Finnair looks to sell Lapland in cities
"We have to compete with some sort of presence within the cities," said Pekka Immonen, Finnair's general manager for Poland. But for now, it is unclear whether the agreement will increase Finnair's visibility on the Polish market, in which it has a 2% share. "That still remains to be seen," Immonen said.
Under the agreement, which went into effect last week, Finnair rep offices will operate at INT Express offices in Warsaw, Gdansk, Rzeszow, Krakow, Katowice, Lodz and Wroclaw.
Access lines into the reservation system are currently being installed, Immonen said. "Our primary target is to promote Lapland," Immonen said, noting that the area is one of the true remaining forests left in Europe. But the centers will also be used for flights within Europe as well as transatlantic flights.
As an added benefit to passengers, the airline will also offer free train tickets to Warsaw, while the travel agency will give free transport service between Warszawa Centralna and Okecie Airport.
The new rep offices will be aimed at the leisure travel market. While Immonen said that he has plans for business travelers, he declined to further comment on them.
In 1998, Poles spent 36,000 hotel nights in Lapland. As a result of the marketing agreement, Immonen's goal is to increase that number to 72,000 nights within two years. In 1998 Finnair sold about 25,000 tickets here. For 1999, the airline is expecting ticket sales to increase by about 17% and for growth to remain in double digits in 2000.
Ryszard Posyniak, president of domestic travel agency PC Express and vice president of the of International Air Transportation Association's (IATA) local branch, acknowledged that the added locations would possibly give more access to the airline. But he had a more skeptical view about Finnair's plans.
"They have a marginal position and I think they will keep it," Posyniak said, adding that passengers would go via London or Frankfurt for long-haul flights.
While he also mentioned that there has been some interest by Poles to visit northern climates, he also believed that it would not grow very much.
Under the agreement, which went into effect last week, Finnair rep offices will operate at INT Express offices in Warsaw, Gdansk, Rzeszow, Krakow, Katowice, Lodz and Wroclaw.
Access lines into the reservation system are currently being installed, Immonen said. "Our primary target is to promote Lapland," Immonen said, noting that the area is one of the true remaining forests left in Europe. But the centers will also be used for flights within Europe as well as transatlantic flights.
As an added benefit to passengers, the airline will also offer free train tickets to Warsaw, while the travel agency will give free transport service between Warszawa Centralna and Okecie Airport.
The new rep offices will be aimed at the leisure travel market. While Immonen said that he has plans for business travelers, he declined to further comment on them.
In 1998, Poles spent 36,000 hotel nights in Lapland. As a result of the marketing agreement, Immonen's goal is to increase that number to 72,000 nights within two years. In 1998 Finnair sold about 25,000 tickets here. For 1999, the airline is expecting ticket sales to increase by about 17% and for growth to remain in double digits in 2000.
Ryszard Posyniak, president of domestic travel agency PC Express and vice president of the of International Air Transportation Association's (IATA) local branch, acknowledged that the added locations would possibly give more access to the airline. But he had a more skeptical view about Finnair's plans.
"They have a marginal position and I think they will keep it," Posyniak said, adding that passengers would go via London or Frankfurt for long-haul flights.
While he also mentioned that there has been some interest by Poles to visit northern climates, he also believed that it would not grow very much.
