“Nordica has entered a new phase of its development. Cooperation with LOT Polish Airlines, a leading Central and Eastern European air carrier, will enhance the sustainability of our business model and ensure the financial security and reliability of our company in the international aviation market. The willingness of LOT to become a shareholder in our subsidiary Regional Jet shows that cooperation with Nordica is taken seriously and that LOT sees it as a long-term partnership rather than a short-term project,” said Jaan Tamm, CEO of Nordica, explaining the underlying reasons for taking on board a strong strategic partner.
In the first nine months of 2016, Nordica exported services worth net 4.7 million; the number of flights for export is expected to grow over 150% next year.
LOT is a profitable airline, which as of 2016 after successful restructuring process, has started its dynamic development. With 25 new connections launched this year, including 2 new long hauls to Tokyo and Seoul, LOT is now the fastest growing legacy carrier in Europe. Polish airline brings to the cooperation with Nordica its operational reliability, being one of the most regular and punctual airlines in the world.
“We are very happy and proud, that soon LOT will be able to offer its excellent service to the passengers travelling from Tallinn to Europe, as well as to the extended number of those, who will now be able to fly from Tallinn via Warsaw to dozens destinations around the world” – said Rafał Milczarski, LOT Polish Airlines CEO. – “Together with Nordica we are making first step towards consolidation of the Central and Eastern Europe aviation market. At the same time this is the first such innovative cooperation of two carriers from Central and Eastern Europe, proving that airlines in our region do not have to be surrendered to the big Western European carriers, losing their national identity and reducing scale of operations. On a contrary, along with LOT they can continue their individual development, while building an efficient transfer hub in the center of the region – in Warsaw – in particular for long-haul connections. I am delighted that the Polish carrier builds synergy with his Estonian partner. Both Poland and Estonia, which is one of the most dynamic economies in Europe, certainly benefit from this” – Milczarski adds.
Nordica’s cooperation agreement with Adria Airways was signed for a term of one year with the possibility to renew the agreement for another year. “The set up and launch of Nordica as a company was completed this autumn and we decided not to make use of this option. I would like to thank the management of Adria Airways for the good cooperation; it was due to them, in no small way, that we became fully operational in such a short time,” said Jaan Tamm.
The involvement of a new strategic partner will not entail any material changes for the passengers who have booked a flight with Nordica. “All scheduled flights will take place and there are no changes to flight schedules. Our cooperation with Adria Airways in current format will continue for the next two weeks and all air tickets will remain valid. The reservations for flights departing from 19. November will be changed by travel agencies or online booking environments free of charge,” explained the chairman of Nordica’s management board. “Our cooperation with LOT is good news to all passengers departing from Tallinn because we will be able to offer a larger number of flights with more convenient transfer options,” added Tamm.
All tickets for connections offered by Nordica and LOT will be soon available worldwide via nordica.ee website, as well as thru all LOT channels, including lot.com website, LOT Contact Center and travel agents.
Background information:
Nordica, or Nordic Aviation Group AS, was established in the autumn of 2015 with the aim of ensuring airline connections from and to Estonia. Nordica is 100-percent state-owned. Nordica flies from Tallinn to 15 destinations in Europe and continues to operate the Örebro (Sweden) – Copenhagen – Groningen (the Netherlands) routes. Nordica carried 307 606 passengers in the first ten months of this year.
Regional Jet – a subsidiary of Nordica – is responsible for the day-to-day aviation operations of Nordica. Regional Jet has a high level of aviation-related experience and expertise, and holds all the various licences and certificates required in civil aviation. Regional Jet employs 120 professionals, including pilots and flight attendants.
LOT Polish Airlines
State-owned LOT Polish Airlines is a leading air carrier in Central and Eastern Europe. With continuous 87 years in service, LOT operates an average of 200 flights per day to 60 destinations on four continents, carrying some five million passengers a year. LOT’s intercontinental flights to New York, Chicago, Toronto, Tokyo, Beijing, and Seoul, as well as to Los Angeles and Newark starting next spring, are serviced by the most modern aircraft in the world, Boeings 787 Dreamliner.