New dimensions

Finavia keeps Finland flying

Aviation has a great many dimensions. Since aviation connects Finland
with the rest of the world, we are not alone on our “island”. When we reach
our destination, we can use our intellectual resources and innovations. We
can sell, market and create well-being. At the same time, we learn and take
in new perspectives from the world at large.

What could be more important from a cultural perspective than travelling
and encountering different cultures? Aviation makes it possible for
people to move about: we can go out into the world and similarly the world
can come to us – perhaps to experience exotic travel experiences in the
north. The airports in Finland provide a connection to a worldwide network.
These are important competitive factors for Finland.

The international dimension brings the world closer together, creates
cooperation and friendship and breaks down barriers. Statesmen can reach
each other quickly and international corporations can operate flexibly. A
world-famous pianist can fly into Helsinki from New York for a concert
and continue on to Beijing. Finnish experts can be conferring one day in
Singapore and in Paris the next. Aviation is the means to make all this
happen.

The prerequisites for aviation are created through cooperation; by networking.
Finavia, as a provider of infrastructure services, aims to offer its
customers services, capacity and quality based on demand. This includes
some of the most favourable prices by European standards and Europe’s
fastest aircraft turnaround times.

The success of our customers is important for all of Finavia’s employees
because it is also a question of the oriented, profitably growing service enterprise
that has skilled and motivated benefit for the whole of Finland.
Finavia aims to be a customer- employees. In fulfilling this vision, we
will continue to lead the field in Europe.

When it comes to our vision, we cannot let down our guard for even a moment. We must identify customer needs and the future trends in aviation. We must aspire to greater agility and more cost effective operations than our competitors. The European markets are the most important ones to us. In Finland, we must seek competitive advantage with other actors so that “our island” becomes easy to reach and so that it is easy to reach places from our island. Competition is invigorating!

As a result of the Asian gateway traffic, we are in a good position with respect to our neighbouring countries. The most important implication of the Far Eastern traffic is its impact on European traffic, i.e. the plentiful availability of services – around 40 direct connections with frequent schedules – which Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and our network make possible. The number of connections and frequency are only in second place, even though there are as many as 50 direct flights leaving Helsinki-Vantaa per week to around ten destinations in Asia.

If we at Finavia keep to our goal in the pure sense and if our customers succeed, will we keep our current strong market position in the future. Ensuring the prerequisites for aviation is important to Finland in this sense as well. It should be borne in mind that all this takes place purely as business. The taxpayers’ purse is not raided, but dividends are deposited in it.

Our results for 2006 are good. We managed the almost 10 percent growth in traffic for the most part with the same amount of resources as before. The percentage increase in prices for traffic in 2007 is 0.0. The level of profit, some EUR 23 million, provides us – afer dividends – with the opportunity to finance our investments. We are also taking out a loan so that we can respond to capacity needs in line with demand. The service enterprise model gives us the opportunity to use resources clearly for the benefit of our customers.

During the year under review, we started the extension work to the international terminal at Helsinki-Vantaa. The investment also includes the baggage systems for the entire terminal. This roughly EUR 140 million investment, the largest in Finavia’s history, illustrates our strong commitment to the future. Finavia’s subsidiary company, on the other hand, is investing in an airport hotel that is being constructed next to the international terminal. The hotel will serve gateway and business passengers in particular.

Without the good runway capacity at Helsinki-Vantaa, we could not manage both the Asian gateway traffic and the European traffic created simultaneously from the domestic feeder traffic. Helsinki-Vantaa has a system that operates with three runways whereby the simultaneous parallel use of two runways enables an hourly capacity of over 80 operations (take-off or landing). Finavia’s investments in the runway system play a central role in terms of Finnish competitiveness. It is important that this capacity can be used safely and cost efficiently in future and in creating the competitive foundation
for Finland.

During the past year we have focused in particular on security and quality processes. The climax to this work was Finavia’s designation as the provider of air traffic services in Finland, in accordance with the new European regulations of the Single European Sky Initiative (SES). We were among the first countries in Europe to establish the structures demanded by the designation and the licence it required.

Finavia’s personnel deserve warm praise for their committed and skilled work. Associated with this praise is the personnel fund that we have developed as a bonus for successful operations. I consider the fund to be an important element in our business operations both now and in the future.

Finavia produces public value for its owners, the entire Finnish society and its business structure. By analysing this value and identifying the elements that aviation and Finavia, as the key creator of the prerequisites for it, generate, we can prepare successfully for the future. Our work as the creator of the competitive foundation for Finnish society will continue this year too – through cooperation and a big heart.

Samuli Haapasalo
President & CEO