Business travel has accelerated and companies in Ostrobothnia want better air connections. At the same time, quite a large number of companies announce that they will continue to moderate their air travel.
In September-October, Vaasanseutun Kehitys Oy Vasek carried out an air survey in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce of Ostrobothnia, Entrepreneurs of Vaasa and Entrepreneurs of Rannikko-Ostrobothnia. 290 members of the Chamber of Commerce and entrepreneurs’ associations answered the survey.
Of the responding companies, 55% had 1–10 employees, 23% had 11–50 employees, 9% had 51–100 employees. 13 percent of the responding companies had more than 100 employees.
– We can clearly see that business tourism has now started again. This means that we currently have too little capacity. Getting the Stockholm connection back, the morning flight from Helsinki to Vaasa and bigger planes on some Helsinki routes are the things that companies consider the most important.
The pandemic had a lasting impact – and more people are thinking about the environment
The results of the study also show that air travel is unlikely to return to the way it was before.
Only 67 percent of the respondents stated in the survey that the amount of air travel in their company will return to the same level as before the pandemic.
Almost half of those who estimate that air travel will not return to the same level as before the pandemic still estimate that air travel will remain 20-50 percent lower.
83 percent of those surveyed said they travel less because they hold more of their meetings online.
At the same time, it turned out that more and more people are thinking about the environment and limiting their air travel in order to achieve the goals of sustainable development.
In the previously conducted flight surveys in 2020 or 2021, the aspect of responsibility has not emerged as strongly, Vasek says in the press release.
Flights to Stockholm are on the wish list of entrepreneurs
There are currently three daily flights between Vaasa and Helsinki.
But 55 percent of respondents believe that the current air connections do not meet the needs of the company.
Among other things, the companies see as a shortcoming the fact that it is not possible to travel from Helsinki to Vaasa in such a time that you would be able to get to the meeting held in Vaasa at nine in the morning.
Another shortcoming is further connections from Helsinki to Europe. In addition, many companies lack the old connection to Stockholm, which, despite persistent efforts, has not been restarted after the pandemic.
Peter Källberg states that there is a lot to be done.
– The results of this survey are now used as a starting point in the ongoing discussion with the airlines. It is important to be able to show that what we say about the needs of companies in the Vaasa region are not mere assumptions, but are based on facts, says Källberg, according to the release.