Helsinki - Finnish flag carrier Finnair on Thursday reported a loss for third-quarter 2009 while turnover dropped by a fifth as demand for flights remained weak.

The group posted a pre-tax loss of 28 million euros (41 million dollars), and a net loss of 20.1 million euros for the quarter.

Third-quarter turnover fell 21.8 per cent to 436.9 million euros.

"The structure of demand has not essentially changed from the early part of the year. Clearly lower demand for business travel and the consequent decline in the average price have cut revenues by more than a fifth," Chief Executive Jukka Hienonen said in a statement.

Hienonen, who announced his resignation in August and has six months notice, said the group had tried to reduce capacity by some 10 per cent in the quarter to counter falling demand.

The carrier did not predict "any rapid change in demand structure. Only the fall in cargo demand has ceased, even though cargo prices remain low," he said.

Fuel costs declined some 28 per cent in the business period due to a combination of lower fuel costs and lower fuel consumption.

Finnair had 8,980 employees at the end of the quarter, down over 6 per cent year-on-year.

Management was in wage talks with the pilots' union and staff organized in the Finnish Aviation Union and Finnair Technical Employees' Association.

During the quarter, the carrier flew 1.8 million passengers on scheduled flights, a drop of 14 per cent year-on-year. (dpa)