Finnair Demand Drops In March, Cuts Prices

Finland's national carrier Finnair said on Tuesday its capacity usage in March sank as demand for air travel continued to fall.

The airline said particularly business travel had fallen sharply, and that it has cut ticket prices on average by 13 percent in the first quarter due to the weak demand.

"In these adverse economic conditions, Finnair must be ready to fight for customers and with demand being as it is, this has to be done with price," Finnair spokesman Christer Haglund said in a statement.

Finnair said its total load factor fell by 3.4 percentage points year-on-year to 72.9 percent while passenger volumes declined by 8 percent.

Finnair expects its capacity for scheduled passenger traffic to drop more than 6 percent this year.