Finnair adjusts fleet to cope with weak demand

* Says leaning towards buying 3 Airbus 330s in 2010
* Says to withdraw 3 Boeing 757s from leisure traffic
* To loan 2 planes to domestic rival
(Releads, adds details, quotes)
By Eva Lamppu
HELSINKI, Sept 8, 2009 (Reuters) - Finnair (FIA1S.HE) said it may buy three new aircraft rather than lease them, and would also cut leisure and domestic route capacity, in an effort to cut costs in the face of weak demand.
Finland's Finnair is set to receive its fifth Airbus 330 (EAD.PA) aircraft this November, and is scheduled to get two more 330s in the first quarter of next year and a third in the last quarter, as it upgrades its fleet.
Spokesman Taneli Hassinen said that as leasing prices had risen by up to a fifth in the wake of the credit crunch, it was becoming more cost-efficient for Finnair to buy the three aircraft due next year.
"There is no final decision yet, but based on current knowledge we will with great probability take them onto our balance sheet," Hassinen told Reuters. "We have the situation that we can get financing."
Hassinen said the planes are worth around 100 million euros ($143.4 million) each. The company has flagged capital expenditure of below 300 million for next year.
Like other airlines, state-controlled Finnair has been hit as the economic slowdown throttles demand and pressures ticket prices. The firm has forecast a clear operating loss in the current quarter and said its 2009 result would be in the red.
Scandinavian rival SAS (SAS.ST) said earlier on Monday its August passenger traffic slid 17.1 percent from a year ago [ID:nL7592712].
The industry has had to cut capacity to keep pace, and Finnair said earlier in a statement it would withdraw three leased Boeing 757 aircraft from its leisure traffic next summer.
Hassinen confirmed Finnair would also cut capacity by loaning two Embraer planes to domestic rival Finncomm Airlines, confirming a report by national Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat.
Finnair shares were flat at 4 euros at 1200 GMT. ($1=.6973 Euro) (Reporting by Eva Lamppu; editing by Simon Jessop)