Guillou

[Wrong thread]

OH-LGG

We can take Customer Service here on FT. Like AY's Communication can be taken care of here.

lkrt

Exactly my thoughts – we shall see if something big is revealed in the webcasts later today, but honestly this ”strategy” seems like just continuing the crisis phase as it is.

OH-LGG

Topi has repeated this same track since covid started.

intuition

I've notice two things in the "strategy":

First, I see talk about "substantial cost reduction" (like this isn't done before) and no talk about destinations, market segments and services. That is simply not a strategy.

If this is all they have so say strategywise the conclusion is that Finnair has no vision. They are going to slim everything and are counting on customers' sisu to accept and keep on bringing cash. (With slimming everything I mean they are going after even the really petty things. Forget the lumo beemer, next they might be targeting things on the plat drink level.)

There is just no coherence in this plan, as the prices are wild and no amount of sisu is going to make people pay 10k € for a ticket on a zero service airline.
Sofar, the "strategy" offers no positive news. Continued extreme cost saving, no new markets, no improved customer experience, and money extraction via increased fees and monetizing previously free services.
To sum the "strategy" up; Customers should pay more, Finnair should pay employees and contracts less. Finnair should also provide less - fewer routes with worse schedules and service and customers should "be proud" of that and send in the cash, despite fighting their own living costs.

Secondly, they've adopted the language of SK:
"To reach the desired outcome, the support of all key stakeholder groups is needed.".
In the case of SK that meant all employees was expected to reduce their impact on the cost structure by reducing salaries and/or work on less attractive schedules and/or redcude benefits. That path led to the disasterous strikes and a plunge in consumer trust of the brand.

lkrt

Based on the webcast, Mr. Manner said that they are still committed to customer experience on the longhaul flights – on shorthaul flights, the goal is in simplicity and more efficient operations (we know what this means).

intuition

Any talk about what the Longhaul network will be?
For eastward flights I suspect India and Doha are the main longhaul passenger destinations. And that some flights will continue to SE Asia but only based on cargo demand, ie no need for a customer experience onboard - targeting the "crowd" willing to pay what ever.

OH-LGG

Pizza margherita will be 50000 points.

lkrt

Network looking into each direction: in Asia, focus on India and the big cities of Asia, secondary cities to be excluded. In Middle East, Doha and Dubai. And a stronger presence in NA than pre-pandemic.

OH-LGG

Adding India and US flights but AY just axed India and US flights. Strange network planning.

FFlash

enhanced digital offering, competitive products and customer choice.
Well, I dont want any digital product, I want an ontime landing, friendly salad service and flawfree travel process also on ground.
Choice: these schoolboys dont even understand that adding choices will drive up differentiation costs faster than revenue unless operations are topnotch and driven by hugher customer value that customer actually pays for. Oh dear, perhaps this is why they come up all the time with the cost reduction strategy which is not a strategy

AirbusA350

What India flights did AY axe sorry? What have I missed? They still to have a daily DEL and BOM appears to be continuing?

OH-LGG

BOM 4/week dropped to 3/week.

SuloL

Indeed, this is something I've yet to understand; how does having more choice result in a better product? Whenever I hear a company saying that they're offering more choices for the customer, it seems like a telltale sign that they have little idea who their customers are and what they really need/want.

Of course, "choice" is really probably just a fancy word for further unbundling and starting to ask small amounts of ancillary money for things that previously were a given. But like you, I'm rather skeptical that there's actually any real gains here when comparing against the operational/logistical/whatever inefficiencies and costs that the delivery of more choice and customisation introduces. When contrasting this with the aim of reducing costs, it just sounds laughable. But maybe I'm missing something.

intuition

Exactly my thoughts too.
They are not aiming to provide choices per se, they are trying to monetize what previously was included in the price. Remove services lower base price by 50€ and let the customer add back the services for 100€. It is "choice" in their mind, because they'll let the customer chose a small savings for a huge loss of services or keep the services and pay more.

Even this kind of "choice" will of course drive differentiation costs, but their vapor-developers in spain can do a hybrid delivery model and make it entirely cost free for Finnair to extract the new monies.

I look forward to when they provide real choice, so we can get our warm BKML and 3 side "salads" on a shorthaul hop.