Finnair Plus - Ay loads?

Hi
I'm booked to fly AY soon (outbound 5-6- june inbound 31-1aug) and I was just checking the seatmap on expertflyer

Search: Departing DEL on 06/06/11 for HEL
Flying AY flight 22 in Economy (Discount Fare), Economy (Full Fare)
Atleast half of the plane seems empty. Half of Business too.

Search: Departing HEL on 08/31/11 for DEL
Flying AY flight 21 in Economy (Discount Fare), Economy (Full Fare)
6 seats full (I'm one of the 6).
How does AY make a profit?

Easy answer: by charging the Finnish domestic passengers ridiculous fares, such as EUR 500 for hops like KUO-HEL-KUO. Also the international tickets purchased in Finland for itineraries initiating from Finland get a special PYFCSTTE* surcharge added.

*piss your fellow countryman straight to the eye

It should be also noted that seatmap doesn't reflect the actual load status, it just tells which seats are occupied already now. Depending on the airline, booking method, fare class, travel agency and route, it varies a lot whether majority of the passengers actually have seat assigned already before check-in or not.

Recently I took few flights booked few days before the flight and seatmap was showing completely empty flight. In reality all of those flights were very full.

AY22 06JUN Capacity 271 (42/229) Seats available 86 (29/57).

AY21 31AUG is indeed quite empty, still too early to say anything about the actual load though IMO.

I just took a flight today (purchased yesterday) HEL-AMS for 286 Euros. Not particularly cheap, IMO, for a short inter-EU flight. But, as the only non-stop option available, and considering the lounge access/no waiting lines to check in/priority baggage handling as OW Sapphire, and wanting the EQM in my AAdvantage account, I went with AY. The flight was half empty and I was given two seats in the front of the Y cabin with the middle seat blocked between my girlfriend and I. Overall an on-time, friendly and efficient service typical of all things Finnish that I have encountered.

If it counts for anything, I just landed in Narita (AY073), and economy was full, business was maybe half-full. At least the Japanese are using Finnair again. I did the same route at the end of March in business, there were maybe 25 passengers in the whole plane.

Simple answer - it doesnt.

http://atwonline.com/airline-finance-data/news/finnair-incurs-23-million-2010-loss-blames-volcano-strike-0206

But, as the only non-stop option available,

Surely KF or KL would've sold you a full-Y fare on their nonstop flights as well.

From the link above it is evident that Finnair is doomed:

Vehvilainen said he believes the consolidation trend in the sector will continue in Europe, adding, “Finnair is assessing its own role in developments and is seeking to take advantage of the best options from a shareholder perspective.” Finnair said it expects to post an operating profit this year, but warned the first quarter is expected to “remain clearly loss-making.

I do not believe that the shareholders fly enough to support an airline! CEO should have more imagination and perspective!

Hi
I'm booked to fly AY soon (outbound 5-6- june inbound 31-1aug) and I was just checking the seatmap on expertflyer

How does AY make a profit?

You cannot be serious with your question, can you?

why not? I have flown DEL-HEL and HEL-DEL 4 times so far (2-2) i think, and every time so far it has been about half full.
Not that I'm complaining :) its nice to have empty seats next to me, and to be able to grab the bulkhead.

I just flew AY22 today - around 20 seats free. I got 22J :)

I just flew AY22 today - around 20 seats free. I got 22J :)
So doesn't sound that bad for AY after all, 20 seats open in a decent load... assuming of course that they got a fair fare, filling the seats is just half the equation.

why not? I have flown DEL-HEL and HEL-DEL 4 times so far (2-2) i think, and every time so far it has been about half full.
Not that I'm complaining :) its nice to have empty seats next to me, and to be able to grab the bulkhead.
Yes, but it's much more rewarding to have that row to yourself, when the rest of the Y if filled to the last seat. Been there, done that :p.

oh yeah :D The last 2 years on Finnair DEL-HEL or HEL-DEL I got 22A. This year I just sat in 22L, and when the guy who was supposed to sit in L came, I offered to move. He thanked me, but told a aisle is fine. He slept the whole way, I was up every second. AMAZING FLIGHT!!!