Estonian Air may start to fly to Asia or the United States

http://reisileidja.delfi.ee/news/helenius-estonian-air-voib-hakata-aasiasse-voi-usasse-lendama.d?id=58778836

Estonian Air may start to fly to Asia or the United States

http://reisileidja.delfi.ee/news/helenius-estonian-air-voib-hakata-aasiasse-voi-usasse-lendama.d?id=58778836

Are you serious? I can't understand anything in estonian.

Are you serious? I can't understand anything in estonian.

This article merely describes Joakim Helenius' (the chairman of EA) future prospects and how things could go if current plans go well.

New Routes from Riga

Copenhagen , [B]Stockholm-Arlanda [begins 19 April 2012]



Norwegian continues its expansion in the Nordic region – launching 34 new routes
11/22/2011 9:30 AM

Norwegian (NAS) continues its expansion in the Nordic region, launching 34 new routes from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden to popular destinations all over Europe. The new routes will commence with the summer schedule starting in March 2012.

"Norwegian is a strong player in the Nordic market and a fast growing airline. Brand-new and more environmentally friendly aircraft with free in-flight WiFi has proven to be a success as more and more passengers choose to travel with us. With an expanding network, of nearly 300 routes, we are able to offer even more flexibility to our customers in terms of connecting flights,” said Norwegian’s CEO Bjørn Kjos.

As well as launching new routes, Norwegian adds more capacity to 40 of its most popular routes, particularly to destinations around the Mediterranean.

The addition of the new services means that Norwegian will offer a choice of over 297 routes connecting its bases across the Nordic region to key airports all over Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

When the new routes start in March 2012, 80 percent of Norwegian’s aircraft fleet will be WiFi equipped, making it easy for passengers to surf online at 30,000 feet.

Tickets for the new destinations will be available for sale at www.norwegian.com as of Wednesday 23 November.

New routes from Norway
Oslo: Ajaccio/Corsica, Andøya, Bratislava, Kiev, Reykjavik, Skiathos
Bergen: Edinburgh
Sandefjord/Torp: Antalya, Bergen, Berlin, Evenes, Las Palmas, Nice, Palma/Mallorca, Trondheim
Trondheim: Berlin

New routes from Sweden:
Stockholm: Amsterdam, Corfu, Krakow, Riga, Vaasa
Gothenburg: London Gatwick

New routes from Denmark:
Copenhagen:, Belgrade, Bratislava, Burgas, Marseille, Milan, Riga, Szczecin
Aalborg: Berlin

New routes from Finland:
Helsinki: Corfu, Palma/Mallorca, Paris, Rhodes

http://media.norwegian.com/en/Pressrelease/?iId=707366

Next summer season "Novaturas" with "Small Planet Airlines" will make a hub in Vilnius and passengers from Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius through Vilnius airport will be able to access these holiday destinations:

http://foto.terpe.lt/inkelti/20111128/i30_novaturas_hub.png

Interesting that it's not really only charter flights, as it'll be possible to buy tickets for direct flights too.

In 2012 summer season Vilnius will have connections to at least 17 "holiday-charter" destinations:
http://foto.terpe.lt/inkelti/20111128/i25_summercharters2012.png

Source:
http://simonas.bartkus.lt/blog/2011/11/24/novaturas-su-small-planet-pagalba-vilniaus-oro-uoste-kurs-tranzito-centra/

According to Tomas Vaišvila, general manager of VNO next year Vilnius airport is planning "much more than 2 million passengers" as many companies are planning to expand in Vilnius (including WizzAir which will bring a new plane to Vilnius base).

It's hard to find data how airBaltic is doing in Vilnius as it's doing quite bad here so airBaltic is trying to avoid putting such data in its usual PRs, all I can find is that in September it dropped by some -27% and in October situation was probably even worse.

From now airBaltic is truly national airline - 99,8% share belongs to Latvian government.

heard today that Krajbanka bankruptcy can also be pulled in airBaltic and state opportunity to inject money airBaltic is also limited:S

Is far as I understood - Latvian government actually bought a pledge of shares. It will turn into shares only if BAS don't repay some loans they have taken from Latvijas Krājbanka. Anyway, I think this was the right move. And the cash paid will go to those affected by Krājbanka bankruptcy, so there is a great chance it will actually come back to some municipal or state organisation funds.

