Airline pulls eight planes out of service over issue with seat covers

Finnair, the government-owned national airline of Finland, has grounded 10 per cent of its fleet this month over an issue with seat covers.

“Finnair is replacing approximately 1,700 seat covers in eight A321 aircraft, and six of the planes will be back in service within a week,” the airline announced in a press release on Thursday. “All eight aircraft are expected to be back in operation by the end of the month.”

The planes, Airbus models capable of carrying between 185 and 239 passengers, were pulled out of service on Oct. 13 after the airline was informed by the manufacturer of the plane’s seat covers that the impact of washing on their fire protection rating had not been verified in the required manner.

The airline says the seat covers were manufactured by a long-standing Finnair partner, based on specifications provided by the original seat manufacturer, and have been washed every two years in accordance with the information received from that manufacturer.

The grounding of the eight aircraft has resulted in the cancellation of about 70 flights since Oct. 13, affecting some 11,000 customers.

“We are deeply sorry for the inconvenience and disruption this has caused to our customers,” said Pekka Korhonen, senior vice president of technical operations at Finnair.

“The safe operation of our flights is the foundation of everything we do. Once we received information that the impact of washing on the fire protection of the seat covers had not been verified in the required manner, it was clear that the aircraft had to remain on the ground until the issue was resolved.”

The new covers are being sourced from multiple suppliers. In the meantime, the airline has leased two aircraft and crew to operate as part of its network. Finnair has said it will contact affected customers directly if there are any changes to their flights.

Finnair has a fleet of 80 aircraft , most of them Airbus models, though not all were affected by the seat cover issue.

Founded in 1923 as Aero O/Y, Finnair regularly receives accolades for its safety record and customer service. Last month it was awarded the highest star rating, a Five Star Global Official Airline Rating, from the Airline Passenger Experience Association. It was one of 23 airlines to receive the rating, a list that included Air Canada.

In its latest monthly data, it noted that 83.1 per cent of all Finnair flights arrived on schedule in September.

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