Finnish Air Line Pilots’ Association and Service Sector Employers Palta have signed an agreement on a new, 3.5-year collective labour agreement for Finnair pilots.
The new CLA is in force until 30 September 2024 and it encompasses several important structural changes, which include moving from a service year-based salary structure to a vacancy-based salary structure, and measures enabling balancing the seasonality of air traffic more effectively.
“With the new collective labour agreement our pilots demonstrate their willingness to contribute constructively to Finnair’s rebuild phase in the middle of the largest crisis in the history of aviation”, says Johanna Karppi, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Finnair. “I am happy that we have together been able to agree on solutions that support Finnair’s competitiveness while ensuring Finnair is a good employer for Finnish pilots also in the future. The long agreement period brings us predictability and supports the long-term efforts in building Finnair’s future.”
“The agreement is a balanced entity, taking into account the challenging situation the company is facing amidst the pandemic. Thanks are also due to the negotiating team of the pilots,” says Pasi Vuorio, Negotiations Director at Palta.
In June, Finnair will resume flights to destinations like Reykjavik, Bodø, Nice, Lisbon and Vilnius. Additional frequencies will also be added to Greek islands such as Rhodes, Chania and Santorini, as well as to Mallorca, Malaga and Alicante in Spain. Finnair’s summer destinations in Italy include Rome, Milan and Venice.
"We closely follow how travel regulations develop across our markets and have the flexibility to increase flights based on demand, seizing opportunities created when travel restrictions are lifted," says Ole Orvér, Finnair's Chief Commercial Officer.
In North America, the vaccine roll-out has progressed well, and Finnair will restart flights to Chicago and Los Angeles in mid-June and increase frequencies on the New York route to up to three flights per week. The restart of these flights is still subject to the development of US travel guidelines.