The Strike Made Finnair the Worst Airline in the World – But the Strike General Doesn’t Care

Finland’s national airline, Finnair, has – at least according to the Germans – become the worst airline in the world. The reason for this is the high number of flight cancellations caused by employee strikes.

I won’t take a stance in this piece on whether the strikes were justified or not, but I would like to draw your attention, dear readers, to what the chairman of the union behind the strikes, Juhani Haapalehto, bluntly stated when asked what he would like to say to the at least one hundred thousand passengers whose travel plans were disrupted by the strikes.

Haapalehto said: “It’s not worth it for me to comment one way or another. It would be misunderstood. After all, air passengers are not our customers – our members are.”

His comment has been met with astonishment in Finland. For example, the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, Juho Romakkaniemi, wondered how “the union (and apparently its members) seems to have no understanding of who ultimately pays their salaries. It’s sad, all in all.”

Unfortunately, this case reflects a broader trend of Finnish union leaders becoming increasingly detached from the everyday lives of ordinary people and wage earners. Their only apparent goal seems to be preserving their own positions and perks, and – as happens in every election in Finland – funneling union membership fees into the campaign efforts of left-wing parties.

For now, the strikes have ended, but the actual dispute between the unions and Finnair’s management remains unresolved. As a result, the rights of passengers and the future of the airline are likely to hang in the balance once the current agreement expires.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Finnair Pilots' Actions Spark Employer Countermove 
Why Can't Finland Find Workforce?
History of Finland XIII: The far-right's rebellion

Finnair Pilots' Actions Spark Employer Countermove

Finnair is a Finnish airline whose pilots have recently engaged in various industrial actions, such as standby duty bans, leading to flight cancellations. The underlying reason for these actions is their demand for significant pay raises, as the pilots had previously accepted salary cuts to help save their employer, which had fallen into heavy losses.

However, the pilots now have something new to consider, as Finnair has announced the start of negotiations regarding pilot layoffs. The reason for this is an arrangement in which Finnair had leased two of its A330 aircraft, along with their crews, to a partner company. Finnair pilots have been operating flights on these aircraft from Bangkok and Singapore to Sydney.

According to Finnair, this arrangement has allowed the airline to put its A330 aircraft to productive use and provide work for around 90 pilots, even though, with Russian airspace closed, there would not have been enough demand for these aircraft otherwise. Despite this, the pilots' union has now expanded its industrial actions to include the critical Bangkok and Singapore flights, as well as the Sydney flights operated for the partner company.

As a result, Finnair is no longer able to operate these partnership flights reliably and has therefore started discussions with its partner regarding next steps, which include the possibility of terminating the agreement—and consequently laying off the pilots involved in these operations. It remains to be seen how the pilots' union will respond to this development.

In my view, there are three possible outcomes. Either the pilots call off their industrial actions related to this partnership, abandon their push for significant pay raises to save those at risk of being laid off, or—what I consider the most likely scenario—the situation escalates even further. At this stage, one thing is clear: the labor dispute is being played with stakes so unusual that such a situation has rarely been seen in Finland.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Do Finns have the patience?
Why Can't Finland Find Workforce?
A nurse´s question: who deserves health care, and who does not