Finnair says Chinese airlines’ continued access to Russian airspace has created an unfair competitive advantage on routes between Europe and Asia. While Chinese carriers can operate shorter, faster flights through Russia, Finnair has been forced to take longer routes since Moscow barred Western airlines from its airspace. The Finnish airline once relied on Helsinki’s location to offer some of the quickest connections between Europe and major Asian cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Tokyo. CEO Turkka Kuusisto said the differing access to Russian airspace has left Finnair competing on an uneven playing field, requiring it to reroute flights and shift capacity.
Do we feel sorry for Finnair? Not really. If it wants to complain, it should address its grievances to Finland’s moronic president and his equally moronic EU buddies who have created this problem in the first place. In other words, screw Finnair. Don’t you agree?