Finnair's financial performance for 2002, albeit shy of where the airline would like to be, nevertheless will keep its ambitions on track if its cost-cutting is successful during 2003-2004. As Table 1 makes clear, Finnair's debt position in 2002 was strong, so the airline can plan its future in order to come up with increased savings and productivity improvements in line with the target set at the end of March 2003 to lower Finnair's unit cost by 15% in the coming years. Part of this planning is related to the Finnair fleet, whose replacement has stayed on track. One-third of the Finnair fleet has been renewed in just three years and this campaign continues. Perhaps the key feature of this fleet-replacement exercise is the expansion of the Airbus fleet, particularly the A320 family. "At the end of 2002 we operated 17 A320-family aircraft," says Petri Pentti, chief financial officer at Finnair and a member of the carrier's fleet planning group. "Right now we have 19 of them and, by the end of the year, we will operate 24 units." These additional seven A320s will arrive at Finnair through two distinct routes. "Five of these aircraft are brand new from the manufacturer and they are all operating leases through ILFC," says Pentti. "The other two that we are adding to the fleet are second-hand - but essentially very young - ex-Sabena aircraft." These ex-Sabena aircraft are A319s, which Finnair purchased at the end of 2002, and will enter revenue service in May 2003, having been modified.
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