Is far as I understood - Latvian government actually bought a pledge of shares. It will turn into shares only if BAS don't repay some loans they have taken from Latvijas Krājbanka.

If BAS won't repay loans to Krājbanka and state will de facto become the owner of BAS shares, does it mean that state will have to pay BAS loans to Krājbanka?

Why state bought pledge of shares for 224 453 lats, if that previously secret contract allowed them to do it for 1 lat? Or it was meant 1 lat for each share? (thus 224 453 shares X 1 lat = 224 453 lats)

If understand correctly, Latvia hasn't nationalized Krājbanka, so it still belongs mostly to Lithuania now, as a Snoras owner. Then hasn't Lithuania rights to pretend to Krājbanka resources, legally? And they don't use this rights just because of good will currently?

It's hard to understand all these labyrinths...

If BAS won't repay loans to Krājbanka and state will de facto become the owner of BAS shares, does it mean that state will have to pay BAS loans to Krājbanka?
I think no. I'm not a financial analyst neither, but there are things that don't end up in journalists' "state bought shares" story.

Estonian Air is going to reopen Tallinn-Riga & Tallinn-Helsinki routes and add more flights to existing routes.

Estonian Air announces two new destinations: Tallinn-Vienna and Tallinn-Hannover.:)

Some more news from Estonian Air:

Estonian Air is going to open a new route to Tbilisi, Georgia and three new routes to Finland: Kokkola-Pietarsaari, Joensuu and Kajaani.

Tbilisi, Georgia line will be operated 4x a week, Kokkola-Pietarsaari 6x a week, Joensuu 4x a week and Kajaani 4x a week. All new routes will commence in March/April 2012.

Source: http://www.tarbija24.ee/653722/estonian-air-avab-kolm-uut-soome-ja-uhe-gruusia-liini/

----

EA seems to have lots of new lines for March/April 2012. Great stuff! However, I really doubt Kokkola-Pietarsaari/Kajaani-Tallinn are going to work out.

^^
And Estonian Air also plans to open seasonal Tallinn-Venice route. Flights commence on Tuesdays & Saturdays from 9th June until 1st September.

Source: http://majandus.delfi.ee/news/tarbija/estonian-air-avab-suvel-hooajalise-veneetsia-liini.d?id=62621630

Estonian Air’s AirScore the Best Social Media Campaign in the world!:)
http://www.aviatime.com/estonian-air’s-airscore-the-best-social-media-campaign-in-the-world.html

http://www.facebook.com/eafans

It's hard to understand all these labyrinths...
Today it was clearly written that state indeed bought pledge of shares, but BAS is not repaying their multi-million loan and acquiring of the real airBaltic shares has already started.

Government is looking for a new partner, let's see if someone shows up. Personally I would prefer a SkyTeam member (Air France/KLM group) as their coverage in Northern Europe is weak.

Government is looking for a new partner, let's see if someone shows up. Personally I would prefer a SkyTeam member (Air France/KLM group) as their coverage in Northern Europe is weak.

I guess that investor will come from outside of EU. Hainan, for example.
And I believe that the name of "investor" is already known for the longer period of time, but still it's veiled from the public.
If the investor comes from EU airBaltic will fly where big papa says - not good at all. Like at the beginning of SAS era.

starting from 16 June 2012 on every second Saturday there will be three Boeing 747s arriving from Madrid and Barcelona to Tallinn Airport at the same time

CANT WAIT THAT DAY;)
http://www.groundhandling.ee/index.php?page=1537&lang=est&cnt=pullmantur_kinnitas_2012_lennuplaani

starting from 16 June 2012 on every second Saturday there will be three Boeing 747s arriving from Madrid and Barcelona to Tallinn Airport at the same time

CANT WAIT THAT DAY;)
http://www.groundhandling.ee/index.php?page=1537&lang=est&cnt=pullmantur_kinnitas_2012_lennuplaani

Cool! :) I guess Pullmantur uses them to haul cruise ship passengers to Tallinn,so they can board cruise ships here?

