Finnair 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.

Finnair is set to receive its fifth Airbus A330 this November, and is scheduled to get two more A330s 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 said. "We have the situation that we can get financing."

Hassinen said the planes are worth around EUR100 million euros (USD$143.4 million) each. The company has flagged capital expenditure of below EUR300 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 said earlier on Monday its August passenger traffic slid 17.1 percent from a year ago.

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 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.