Associated Press
Finnair Posts 25 Percent Passenger Gain
Wednesday July 7, 5:19 am ET
Finnair Posts 25 Percent Gain in Number of Passengers for June
HELSINKI, Finland (AP) -- The number of passengers flying Finnair increased in June by 25 percent compared to the same time a year ago, the airline said Wednesday, thanks in part to an increase in flights to Asia.
In all, 709,000 passengers flew Finnair in June as fears of the aftermath of the war in Iraq and severe acute respiratory syndrome in Asia subsided.
The airline's routes to Asia also showed strong gains, with the number of passengers flying to China, Japan, Thailand and Singapore reaching 50,300 for the month, a gain of 157.3 percent. European routes also were strong, with the airline reporting a 26.9 percent gain in passenger traffic for the month.
In 2003, 6.8 million passengers flew Finnair, down 3.5 percent on 2002, mainly because of reduced demand caused by the Iraqi war in the first quarter and the SARS epidemic in the second quarter. Toward the end of the year, it reported a turnaround.
Finnair, one of the world's oldest airlines, is a member of the OneWorld alliance, which includes American Airlines and British Airways.