COVER INTERVIEW: HELSINKI AIRPORT


attract new airline partners and increase its routes to Asia, namely China. Helsinki Airport surpassed the


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travellers are also a key demographic for HEL and is thankful that numbers have returned to previous levels. “Chinese spend per head is not


20m passenger mark for the first time in 2018 (20.8m), which Finavia says reflects the still-growing ‘popularity of Finland’ and the increasingly important status of Helsinki as a hub between Asia and Europe. Pax grew 10.4% at HEL in 2018 and


the most significant increase (+10.7%) was attributable to international traffic, which represented 85.8% of Helsinki Airport’s passengers. Domestic traffic accounted for the remaining 14.2%. The number of international


transfer passengers, which accounted for 35.5%, grew the most (+22.3%), with more than 3.7m passengers continuing their journey from Helsinki Airport by air. “Helsinki Airport is a vital hub


of air traffic in Northern Europe, especially for Asian passengers,” adds Sundelin. “This is reflected in the continued growth of the number of transfer passengers. “Flying via Helsinki provides the


shortest route between Europe and Asia,” Katja Siberg, SVP, Marketing, Communications and Customer Experience at Finavia tells TRBusiness. Interestingly, she also revealed that Helsinki has the fifth-cheapest landing fees in Europe.


More Asia routes than rivals Although the airport clearly has ambitions to grow its traffic and capacity, it is not aiming to surpass its Nordic rivals, Copenhagen and Arlanda in terms of total international traffic volume (although it did register faster growth than either last year). “I would say that our strategy is


increasing, but it remains stable,” says Sundelin. “In fact it is flat for all nationalities – more or less or perhaps a ‘slight decrease’. “[As I mentioned] the density of passengers during the peak hours is a major factor here, also end-user habits are changing.” Because the airport receives


such an eclectic mix of passengers, Finavia is all the more keen to create a sense of place for its visitors who may only be making a fleeting visit. For example, Siberg was keen to point out the significance of giving the new central plaza, ‘Aukio’, a Finnish name. “We are the window to Finland


and of course with Aukio, through the use of all the wonderful digital technology, we are able to showcase the beauty of Finnish nature while enhancing customer experience,” says Siberg. As exclusively reported by


TRBusiness, Finavia conducted a tour of its new 25,000sq m Aukio central plaza on 6 February. Aukio, which literally means


‘central plaza’ in Finnish, lies at the heart of the long-haul expansion collecting both departing passengers and arriving passengers


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the South Pier, which was completed in July 2017). HEL is especially proud of Aukio’s architectural structure (courtesy of PES-Architects). Crafted from Finnish wood, its ‘rugged’ wall and ceiling design provides a striking backdrop for various events that will take


more targeted to certain passenger segments,” says Sundelin. “If you look at CPH, it has a different market size. Their local demand is bigger, point-to-point is much bigger. But, if we are looking at transfer traffic, our Asia connections – of course the US is growing too – if you compare us with the other three main Nordic airports we have more routes than they have combined; to Asia, we have more passengers than the three of them have together.” Siberg points out that Russian


FEBRUARY 2019


sizeable World Duty Free store – one of five spread across Helsinki Airport – including a new ToyLand concept as well as five other retail outlets. These comprise the following:


Marimekko (fashion & accessories); littala (homeware); Kankurin Tupa


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www.trbusiness.com/subscriptions Transfer passengers play an important role for Helsinki Airport. TRBUSINESS 19


Now more than ever Finavia is very clear in its commercial vision for the future of Hel.


“We can make changes… For example in the wayfinding, if there isn’t enough signage or if it’s in the wrong place, it is very important for us to act, as these are the thoughts and feelings of our real customers.”


Katja Siberg, SVP, Marketing, Communications and Customer Experience , Helsinki Airport


place there. The new central plaza features a


modernised security control, shops, restaurants and new services. The parade of new shops include a


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