Finnair and Norwegian in codeshare talks

Finnair CEO, Mika Vehvilaeinen, stated the carrier is seeking a codeshare agreement with Norwegian Air Shuttle, as part of efforts to increase passenger numbers on its nine international services to Asia, and to gain market share from SAS Group (Bloomberg, 12-Mar-2010). Norwegian last month announced plans to launch Helsinki-Oslo and Helsinki-Stockholm services in Apr-2010. Finnair is currently Norwegian's third-largest shareholder with a 4.8% stake.

Finnair: "We are discussing different forms of cooperation with Norwegian, including the possibility to feed into our Asian traffic. It sometimes makes sense for other people to fly into our 'waves' into Asia," Mika Vehvilaeinen, CEO. Source: Bloomberg, 12-Mar-2010.

Norwegian Air Shuttle: "We have an interest in strategic cooperation. Finnair has been very good at developing a solid long-haul hub in Helsinki and that, combined with our inter-Scandinavian network, could be an interesting set up...Norwegian Air will be one of the beneficiaries of consolidation in the Scandinavian market. We are very well positioned for the growth that can come in the Nordic region," Daniel Skjeldam, CCO. Source: Bloomberg, 12-Mar-2010.