The cabin crew strike, which has forced Finnair to cancel more than 100 flights, will result in a loss for the Finnish flag carrier for this fiscal year.
Finnair shares fell 3.5%, while shares in SAS also fell due to expected losses by its Blue1 unit.
For every day of the strike, Finnair says it will lose approximately €2 million. Such large scale losses are expected to translate into a full-year operating loss for the airline, the airline warned. This year it had expected to make a profit having posted a loss in 2009. Analysts are suggesting the profit warning was a tactic to pressure the union back to the table. However, no further talks have been scheduled.
The strike has caused Finnair to threaten to outsource operations to lower cost countries. The airline’ chief executive, Mika Vehvilainen, said that its cost structure was unsustainable and that it was “tragic that parties are striving to hold on to old terms and conditions in an industry that is changing dramatically and irrevocably”.