Finnair is expected to return to full service on Friday.

Both Finnair and the union representing its pilots accepted a mediation proposal on Tuesday evening, drawing to a close a two-day strike by nearly 800 Finnair pilots. The proposal had been submitted by National Conciliator Esa Lonka to Finnair and the Finnish Air Line Pilots' Association (SLL) earlier the same day.

“It's good that we arrived at a compromise, and that the strike which caused such inconvenience to customers can come to an end. This agreement provides for both structural changes and substantial short-term savings. In addition to a five per cent fall in pilots' wages, the agreement calls for co-operation in identifying a further 13 per cent cut in unit expenditure,” commented Anssi Komulainen, head of human resources at Finnair.

The dispute between the Finnair and its pilots centred on how much the company should be allowed to use external pilots to fly Finnair craft. SLL notes that the compromise places certain limits on outsourcing. It says that Finnair is allowed to outsource, for example, two planes to the company Finncomm, with the proviso that they be operated explicitly as Finncomm's flights, not Finnair's.

A prior mediation proposal was submitted by Lonka in the early hours of Friday 13 November. SLL rejected that proposal, however, resolving to proceed with threatened strike action in the evening between Sunday and Monday.

The chief difference between the two proposals was that the second, which was ultimately accepted, commits the company to giving one year's notice of any termination of a pilot's contract. The agreement remains in force through to 31 October 2011.

The fall in pilots' wages is the forgone quid to this contractual quo.

“The new collective agreement protects the company's future by reducing the costs of cabin crew. We're also given the flexibility to develop the company's route network,” Komulainen said.

According to the Finnair Communications Officer Taneli Hassinen, each day of the industrial action translated into a loss of 2.5 million euros for the company. This figure does not include the lost revenue from potential bookings as people decided against purchasing tickets for fear that the strike would drag on. Hassinen estimated that the strike affected around 15,000 travellers daily.

The strike came to an end in the evening between Tuesday 17 November and Wednesday 18 November. Planes returned to the skies already on Wednesday, when almost half of scheduled flights went ahead. On Thursday, an estimated 150 out of 200 flights will be given the go-ahead.

The airline is expected to return to full service on Friday.

STT
Matthew Parry – HT
Lehtikuva - Vesa Moilanen