Finnair selects SITA for remote office management globally

Finnair has selected SITA as its single, global supplier to provide remote office management at 42 outstations across Europe, Asia and North America. The air transport communications specialist will provide this managed service as Finnair expands its network to fulfil its “Vision 2020” to be the top choice for travellers to Europe, Asia and North America.

SITA Remote Office Integrated Service delivers Finnair a unique commercial offering providing full telecommunications and desktop services including WAN, LAN, voice services, network optimization, leased lines, complete service management and delivery.

Finnair now has full visibility of the cost for remote office communications in any region based on a ’price per office’. This allows for clear budgeting as the airline expands its operations while ensuring ongoing operational costs are managed.

Kari Hänninen, Finnair Director, ICT Architectures, said: "Finnair continuously strives for efficiencies and when we considered our options for our global communications and remote office management we found that by using SITA’s managed services we could work with one supplier worldwide. Bringing the individual elements of communications, desktop management and network optimization together has enabled us to reduce our overall costs by more than 20%.

“But the cost savings, though very welcome, are not the only one reason why we chose SITA. The benefit of having a strategic partner that manages all these services coherently is of huge value and the clarity in costs is vital as we plan our future expansion.”

Rob Watkins, SITA Regional Vice President, Northern Europe, said: "SITA’s consolidated offering for Finnair is a managed service which we are providing as a direct response to our customers’ needs.

“SITA is uniquely capable of providing consolidated services because of our combined global and local, presence and expertise. Finnair’s selection of SITA as its strategic partner for communications as it works towards its 2020 vision is a clear endorsement of this.”

The commercial and operational management by SITA of Finnair’s 42 remote offices, and its headquarters in Helsinki, began in January. SITA will also begin monthly and quarterly analyses of the total cost of ownership of Finnair’s voice costs providing the airline with valuable management information to consider future transformation and consolidation of these services.

Finnair carried more than six million passengers in 2010 and its global route network includes over 50 international destinations, and another 700 through its cooperation with oneworld alliance partners. Its traffic between Europe and Asia is well established and growing strongly and is supported in particular by Finland’s favourable geographical position: the shortest routes from Europe to the Far East pass through Helsinki.