The location of Finland made it a popular gateway for Asian travelers. By crossing over Russia, Finnair was able to offer flights that were hours shorter than flights to other European capitals. A new terminal was built with streamlined transfers. The instant noodle packets favored by Chinese tourists were found in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese locations.
The carefully constructed game table was overturned after Russia sent troops to the border.
Russia closed its airspace to most European airlines. When it was routed over Russia's 3,000-mile expanse, it would take 13 hours and up to 40 percent more fuel.
Finnair had a competitive advantage as the fastest route from Asia to Europe.
The economic upheaval caused by the war in Ukraine is affecting businesses around the world.
According to a database compiled by the Yale School of Management, more than 1,000 companies have withdrawn operations from Russia since the beginning of the year.
The range has been affected by high energy costs. The Erkel Theater will be closing temporarily because it can't pay its energy bill. Hakle, one of the largest manufacturers of toilet paper in Germany, declared insolvency because of soaring energy costs.
The snack food industry, unable to get sufficient supplies of sunflower oil from Ukraine, has had to scramble for replacements like palm oil, forcing them to rejigger their supply chains.
Japan Airlines and ANA canceled flights to Europe. Virgin Atlantic decided to stop all traffic to and from Hong Kong because of Russia's ban. The consequences for Finnair have been severe.
Topi Manner said that the Asia strategy had been in the works for 20 years. The services were tailored to cater to Asian customers. In-flight movies are dubbed or subtitled in a number of Asian languages. Chicken in Chinese garlic and oyster sauce and Korean-style stir- fried pork in spicy sauce are included in the meal. The airline's ground staff speak the native languages of the area.
Half of the airline's revenue came from travelers from Asia. Sixty percent of the revenue came from passengers that used Helsinki as a hub.
With no end in sight to the war, the management of the airline decided that Russian airspace would remain closed to European airlines for a long time.
Finnair operated 76 flights this summer compared to 199 in the summer of 2019. The airline is going at a good rate. The operating losses in the first half of the year were over 200 million euro.
Mr. Manner said that they need to regroup.
Finnair has been regrouping ever since the Pandemic hit in 2020. Finnair's recovery compared with airlines that have large domestic markets or operate in other regions was hampered due to China's "zero Covid" policy. Finnair, half of which is owned by the government, fought to survive by cutting costs and raising money.
It was intended to lead back to the Asia strategy when it was created.
It's no longer possible. The company made an announcement last month.
Mr. Manner said that they pivoted their network towards the west. There were new weekly flights from Dallas-Fort Worth and Seattle. As jet fuel prices go up, the airline is renting out planes and crews to other airlines, and it plans to shrink the size of its fleet and staff.
Finnair has lost over a billion dollars over the past three years.
Jaakko Tyrvinen, an airline analyst with SEB, said it would take some time for the company to make a decision.
There was a need for a strategy shift for the new terminal.
An estimated 30 million passengers were expected by the year 2030. The situation is too uncertain to make a meaningful update to those projections. 15 million people are expected to travel next year.
The project began nearly a decade ago and was designed to improve services for transfer passengers from Asia.
Customers from China were the focus of a publicity campaign by the state-owned company that runs the country's airline terminal. Ryan Jhu, a popular Chinese actor, was living for a month in the terminal for the campaign.
Only a few travelers use the new terminal that is dedicated to non- European transfer traffic.
There were no people at passport control on a recent day. A lone woman with a backpack was hosted at the aukio where passengers could sit and watch a wraparound video installation. The Moomin Shop had no customers. The Moomin cafe was mostly empty.
Liccely Del Carpio works at the Moomin store and said that mornings are usually slow. It has been okay.
The European terminal was busy, but most of the shops and cafes were empty. The spaces were not leased or closed.
The vice president of airport development at Finavia said that the hundreds of millions of euros in loans used to build the airport would eventually be repaid, but that the payback schedule needs to be reconsidered. He said that negotiations are occurring.
Despite the likelihood that the war in Ukraine will drag on, Mr. Kiiskinen is optimistic.
He said that they believed in their strategy. He said that major infrastructure developments are designed for 50 years. Putin won't be there forever.
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