 cents (-0.20).

January-June 2015

Revenue on a par with first half of 2014, at 1,101.4 million euros (1,109.0).
Operational result improved to -41.3 million euros (-53.9).
Operational EBITDAR was 56.6 million euros (53.0).
Net cash flow from operating activities stood at 101.4 million euros (48.7), and cash flow from investments totalled 89.2 million euros (141.4).
Unit cost at constant currency excluding fuel (CASK excl. fuel) increased by 0.9% year-on-year.
Unit revenue at constant currency (RASK) decreased by 1.2% year-on-year.
Earnings per share amounted to -0.16 cents (-0.44).
Finnair updates its guidance and estimates that, in 2015, its operational result is around break-even or slightly positive.

Outlook

Outlook published on May 7, 2015

The demand outlook for passenger and cargo traffic in Finnair’s main markets still involves uncertainty. Finnair estimates that, in 2015, its capacity measured in Available Seat Kilometres will grow by approximately 3 per cent and that its revenue will remain at the 2014 level. Finnair further estimates, as a change to its previous guidance, and when calculated with the same accounting principles as earlier, that its unit costs excluding fuel will increase from the 2014 level due to the structural changes in the company’s business and the strong appreciation of the US dollar. By applying the changed calculation method, that neutralises the effect of these changes as defined in notes 16 and 18 to the interim financial statements, Finnair estimates that its 2015 unit costs excluding fuel at constant currency will decrease from the 2014 level.

The lower price of jet fuel and the full impact from the completed savings program are supporting the financial performance of Finnair 2015.

According to its disclosure policy, Finnair will issue guidance on the expected development of its operational result in connection with the January–June interim report. As a separate guidance Finnair estimates that, when calculated using the exchange rates effective at the end of the review period, the non-recurring items associated with the long haul fleet renewal in 2015 will have a substantial positive impact on Finnair’s operating result due to the strengthened US dollar. Finnair has previously estimated that the long haul fleet renewal would not have a significant effect on its operating result in 2014 and 2015. The non-recurring items related to the long haul fleet renewal react substantially to changes in the euro-dollar exchange rate.

Outlook on August 14, 2015

Finnair estimates that, in 2015, its operational result is around break-even or slightly positive.

Finnair reiterates its previous estimate that its capacity measured in Available Seat Kilometers will grow by approximately 3 per cent and that its revenue will remain approximately at the 2014 level. As a change to its previous estimate, the company now estimates that its 2015 unit costs excluding fuel at constant currency will remain at the 2014 level.

Finnair also reiterates as a separate guidance that, when calculated using the exchange rates effective at the end of the review period, the non-recurring items associated with the long haul fleet renewal in 2015 will have a substantial positive impact on Finnair’s operating result due to the strengthened US dollar.

Finnair aircraft slide show: