Finnair Plc Stock Exchange Release 16 July 2025 at 9:00 a.m. EEST
Industrial action had a considerable impact on Q2 result, but 94% of flights were operated as planned despite industrial action
April-June 2025
- Revenue increased by 2.8% to 787.7 million euros (766.1).
- Comparable operating result was 10.3 million euros (43.6). Industrial action had a direct negative impact of around 29 million euros on the comparable operating result.
- Operating result was 19.2 million euros (42.5).
- Earnings per share were 0.06 euros (0.09).
- Net cash flow from operating activities was 43.7 million euros (173.1) and net cash flow from investing activities -99.2 million euros (-41.6)*.
- Number of passengers increased by 3.1% to 3.1 million (3.0**).
- Available seat kilometres (ASK) increased by 4.2% to 10,207.8 million kilometres (9,799.9). Including wet leases, ASKs increased by 1.7%.
- Passenger load factor (PLF) increased by 1.9 percentage points to 76.6% (74.7).
January-June 2025
- Revenue increased by 2.4% to 1,481.9 million euros (1,447.6).
- Comparable operating result was -52.3 million euros (32.0). Industrial action had a direct negative impact of around 51 million euros on the comparable operating result.
- Operating result was -34.2 million euros (25.3).
- Earnings per share were -0.19 euros (-0.06).
- Net cash flow from operating activities was 235.8 million euros (312.0) and net cash flow from investing activities -156.5 million euros (-67.5)*.
- Number of passengers increased by 2.9% to 5.7 million (5.6**).
- Available seat kilometres (ASK) increased by 3.3% to 19,334.2 million kilometres (18,722.8). Including wet leases, ASKs increased by 1.6%.
- Passenger load factor (PLF) increased by 1.8 percentage points to 75.2% (73.5).
Unless otherwise stated, comparisons and figures in parentheses refer to the comparison period, i.e., the same period last year.
*In April-June, net cash flow from investing activities included 27.7 million euros of investments (5.9 million euros of investments) in money market funds or other financial assets (maturity over three months). In January-June, net cash flow from investing activities included 32.8 million euros of investments (0.6 million euros of redemptions). They are part of the Group's liquidity management.
**The number of passengers and cargo tonnes for January-November 2024 were corrected in December 2024, with a total impact of 59,100 additional passengers and 828.7 additional cargo tonnes for the period.
Outlook and guidance
Finnair's guidance regarding capacity, revenue and comparable operating result for 2025 has been clarified following the end of industrial action. Guidance excluding any direct impact of industrial action is unchanged. However, Finnair specifies that, based on the current information, the comparable operating result is estimated to be closer to the lower end of the given range, due to weaker-than-expected demand in North Atlantic traffic and the indirect effects of industrial action on demand in broader terms.
Under Outlook and guidance on 16 July 2025, the company provides additional information on the impacts of industrial action, as well as an estimate of capacity growth, revenue and comparable operating result in 2025, considering the direct impacts of industrial action.
Outlook and guidance on 16 July 2025
Global air traffic is expected to continue growing in 2025. However, international conflicts, global political instability and the threat of trade wars cause uncertainty in the operating environment. In particular, the risk levels related to tariffs between different countries and their direct and indirect impacts are elevated.
Excluding the direct impact of industrial action, Finnair has planned to increase its total capacity, measured by ASKs, by c. 10% in 2025. The capacity estimate includes the agreed wet leases. Finnair has anticipated its revenue to be within the range of 3.3-3.4 billion euros and its comparable operating result to be within the range of 100-200 million euros in 2025. However, based on the current information, the company estimates that the comparable operating result will be closer to the lower end of the given range, due to weaker-than-expected demand in North Atlantic traffic and the indirect effects of industrial action on demand in broader terms. In 2025, profitability is further burdened particularly by additional costs caused by the sustainable aviation fuel distribution obligation introduced in the EU, as well as rising navigation and landing charges. The direct cost impact of tariffs that will enter into force after the second quarter is estimated to be limited. It is too early to estimate the magnitude of potential indirect effects.
The estimates above regarding capacity, revenue and comparable operating result do not include direct impacts of industrial action. In total, the direct negative impact of industrial action in 2025 is estimated to be approximately 100 million euros on revenue, approximately 70 million euros on comparable operating result and approximately 5% on the total capacity, measured by ASKs. In the first half of 2025, industrial action had a direct impact of around -72 million euros on revenue and around -51 million euros on the comparable operating result. In addition, the three days of industrial action in July and the flights cancelled for the summer season due to a temporary lack of resources following industrial action, including wet lease out flights, are estimated to negatively impact revenue by approximately 25 million euros, other operating income by approximately 5 million euros and comparable operating result by approximately 20 million euros in the third quarter. Based on the cancellations confirmed, industrial action is estimated to have a direct negative impact of approximately 5% on the total capacity in 2025, measured by ASKs.
Considering the direct negative impacts of industrial action, Finnair plans to increase its total capacity, measured by ASKs, by c. 5% year-on-year and estimates its revenue to be within the range of 3.2-3.3 billion euros and its comparable operating result to be within the range of 30-130 million euros in 2025. However, based on the current information, the company estimates that the comparable operating result will be closer to the lower end of the given range, due to weaker-than-expected demand in North Atlantic traffic and the indirect effects of industrial action on demand in broader terms.
Finnair will update its outlook and guidance in connection with the interim report January-September 2025.
Previous outlook and guidance issued on 29 April 2025
Global air traffic is expected to continue growing in 2025. However, international conflicts, global political instability, the threat of trade wars and a tense labour market situation in Finland cause uncertainty in the operating environment. In particular, the risk levels related to tariffs between different countries and their direct and indirect impacts have increased.
