Finnair Plc Stock Exchange Release 22 July 2026 at 9:00 a.m. EEST
Strong performance in the second quarter
Unless otherwise stated, comparisons and figures in parentheses refer to the comparison period, i.e., the same period last year.
Global air traffic is expected to continue to grow in 2026. Finnair plans to increase its total capacity, measured by ASKs, by approximately 1%. The decrease in the capacity estimate is impacted by the cancellation of flights to the Middle East. The capacity estimate includes the agreed wet leases. The number of passengers in Finnair's own traffic is expected to grow by approximately 7% in 2026.
However, international conflicts, global political instability and the threat of trade wars cause significant uncertainty in the operating environment. In particular, the possible prolongation of the war and peace negotiations in the Middle East pose risks related to the price and availability of fuel, which, if realised, could have a negative impact on Finnair's capacity and financial result. The increase in costs related to environmental regulation also continues to burden Finnair's profitability during the year. Risks are discussed in greater detail in the section Significant risks and uncertainties.
Finnair estimates its revenue to be 3.4-3.5 billion euros and comparable operating result to be 120-190 million euros in 2026. The guidance is based on the assumption that there will be no significant disruptions in fuel availability.
Finnair's comparable operating result is sensitive to fuel prices and exchange rates. The table below shows how a 10% change in fuel prices or in the US dollar against the euro would affect the comparable operating result, taking hedges into account. Strengthening of the US dollar weakens the company's comparable operating result, while weakening of the dollar strengthens it.
| Sensitivities |
| rolling 6 months from date of financial statements | rolling 12 months from date of financial statements |
| (10% change, taking hedging into account) | |||
| Fuel |
| EUR 18 million | EUR 38 million |
| USD |
| EUR 10 million | EUR 30 million |
Global air traffic is expected to continue to grow in 2026. Finnair plans to increase its total capacity, measured by ASKs, by approximately 3% in 2026. The capacity estimate includes the agreed wet leases.
However, international conflicts, global political instability and the threat of trade wars cause significant uncertainty in the operating environment. In particular, the possible prolongation of the ongoing war in the Middle East poses risks related to the availability of fuel, which, if realised, could have a significant negative impact on Finnair's capacity growth and financial result. The increase in costs related to environmental regulation also continues to burden Finnair's profitability during the year. Risks are discussed in greater detail in the section Significant risks and uncertainties.
Finnair estimates its revenue to be 3.3-3.4 billion euros and comparable operating result to be 120-190 million euros in 2026. The guidance is based on the assumption that there will be no significant disruptions in fuel availability.
Finnair's comparable operating result is sensitive to fuel prices and exchange rates. A 10% change in fuel prices would have an impact of 39 million euros on the annual comparable operating result, taking hedges into account. A 10% change in the US dollar against the euro, on the other hand, would have an impact of 38 million euros on the annual comparable operating result, taking hedges into account. Strengthening of the US dollar weakens the company's comparable operating result, while weakening of the dollar strengthens it. The sensitivities are determined on a rolling basis for the 12 months following the date of financial statements.
Finnair's second quarter was exceptionally strong. Our revenue increased by 16.4 % and the number of passengers by 7.6 %, while our comparable operating result reached a record-high 78.4 million euros. This strong performance was driven by both successful execution on our part and a favourable market environment. Travel demand remained healthy throughout the quarter, and we were able to capitalize on temporary capacity changes in the market, particularly in Asian traffic, which was reflected in higher unit revenues. The positive development was further supported by solid demand for cargo services and continued strong growth in ancillary revenue.
Despite significant volatility in fuel prices, our hedging policy provides stability and predictability for our cost development. During the second quarter, 82 % of our fuel purchases were hedged, and the hedging ratio for the third quarter is also high at 81 %.
The summer travel season has started briskly. Our strong network and solid operational performance support our ability to meet our customers' travel needs. On our busiest summer days, more than 44,000 customers travel on our network, highlighting the importance of safe, reliable and smooth operations each and every day.
The execution of our strategy is progressing as planned. Customer satisfaction developed positively during the quarter, and our Net Promoter Score remained at an excellent level of 42. Positive development also continued in our employee engagement index. A committed and competent workforce is one of our key strengths, and I am pleased to see both customer and employee experiences developing in the right direction at the same time.
We continued to enhance the customer journey by expanding our ancillary services offering and streamlining customer interactions across different stages of travel. New products and product bundles supported the strong growth in ancillary revenue, while we also automated key customer processes, particularly to improve the handling of disruptions. We further strengthened our network by deciding to resume flights to Turku and Tampere. This decision enhances connections from Finland's major regional growth centres to our international network and offers customers even better access to our extensive onward connections to more than 100 destinations. In addition, we are currently preparing for the introduction of new Embraer E195-E2 aircraft and have signed Letters of Intent to lease six A320ceo aircraft. The renewal of our narrow-body fleet supports the profitable development of our network and our growth ambitions, while strengthening our ability to offer customers a competitive network and reliable operations well into the future.
Although development in the first half of the year was strong, visibility for the remainder of the year is more uncertain than usual due to the situation in the Middle East. Geopolitical developments, fuel price movements and the gradual normalisation of the market may affect demand, limit pricing opportunities and burden profitability compared with the exceptionally favourable market conditions seen during the first half. Fuel remains one of the key uncertainties for the remainder of the year, both through its impact on costs and through potential disruptions affecting global fuel supply chains. We continue to actively monitor the situation and remain focused on the factors we can influence ourselves: our commercial competitiveness, operational reliability and cost efficiency. While fuel availability has remained stable and we have not observed disruptions to our operations, we also continue to proactively secure our fuel needs through established supplier relationships.
I would like to extend my warmest thanks to our customers for their trust and to all Finnair employees for their excellent work in line with our values for the benefit of safety, our customers and our work community. The commitment of our employees and the trust of our customers provide us a strong foundation to continue executing our strategy also in a changing operating environment.
The publication dates of Finnair's financial reports in 2026 are the following:
This release is a summary of Finnair's Half-year Report 1 January-30 June 2026. The full report is available as an attachment to this release.
FINNAIR PLC
Board of Directors
Finnair will hold a results press conference (in Finnish) on 22 July 2026 at 11:00 a.m. Finnish time at its office at Tietotie 9 in Vantaa, Finland. It is also possible to participate in the press conference via a live webcast at https://finnairgroup.videosync.fi/2026-07-22-media.
An English-language telephone conference and webcast will begin on 22 July 2026 at 1:00 p.m. Finnish time. To access the telephone conference, kindly register at https://events.inderes.com/finnairgroup/2026-q2/dial-in. After the registration, you will be provided with phone numbers and a conference ID. To join the live webcast, please register at https://finnairgroup.events.inderes.com/2026-q2.
Chief Financial Officer Pia Aaltonen-Forsell, tel. +358 9 818 4960, pia.aaltonen-forsell@finnair.com
Vice President, Investor Relations Erkka Salonen, tel. +358 9 818 5101, erkka.salonen@finnair.com