Finnair Oyj - Company Announcement

FINNAIR'S VISION 2017: MOST DESIRABLE INTERCONTINENTAL AIRLINE IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE

Finnair has approved the company's new long-term vision according to which      
Finnair aims to become the airline of choice for quality and environmentally    
conscious air travellers in intercontinental travel in the Northern Hemisphere. 
For its shareholders, Finnair aims to be an attractive investment. Finnair will 
pursue its growth strategy based on increasing demand in traffic between Europe 
and Asia, and in the future, also in the traffic between North America and Asia.

Finnair will pursue its growth strategy by developing its network and the       
quality of its operations, based on an efficient cost base. Finnair's network   
will be able to benefit from the expansion of Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and its   
ideal location along a significant number of long haul flight paths. In         
addition, Finnair's and Finland's image represent strengths in a changing global
environment.                                                                    

“We want to be a reliable and safe alternative in an uncertain world. We will   
take advantage of Helsinki's geographical location even more extensively. In    
years to come, the airspace and terminal facilities of large European airports  
are likely to become increasingly congested while Helsinki-Vantaa Airport has   
plenty of room for construction and possibilities for development,” says Finnair
President and CEO Jukka Hienonen.                                               

Finnair began to renew its intercontinental network in 2001 when three wide-body
aircraft were used in the scheduled traffic. With the present fleet programme,  
the Finnair intercontinental fleet can by 2017 grow by over 20 wide-body        
aircraft. Finnair's total passenger number is expected to increase from the     
current nine million up to over 20 million.                                     

“If the demand in air traffic continues to increase, within ten years we expect 
to carry well over three million passengers annually in our intercontinental    
traffic between Europe, Asia and North America.”                                

Finnair's position will strengthen in Asian traffic                             

Finnair's primary core business is scheduled passenger traffic, between Europe  
and Asia in particular, since the shortest routes for a large number of         
Europe-Asia city pairs go through Finnish airspace. In recent years, the        
Asia-Europe market has grown at a rate of approximately six per cent per year.  
Finnair's annual growth has been in excess of twenty per cent, delivering       
consistent market share gains in Europe-Asia traffic.                           

“The significance of Asian airlines in intercontinental traffic is growing and  
airline sector consolidation continues. For Finnair, the most interesting future
cooperation candidates are to be found among the Asian oneworld airline partners
with high quality service, which provide us with the opportunity to increase our
market share even further in the Asian market. The main goals for Finnair are   
improved connections and customer service while increasing value for            
shareholders,” Hienonen continues.                                              

Finnair's other core business area is leisure traffic. The aim is to expand tour
operations and leisure flights from the home market to the Baltic Sea area,     
specifically Russia and the Baltic States.                                      

“The thriving Russian middle class is increasingly travelling abroad. It makes  
sense to enter the Russian travel market with leisure travel. We believe,       
however, that sooner or later Russia's air traffic market will open up to       
international operators. When that time comes, Finnair intends to show a strong 
presence and increase frequencies to Moscow and St Petersburg as well as open   
new routes,” Hienonen states.                                                   

New connections via Helsinki                                                    

The company is currently, above all else, focusing on Europe-Asia traffic and   
offering the fastest, most eco-efficient and most convenient connections to     
Asia's large hubs from those European cities which do not offer direct flights. 
The number of Finnair's Asian destinations and flight frequencies as well as    
European connections will increase further in the future. The weekly number of  
Finnair's Asian flights has increased since 2001 from nine to 59. In addition,  
twelve weekly leisure flights are heading for destinations in Asia.             

“Together with the airport owner Finavia we want to develop Helsinki-Vantaa     
Airport into a concept in air travel. The “Via Helsinki” concept means that     
changing flights at Helsinki-Vantaa is not only uncomplicated with functioning  
basic services, but the airport environment with its novel services will form   
into a unique experience as a part of business and leisure travel as a whole,”  
explains Hienonen.                                                              

Finnair's Indian traffic, which has got off to a good start, makes it possible  
to open the fastest connections between North America and India, because Finland
is situated along the shortest route. Demand between the two continents is      
expected to grow significantly. Changing aircraft in Helsinki divides the trip  
into pleasant sections and offers Helsinki-Vantaa Airport's vast services. In   
addition, splitting an over 14 hour flight into two halves burdens the          
environment less than a non-stop flight. The expected opening up of the Russian 
air travel market in the future will offer new opportunities to complement the  
network.                                                                        

Sustainable development requires constant investments                           

Finnair wants to be a responsible world citizen that takes the environment into 
consideration in everything it does. Finnair is supporting the International Air
Transport Association IATA's target towards zero emissions air transport.       
Decreasing the environmental burden of the industry enables further growth of   
air travel in the future.                                                       

“Decreasing the environmental burden and staying in the race requires constant  
investments in the newest technology. Cost structure must also be competitive.  
Only the economically strongest airlines will be able to do this,” outlines     
Hienonen.                                                                       

Finnair has been systematically renewing its fleet since 1999. The airline's    
European fleet is one of the most modern on the continent. The long-haul fleet  
renewal begun this year will modernise the intercontinental fleet by the end of 
the decade and increase its size further.                                       

The middle of the next decade will see the launch of the next wave of           
investments when next generation, eco-efficient twin-engine long-haul aircraft  
will join the Finnair fleet.                                                    

“Customers can already now make environmentally friendly decisions. The         
cornerstones of Finnair's environmental operations are a modern, low-emission   
fleet and the shortest routes.”                                                 

The Finnair brand success factors                                               

Finnair's success in the future will continue to be based on strong know-how and
an attractive network. The brand values associated with Finnair include safety, 
freshness, creativity and Finnishness, which are positive, differentiating      
qualities.                                                                      

“Safety is a matter that we never compromise on in any circumstances.           
Finnishness is associated with keeping promises and being trustworthy. We       
encourage our personnel to come up with creative solutions in service           
situations. The professionalism of our staff is at the top of the air transport 
industry. Our modern and constantly developing fleet makes the travel           
environment fresh and comfortable. We want to develop Finnair into an even      
stronger quality airline,” Hienonen concludes.                                  

Finnair expects to recruit over 200 persons per year to meet the demand of      
growing traffic until the middle of the next decade. The Group structure is also
being developed to meet the future operating model.                             

"Our plan with its almost two billion euro investment and its impact on direct  
and indirect employment is one of the largest undertakings in Finland. In order 
to succeed we need to take particular care of our competitiveness and cost      
structure," says President and CEO Jukka Hienonen.                              


Finnair Plc                                                                     
Communications                                                                  
15.10.2007