NEW ROUTES LENNART MERI TALLINN AIRPORT 2012

Estonian Air

Hannover
Helsinki [begins 26 March]
Joensuu [begins 26 March]
Jyväskylä [begins 25 March]
Kajaani [begins 3 April]
Kokkola/Pietarsaari [begins 27 March]
Riga [begins 25 March]
Vienna [begins 25 March]
Tbilisi [begins 8 April]
Venice [begins 9 June]

[B]Pullmantur Air

Madrid

[B]Ryanair

Frankfurt-Hahn [begins 27 March]
Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden [begins March
Manchester [begins 26 March]

http://www.ttgnordic.com/news/item/1569-tallinn-is-finns%E2%80%99-future-%E2%80%9Chub%E2%80%9D-to-fly-to-europe

Muahahahahahaa. http://www.facebooksmileysemoticons.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/11-facebook-emoticons.gif

Extraordinary things to happen in Vilnius. Besides Utair and recently the beginning of Transaero's service Aeroflot will begin daily flights to Sheremetyevo, as of S12 march 25. We will have a lot of flights between Moscow and Lithuania. Kaunas will be connected with DME as IrAero about to begin flights. So 25 weekly flights between VNO and SVO-VKO-DME to be next summer.

Extraordinary things to happen in Vilnius. Besides Utair and recently the beginning of Transaero's service Aeroflot will begin daily flights to Sheremetyevo, as of S12 march 25. We will have a lot of flights between Moscow and Lithuania. Kaunas will be connected with DME as IrAero about to begin flights. So 25 weekly flights between VNO and SVO-VKO-DME to be next summer.

The same at RIX. RIX-SVO 28 weekly, RIX-VKO 7 weekly, RIX-DME 4 weekly. 39 weekly in total.

delfi.lv says that potential investors of airBaltic coild be Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines and Hainan Airlines.

One more new from VNO. Ryanair to launch flights from Paris-Beauvais as of S12, date of launch is still unknown. Anyway plenty of good things to happen in VNO during S12:

Wizzair: 2nd plane in base

Paris-Beauvais begins 28th of May
Oslo-Sandefjord begins 27 of May
Liverpool begins 28 of May
Bergen begins 28 of May
Increased frequency on:
London Luton 5->11 weekly flights
Eindhoven 2->3

Ryanair:
Paris - Beauvais
Baden-Baden begins end of March

Aeroflot:

Moscow-Sheremetyevo begins 25th of March

Skyways:

Resume Berlin daily as of S12

I think it's to be continued.

Some highlights from DB interview with Martin Gauss (new CEO of airBaltic):
- In 2012 the fleet of BT will consist of 24 aircrafts (34 now). Fokkers will be retired.
- 2 Q400 will join the fleet in 2012, so there will be 10 Q400 in total.
- Also the Boeing's fleet renewal will start this spring. As the first step 4 737-500 will be replaced with 737-700 or A319. (I guess they will choose 737NG)
- In 2016 BT will have the fleet of 36 aircrafts in total.
- No transatlantic flights in foreseeable future.
- Network +/- stays the same. Some routes will be closed, the frequencies on some routes will be increased.
- airBaltic is ready to cooperate with other Baltic's carriers. But it looks like that the neighbors don't want to.

- airBaltic is ready to cooperate with other Baltic's carriers. But it looks like that the neighbors don't want to.

I am sure that they are ready and happy to cooperate. However, the Latvian definition of cooperation seems to be being a feeder airline to RIX.

Открыт первый международный рейс Домодедово-Каунас-Домодедово

С 21 декабря 2011 года Авиакомпания «ИрАэро» начинает выполнение регулярного международного авиарейса Москва – Каунас (Литва).
Только 21 декабря стоимость билета в одну сторону – 1600 рублей со всеми сборами.



Вылет из Москвы (аэропорт Домодедово) – в 23:05, прибытие в Каунас – в 22:25 по местному времени.

Вылет из Каунаса – в 6:20 утра, прибытие в Москву – в 9:35.


Рейс будет выполняться по 3, 4, 5, 7 дням недели из Москвы, обратно – по 1, 4, 5, 6 дням недели. Тариф на авиабилет в одну сторону составит 2250 рублей (без сборов).Время полета туда составит 1 час 20 минут, обратно – 1 час 15 минут, перелет осуществляется на комфортабельном канадском самолете CRJ-200.


