By Lee Hyo-sik
Finnair, Finland’s flagship carrier, has emerged as a viable flight option for many Korean business and leisure travelers heading to Europe. This is on the back of its competitive pricing policy, tailored-made customer services and convenient connecting flights at Helsinki International Airport, the head of its operation here said.
In an interview with The Korea Times, Jani Peuhkurinen, representative director of Finnair Korea, said that it takes only nine hours to fly to Helsinki from Incheon, stressing the airline has been offering punctual, reliable and safe flight services since June 2008.
``Under the ``fast airline between Asia and Europe’’ slogan, we are offering exceptional flight experiences to Korean and European air passengers. We have been quite successful here over the past three years, thanks to our loyal Korean customers,’’ Peuhkurinen said.
The airline achieved a greater than 80 percent booking rate just two months after its launch, Finnair’s country manager said. He added it was able to maintain its operation here through the worldwide financial crisis as more Koreans flew Finnair, despite the overall sluggish global travel demand.
It currently operates six flights between Incheon and Helsinki. But the number of weekly flights will increase to seven later this month.
``Factors behind our success here are quality, freshness and creativity. We provide customers with fast and convenient flight experiences. We have been engaging in a range of active public relations activities to build our brand image as safe and reliable,’’ he said.
Peuhkurinen then said the majority of its customers are Korean business travelers, adding that the company will make more efforts to attract individual tourists heading to Europe for leisure.
``Given the fact that we have been operating here for only three years, we still have a long way to go to catch up with Air France and Lufthansa, which have been around for many years. But we will continue to learn from our customers and meet diverse expectations from them. I am 100 percent positive that we will continue to be successful,’’ the Finnish executive stressed.
Peuhkurinen said Finnair places top priority on providing customized services to Korean customers.
``We have Korean-speaking crews onboard and serve Korean in-flight meals. We also offer in-flight entertainment systems in the Korean language. For the first time in any European airports, we put up signposts written in Korean for convenience of our Korean passengers at Helsinki Airport.’’
The company operates the youngest fleet, with its aircraft on the Incheon-Helsinki route an average age of two and a half years, the most modern among any European airlines, which has provided its customers with more comfortable and enjoyable flight experiences.
``We will do everything we can to increase customer satisfaction and provide tailor-made services. Before the flight we offer customers meal options and hear what they expect from us. After the flight, we collect feedback from them to improve our services,’’ he said.
The airline has been operating a free limousine service here for business-class passengers and those flying on a corporate program, drawing enthusiastic response from business travelers.
``Among many others, the limo service shows how committed we are to improving customer services and differentiating ourselves from our competitors. We will continue to come out with a range of niche products and services that are unavailable at other airlines.’’
Besides its high-quality customer services, price-competitiveness has been an important success factor for Finnair in the Korean market, Peuhkurinen said.
``As a late comer into the Korean aviation sector, we introduced an aggressive pricing strategy in the early stages to capture a customer base. But over the years, we have steadily raised airfares. But still, our prices are quite attractive, compared to those of other European airlines. But lower airfares have never compromised our service quality,’’ he stressed.
He then highly praised Helsinki International Airport, Finnair’s operational base, saying it is a far more efficient and convenient transit hub than Frankfurt International Airport and major airports in Europe.
``We are lucky to have Helsinki Airport as our base because it offers more comfortable and personalized, and higher quality customer services. Finnair provides transit passengers with punctual and easy connecting flights to 50 European destinations, which is unrivaled by other airlines,’’ Peuhkurinen stressed.
When asked about how the Korea-EU free trade agreement (FTA) will affect its Korean operation, he said the accord will help boost the number of travelers flying with Finnair.
``Many expect the Korea-EU FTA to significantly boost bilateral economic, political and cultural ties between the two. Among others, I think many European companies, particularly in food and fashion industries, will look to explore business opportunities in Korea, which will increase the number of business travelers,’’ he said.
Additionally, many Korean businessmen interested in doing business in Europe will fly with Finnair to their destinations, Peuhkurinen said.
To capitalize on the projected growth in the number of air passengers, Peuhkurinen aims to expand the number of flights it operates between Incheon and Helsinki, as well as improve customer services.
``We are strongly committed to the Korean market. We have decided to increase our weekly flights to seven from the current six. Between 2012 and 2014, we plan to add more flights to the Incheon and Helsinki route,’’ he said, stressing Finnair aims to become the most preferred airline to Europe among Korean travelers.