Nordica, in cooperation with its strategic partner LOT Polish Airlines, served approximately 32,000 passengers in February 2017 – 70% more than in the same period last year.

“Nordica’s been growing strongly for several months now, mostly due to passengers knowing us and trusting us more,” said Nordica CEO Jaan Tamm. “And that’s down to the fact that we’re keeping much more to schedule than we were managing to this time last year. We’re able to offer Estonian travellers the convenience of direct flights, or at the very least the opportunity to get to where they’re going with as few stopovers as possible. Time is such an important factor in flying, so every extra stopover you have to make stretches out your total travel time and adds to the indirect costs they involve.”

Nordica operated 738 regular flights in February, plus flights operated for partners outside of Estonia.

According to the data of Tallinn Airport, Nordica operated the most flights out of the Estonian capital during the month in terms of passenger numbers, accounting for 23% of all regular flights.

“Numbers-wise our most popular route in February was Tallinn-Munich,” Tamm explained. “It’s nice to see that so many fans of skiing have caught on to and made the most of the opportunity to get to their preferred ski resorts via Munich, as well as Vienna – places to which there were only a handful of flights in previous years.”

February also saw the formal conclusion of the sale of a 49% share in Nordica’s subsidiary Regional Jet OÜ to LOT Polish Airlines. Confirming the effectiveness of this partnership, two new aircraft joined the Nordica fleet this week, both of them belonging to the same CRJ family as Nordica’s other planes. Although the new aircraft will mostly serve routes outside of Estonia as part of the subcontracting service being provided to LOT, they will also occasionally be brought into service for Nordica flights departing from Tallinn. This in turn will allow the company to respond promptly to the need for optimisation and increased demand in its flight schedules.

“Our focus continues to be on shoring up our position where direct flights are concerned,” Tamm added. “In May, for example, we’ll be launching a new route, with flights between Tallinn and Hamburg – which is a great place for a weekend break and to attend a wide range of events. Where our flight schedule for the second half of the year is concerned we’re keeping a careful eye on developments regarding Estonia’s forthcoming presidency of the Council of the European Union, and making plans accordingly. We’ve already added flights between Tallinn and Brussels for that reason, and will be adding even more in the coming months.”