Helsinki - Finnish flag carrier Finnair on Friday said higher fuel costs and lower ticket prices contributed to a "weak third quarter."

The group posted a pre-tax loss of 22 million euros (28 million dollars), compared to a pre-tax profit of 59.9 million euros for the corresponding business period in 2007.

Turnover increased 2.7 per cent to 559 million euros in the quarter, the carrier said.

"What is usually our best quarter of the year fell far short of expectations," Chief Executive Jukka Hienonen said in a statement. "The main factors were a historically high fuel price and an average ticket price weakened by the economic downturn."

The drop in oil prices at the end of the quarter gave "only limited relief," he added.

Hienonen said Finnair aimed to continue its flights to Asian destinations saying it was the carrier's "lifeblood."

During January to September, the carrier flew a total of 6.2 million passengers, down over 6 per cent year-on-year. Finnair's Asian traffic increased 15 per cent to 965,000 passengers.

The Finnair CEO also urged the European Union to reconsider bringing European airlines into "emissions trading" as this would "undermine" their competitiveness, adding that introducing an "integrated air traffic control system in Europe" would contribute to a 12-per-cent drop in fuel use and emissions.

A cost-cutting programme aimed at saving 50 million euros has achieved about half the targeted savings.

Talks were ongoing with unions over further measures, though they recently rejected wage cuts.

The group had some 9,600 employees at the end of the quarter. (dpa)