Catering

The purpose of catering operations is to support the Group's core business and the high quality of customer service given on flights in line with Finnair's service strategy. Operations are handled by Finnair Catering Oy and its subsidiary Finncatering Oy, which provides meals mainly for leisure flights.

Finnair Catering Oy plans and supplies meals, drinks and other items served to passengers for Finnair's entire route network and also to other client airlines in Finland. During 2002, we supplied 5.7 million meals for international flights, of which 75 per cent were for Finnair and 25 per cent for other companies. Two million snacks were delivered for domestic flights. Finnair's wines were again rated very highly in a airline service survey.

In the autumn, Finnair Catering Oy implemented a reorganization in which catering and trading operations were separated into their own profit centres. The objective of the change is better cost control through greater transparency and enhanced efficiency. The trading business consists of retail sales at airports and on client airlines' flights as well as alcohol and tobacco sales to restaurants and other passenger traffic companies.

At the beginning of 2003, Finnair Catering Oy founded with Altia Oyj a joint venture company, SkyCellar, which will specialize in wine wholesaling. Finnair owns 19.9 per cent of the new company and Altia 80.1 per cent. Procurement cooperation initiated with Viking Line Abp will bring economies of scale in trading operations that will improve profitability.