Finnair terminates Ljubljana flights

Finnair has decided not to restore seasonal operations from Helsinki to Ljubljana next summer season as the carrier embarks on a major structural overhaul to maintain competitiveness and return to profitability. Ticket sales for the route for the summer of 2023 have now been discontinued. Finnair launched services to Ljubljana in 2006 and has served the city on a seasonal basis until the coronavirus pandemic. Despite plans to resume operations on the route this year, it postponed its plans until 2023. Finnair handled a notable number of transfer passengers from Asia on its Ljubljana service, with the carrier holding an 8% share of all single-ticket travellers between the continent and the Slovenian capital in the pre-pandemic 2019. That year, it handled a total of 32.218 passengers on the route, representing an increase of 11% on 2018 when it saw 29.019 travellers but down 6% on 2017. Services were scheduled to resume on May 9, 2023 but will no longer go ahead. 

The Finnish carrier's seasonal flights to Zagreb have also been reduced to a month and a half of operations. The airline launched flights to the Croatian capital this year but halted the service ahead of schedule due to the “changing operating environment”. Flights were set to resume on April 30 of next year but have been postponed until mid-June after the airline undertook a review of its entire network. Further changes remain likely. Croatia Airlines previously maintained flights between the two capitals as well but suspended its seasonal service due to the Covid-19 pandemic and never restored operations.

Finnair is among the hardest hit European carriers by the ongoing war in Ukraine and the closure of Russian airspace to EU carriers, forcing it to add hours onto its flights to the Far East. The carrier has established itself in recent years as a transfer airline between Western Europe and Asia. “The changes in our operating environment require a new strategy and significant renewal of Finnair, especially related to costs. The target is to build a leaner Finnair that can return to the pre-pandemic levels of profitability. Together we can rebuild a Finnair that employees, customers and all Finns can continue to be proud of”, Finnair’s CEO, Topi Manner, said this week. As a result, the airline will seek to achieve mid-term operating profit levels comparable to those recorded in 2019 based on measures to optimise its operations. These include reducing and optimising its fleet, reducing unit costs by approximately 15% compared to 2019 levels, excluding fuel cost, as well as leveraging the company’s partnerships with other operators. Furthermore, the airline will aim to offer a more geographically balanced network connecting Europe with North America, Asia, India and the Middle East through its hub in Helsinki.