Estonian airline to provide Swedish domestic services

Regional Jet OÜ will perform flights between Stockholm and Gällivare and Arvidsjauri using 90-seat CRJ900 jets (Nordica)

Nordica’s Estonian flag carrier subsidiary Regional Jet OÜ has won a contract to provide services in the Swedish domestic air transport market, in which it will take over state-subsidised air links between the cities of Stockholm, Gällivare and Arvidsjauri.

The newly-signed procurement contract runs until October 2019 and flights between Stockholm and Gällivare and Arvidsjauri in the north of Sweden will commence in September.

The previous air operation between the cities was terminated in May due to the bankruptcy of local airline Nextjet. In response, the Swedish aviation board called for tenders, and consequently it was the Estonian airline which won the contract. Operations will be performed by Nordica’s 90-seat Bombardier CRJ900 jets.

The Estonian company has previous experience in serving these Swedish routes. “Back in 2016, we were a subcontractor for Nextjet on this route and we thus have a good overview of the expense base of the service we’ll be providing,” explains Nordica’s marketing and communication director Toomas Uibo.

Nordica’s passenger numbers continued to grow in the second quarter of 2018, airline flew more than 190,000 passengers from April to June, up 36 per cent year-on-year. More than 315,000 passengers were transported in the first half of the year. The airline’s market share at Tallinn, its base airport for the first six months of 2018 was more than 26% on average, making it the biggest carrier on the local market.

Nordica launched operations in November 2015, and has since become one of the most competitive airlines in its region, currently operating 19 aircraft, therefore making it the biggest airline in Estonian history. It currently also exports its flight services to Denmark, Poland and the Netherlands and employs some 450 aviation specialists both in Estonia and abroad.

Nordica, which is a part of the Nordic Aviation Group and is the successor to Estonian Air, is 100 per cent owned by the Estonian nation. Its Regional Jet OÜ subsidiary provides aviation services to its parent company, flying under Nordica brand and supplying wet lease services to several other clients.

Nordica has a strategic partnership with LOT Polish Airlines, which has a 49 per cent stake in its Regional Jet OÜ subsidiary.