A continually developing logistics expert
Finnair's cargo operations, namely Finnair Cargo Oy, became part of the Scheduled Passenger Traffic division at the beginning of 2004. Most of cargo is carried on scheduled flights, so the merging of passenger and cargo traffic into the same division was a sensible step. Finnair Cargo Oy began 2003 under the leadership of its new managing director, Juha Kinnunen.
Cargo operations suffered from worldwide over-capacity, while demand has remained below the level of 2000. The war in Iraq had a rather minor impact on cargo operations. On the other hand, particularly on Asian routes, the capacity cuts in scheduled services due to the collapse in passenger demand caused by the SARS epidemic reduced cargo volumes significantly.
The opening of new routes in summer and autumn to Osaka in Japan and to Shanghai in China increased cargo traffic between Asia and Europe. The sixth MD-11 wide-bodied aircraft will bring additional cargo capacity during 2004. Plans also exist to expand cargo aircraft traffic on Asian routes.
The profitability of cargo traffic on North Atlantic routes was improved by cancelling an old agreement for cargo flights with an external cargo flight company. The capacity lost as a result was replaced through wider cooperation with the Emirates airline. In addition to North American capacity, strategic cooperation also covers traffic to the Persian Gulf region and to India.
Cargo flight capacity to Germany and the UK was transferred to traffic between Vienna and Helsinki. This will strengthen Finnair's opportunities to offer good links via the Helsinki Gateway between the cargo markets of Eastern Europe and Asia. Due to the shift in focus of the European cargo market to Eastern Europe, The European centre for Finnair's cargo sales was transferred from London to Frankfurt.
The company introduced a Revenue and Yield Management system, which was perceived to be necessary to optimize cargo revenue in passenger traffic. The reconciles supply and demand at the market price.
For the management of customer relationships, Finnair Cargo Oy introduced a new sales management system. An information system to improve customer service will also be introduced during 2004. The new system will improve tracking of cargo consignments along the entire logistics chain, not only during air transport. |