Excluding the impact of industrial action, Finnair has planned to increase its total capacity, measured by ASKs, by c. 10% in 2025. The capacity estimate includes the agreed wet leases. Finnair has anticipated its revenue to be within the range of 3.3-3.4 billion euros and its comparable operating result to be within the range of 100-200 million euros in 2025. In 2025, profitability is burdened particularly by additional costs caused by the sustainable aviation fuel distribution obligation introduced in the EU, as well as rising navigation and landing charges. The direct cost impact of tariffs that will enter into force after the first quarter is estimated to be limited. It is too early to estimate the magnitude of potential indirect effects.
The estimates regarding capacity, revenue and comparable operating result do not include impacts of industrial action. In the first quarter of 2025, industrial action had a negative impact of around 31 million euros on revenue and around 22 million euros on the comparable operating result. In April 2025, industrial action is estimated to have a negative impact of around 15 million euros on revenue and around 10 million euros on the comparable operating result. In addition, regardless of the duration of industrial action, Finnair has decided to cancel 230 flights scheduled for the summer season due to a temporary lack of resources following the industrial action, which is estimated to negatively impact revenue by approximately 30 million euros and the comparable operating result by approximately 10 million euros. Based on the cancellations already confirmed, industrial action is estimated to have a negative impact of approximately 5% on the total capacity in 2025, measured by ASKs.
Finnair will update its outlook and guidance in connection with the 2025 half-year report.
CEO Turkka Kuusisto:
The challenges Finnair faced at the beginning of the year continued into the second quarter. We carried over 3 million passengers, and our revenue grew slightly compared to the same period last year. However, our comparable operating result was particularly burdened by industrial action by the Finnish Airline Pilots' Association in April and by the ground service personnel's Finnish Aviation Union (IAU) in May and June. I want to extend my heartfelt apologies to each customer whose travel plans were disrupted by the industrial action.
We reached collective labour agreements with the pilots, cabin crew, and travel agency staff during the quarter. The Service Sector Employers Palta and the IAU also came to an agreement after the period, so we are once again able to operate our flights with the reliability that is expected of us.
The direct negative impact of the prolonged industrial action on second quarter revenue was around 41 million euros, on other operating income around 10 million euros, and on the comparable operating result around 29 million euros.
We had to cancel over 1,300 flights during the quarter due to the industrial action, incurring costs related to customer rerouting and care, as well as compensation for delays. To support our customers' important travel plans, we allowed them to reschedule flights away from the disruption days without additional fees, which reduced sales on the days to which flights were moved. The uncertainty caused by the disruptions also affected demand for our flights and customer satisfaction. Restoring customer trust and satisfaction is of primary importance to us, and we are systematically working towards this by taking care of our customers and their needs as well as possible, both in the development of our product and services and in our daily operations.
Despite the disruptions caused by industrial action, our operational quality remained high, and we were able to operate 94% of our flights as planned. During the summer season, we operate about 350 flights per day, and even on disruption days, we managed to operate 60-75% of our flights. We have invested in improving the customer experience, particularly in terms of the smoothness of rerouting and customer communication, aiming to mitigate the negative impact of industrial action on our customers during the important summer travel season.
During the quarter, general market uncertainties increased, which began to affect demand for transatlantic flights, and customers' booking windows became shorter. Our North American traffic grew significantly, but the growth rate was more moderate than previously planned, and average ticket fares in the area declined. In other markets, demand developed as expected. We continued optimising our network and announced new summer 2026 routes to Toronto, Canada, and Alta in Northern Norway. We also added flights to Finnish Lapland for the winter 2025 season.
In June, air travellers chose Finnair as the Best Airline in Northern Europe for the 15th consecutive time, and our cabin crew was also named the best in Northern Europe. This recognition is owed especially to Finnair employees in the front line who work with dedication every day to ensure safe and smooth flights.
Financial reporting in 2025
The publication dates of Finnair's financial reports in 2025 are the following:
- Interim Report for January-September 2025 on Thursday 30 October 2025
This text is a summary of Finnair's Half-year Report January - June 2025. The full report is available as an attachment to this summary.
FINNAIR PLC
Board of Directors
Briefings
Finnair will hold a results press conference (in Finnish) on 16 July 2025 at 11:00 a.m. Finnish time at its office at Tietotie 9 in Vantaa, Finland. It is also possible to participate in the press conference via a live webcast at https://finnairgroup.videosync.fi/2025-07-16-media.
An English-language telephone conference and webcast will begin on 16 July 2025 at 1:00 p.m. Finnish time. To access the telephone conference, kindly register at https://events.inderes.com/finnairgroup/q2-2025/dial-in. After the registration, you will be provided with phone numbers and a conference ID. To join the live webcast, please register at https://finnairgroup.events.inderes.com/q2-2025.
For further information, please contact:
Chief Financial Officer Kristian Pullola, tel. +358 9 818 4960, kristian.pullola@finnair.com
Head of Investor Relations Erkka Salonen, tel. +358 9 818 5101, erkka.salonen@finnair.com
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Finnair is a network airline, specialising in connecting passenger and cargo traffic between Asia, North America and Europe. Finnair is the only airline with year-round direct flights to Lapland. Customers have chosen Finnair as the Best Airline in Northern Europe in the Skytrax Awards for 15 times in a row. Finnair is a member of the oneworld alliance. Finnair Plc's shares are quoted on Nasdaq Helsinki.
