Short Term Outlook
There is a strong growth in demand for Finnair services during the first quarter. The capacity of the Finnair Group's airlines is expected to grow in the first half of 2004 by more than 15 per cent. A significant increase in long-haul traffic capacity, particularly in Asia, as well as Nordic Airlink's capacity in Scandinavia contribute to growth in capacity.
In 2004 Finnair will purchase two and lease two new Airbus A320 series aircraft, bringing the total number of Airbus aircraft in the fleet to 29. Capital expenditure for the year is expected to total around 120 million euros.
The market situation continues to be tight and as a result the average price level is expected to fall clearly. Overcapacity and weak dollar have an impact on the decline in price level.
The company's operational efficiency programme will proceed in accordance with a strategy of focusing on core operations. The number of Group employees is expected to decline further to approximately 9,400 at the end of the year, which compares with a figure of 9,850 at the end of 2003.
The result for the full year 2004 is expected to improve clearly from the previous year and to be a profit. Possible materialization of an external factor, that would have an adverse impact on the results, is not included in the estimate. These include pandemic, political conflicts or other comparable events.
FINNAIR PLC
Board of Directors |