Finnish flag-carrier Finnair has signed co-operative deals with Braathens Safe, Transwede and Maersk Air, as part of plans to strengthen its presence at Stockholm, Scandinavia's main hub, in neighbouring Sweden.
The deals, which include increased codesharing and links on frequent-flier programmes, follow signs of weakening in Finnair's long-standing co-operation with Lufthansa, which has been threatened by the German airline's alliance with SAS.
The Lufthansa/SAS tie-up has already forced Finnair to cut its services from Stockholm to Germany. "We're not moving away from Lufthansa, but we're looking for other forms of co-operation with other Scandinavian carriers," says Finnair's director, commercial affairs, Sverker Skogberg.
The aim is to raise the profile of Stockholm as a Finnair hub, from where it operates 40 flights daily. From 1 May, these will be augmented by new services in co-operation with Norway's Braathens, and its partner Transwede.
That will allow significant improvements in Finnair's onward connections from Stockholm to domestic airports in Norway and Sweden, as well as on Braathens services to Italy, Jersey, Spain and the UK.
"Our policy is to negotiate tactical codesharing agreements on certain routes where there is a likelihood of profitability," says Skogberg. The plan is to add another ten such agreements to the five which were put in place two years ago.
Source: Flight International
