One of Nanjing’s direct air links with Europe seems set to continue after the Finnish government agreed to bail out its national airline, for the time being. But that’s the only piece of good news; the global airline industry is looking at colossal losses for 2020.
When Finnair launched its Nanjing-Helsinki link on 13 May, 2018, it was an instant hit with Nanjing’s European community. The short, 9-hour flight time and connections from Helsinki to the bulk of Europe’s major cities made the flight the go-to choice for getting to and from home.
These high-in-demand seats to Europe now appear to be safe, with the announcement in recent days that the Finnish government shall assist Finnair to the tune of €600 million, to tide it over the slump in the airline’s operations.
- Korean Air on Brink of Collapse; Most Airlines Bankrupt by May
- Lukou Airport Scoops Awards as Chinese Government Pays Airlines
- Flight Attendants; Purses to Automatic & Shop Check
In light of the fact that government owns 56 percent of Finnair, the country’s Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering, Tytti Tuppurainen, said that the state “must support” the airline. She further added, “The company maintains the route connections that are very important for Finland’s security of supply, freight and passenger traffic, and the company has a significant impact on our economy”.
Finnair CEO, Topi Manner, also indicated there are reasons to be optimistic for Finnair’s bouncing back. Flight Global has quoted him as saying the airline is “among the strongest”, with both a strong cash and balance-sheet position.
Not so for other airlines, many of which only have enough cash for less than 3 months.
Earlier in March, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) made gloomy forecasts for the airline industry. That very same organisation has now doubled its negative prediction.
- Air China Props up International Flights amid Plunging Demand
- China Southern Splits with SkyTeam; Your Miles are Safe(ish)!
- Non-Stop from Nanjing Lukou Now to 19 Countries & 31 Cities
In a briefing yesterday, the Association is now forecasting losses of US$252 billion for 2020. The trade group said that Covid-19 is a crisis more severe than anything ever before faced by the industry.
The IATA also noted that an industry-wide decline in traffic of as much as 40 percent is expected this year.
Amid such chaos, many airlines are switching to cargo-only operations as best they can. Virgin Atlantic operated its first ever cargo flight between London and New York last Saturday, while Airbus has deployed an A330 test aircraft to transport two million masks from Tianjin to Europe. The masks will be distributed to French and Spanish authorities.
