5: Analysis
5.1 Forecast for North American demand positive
In figure 1, we see a comparison of major long-haul flight routes. Between years 2010 and 2030 there seems to be little change in the balance: Trans-Atlantic traffic covered 36% in 2010 and is expected to have a share of 34% in 2030. Proportional demand seems to declining slightly, but we have to take in account the overall world-wide growing demand. As figure 2 shows, especially long-haul traffic has been on the rise from the year 1980. Whereas short-haul flight traffic has grown by around 150% in from 1980 to 2010, long-haul has seen a rise of over 300% in the same period. We could expect the same trend to continue, which would mean increasing demand in long-haul traffic, including…show more content… Arguably Finnair’s greatest competitive advantage at the moment is Helsinki’s geographical location, which allows fast and direct flights to Far East. However, when this advantage is not available, Finnair would have to lean on other factors. Environmental concerns are growing, and in this section Finnair performs quite well. As according to the survey (Figures 11 and 12), environmentality plays a role for some people when choosing an airline - although not for the majority. “This research found that Finnair’s environmental performance can be considered as unique in the market, bearing a high potential for competitive advantage”, Stefan Baumeister states in his project, supporting the importance of environmentality. Another aspect is service. According to Finnair’s Customer Experience Manager Markku Remes, latest research results indicate that “our customers still value Finnair’s travel comfort as well as our modern fleet. Our staff service is perceived as being friendly.” Therefore it can be said that Finnair would possess too relatively significant competitive advantages in the Transatlantic market. However, these two most likely won’t be enough for a proper market penetration - as Wallen in the interview stated, winning market share might prove hard with no decisive competitive advantage like in the Asian