Finnair reorganizes to meet boom in Asian traffic

Finnair reorganizes to meet boom in Asian traffic Finnair Group subsidiary Finnair Cargo Oy said it is preparing for strong Asian traffic growth by reorganizing to increase cargo capacity at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.
   “We need a great deal more space for the needs of our growing Asian traffic. Our long-haul fleet is expanding strongly in the coming years, so we estimate cargo loads to double in less than 10 years. In response to this, our goal is to increase cargo terminal capacity from the current level,” said Antero Lahtinen, Finnair Cargo Oy managing director
   In 2006 Finnair carried 94 million kilos of air freight. Finnair’s cargo terminal handled 125 million kilos of cargo last year. The cargo terminal operations will be formed into a separate Finnair Group subsidiary called Finnair Cargo Terminal Operations Oy.
   Some 300 Finnair Cargo employees will transfer to the new company. Finnair Cargo Oy will focus on cargo transport company operations and will have a staff of about 100, more than half of which work outside Finland.
   “Cargo’s local terminal operations and, on the other hand, the global air freight operations and competition environment differ from each other greatly. With the arrangement we can improve financial transparency in accordance with Finnair Group’s strategy. At the same time this enables us to develop the companies in a more independent direction,” Lahtinen said.