Большое преимущество рейса Домодедово – Каунас – Домодедово в том, что он предоставляет возможность российским пассажирам с минимальными затратами добраться из Европы и обратно. Из аэропорта Каунас бюджетная авиакомпания «Ryanair» ежедневно выполняет от 8 до 11 рейсов по 19 направлениям Западной Европы.


Каунас – второй по величине город Литвы. Является одним из ведущих промышленных центров страны. Каунас привлекает туристов сочетанием исторических памятников и современными развлечениями. Главная достопримечательность для жителей и гостей города – это Аллея Свободы, соединяющая Старый город с Новым. На этой улице, протяженностью 1,5 км, находятся масса бутиков, магазинов, кафе и ресторанов.

http://www.iraero.ru/company/news/otkryt-pervyi-mezhdunarodnyi-reis-domodedovo-kaunas-domodedovo

^^
N&B is English-only. Please don't post content in other languages. Or if you do, please, translate it.

^^
Opened its first international flight Domodedovo-Kaunas-Domodedovo

On December 21, 2011 Airlines' IrAero "launches regular international flight Moscow - Kaunas (Lithuania).
December 21 only cost one-way ticket - 1,600 rubles, with all taxes.



Flight from Moscow (Domodedovo) - at 23:05, arrival in Kaunas - at 22:25 local time.

Departure from Kaunas - at 6:20 am, arrival in Moscow - at 9:35.


Flight will be on 3, 4, 5, 7 days a week from Moscow back - 1, 4, 5, 6 days a week. Tariff for one way ticket will be 2,250 rubles (without charges). The flight there will be 1 hour and 20 minutes back - 1 hour 15 minutes flight by a comfortable Canadian CRJ-200 aircraft.


The great advantage of the flight Domodedovo - Kaunas - Domodedovo is that it provides an opportunity for Russian passengers at minimal cost to get from Europe and back. Kaunas from the airport budget airline «Ryanair» performs daily from 8 to 11 flights to 19 destinations in Western Europe.


Kaunas - the second largest city of Lithuania. Is one of the leading industrial centers of the country. Kaunas attracts tourists with a combination of historical sites and modern entertainment. The main attraction for residents and visitors - it's Liberty Avenue, connecting the Old Town with the New. On this street, 1.5 km long, are the mass of boutiques, shops, cafes and restaurants.

GOOGLE TRANSLATE FROM ORG PRESS RELEASES :banned:
http://www.iraero.ru/company/news/otkryt-pervyi-mezhdunarodnyi-reis-domodedovo-kaunas-domodedovo

Singapore Airlines to Tallinn

Singapore's national carrier Singapore Airlines flies right in Western Europe, but there is no connection with Eastern Europe. Lui Tuck Yew added that the two airlines( Estonian Air and Singapore Airlines)could start working together support by governments

Singapore Airlines to Tallinn

Singapore's national carrier Singapore Airlines flies right in Western Europe, but there is no connection with Eastern Europe. Lui Tuck Yew added that the two airlines( Estonian Air and Singapore Airlines)could start working together support by governments

One of those news again. Singapore Airlines in Estonia would be amazing, but it is very unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future.

Btw. can you link to a source, where I could read more about it?

airBaltic greetings:
f-UinluQJpE&

One of those news again. Singapore Airlines in Estonia would be amazing, but it is very unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future.

Btw. can you link to a source, where I could read more about it?

Singapore airlines won't be in Estonia. It's possible though that local airline would serve as a connecting airline to one of the hubs in Europe. Most probably Frankfurt. It wouldn't make that much of a difference really because prices from all three Baltic capitals to Asia via major European hubs are rather competitive and won't go down. And that certainly didn't mean that Singapore airlines would land in Tallinn.

Are they keeping Belgrade? What's the news there with BT?


Btw any long haul from RIX besides Uzbekistan?

5 millions passengers mark will be reached today at RIX.

Are they keeping Belgrade? What's the news there with BT?


Btw any long haul from RIX besides Uzbekistan?

There was flights to JFK. But I guess it is very poor product. I was looking for a tickets from RIX to JFK, it was impossible to find.

There was flights to JFK. But I guess it is very poor product. I was looking for a tickets from RIX to JFK, it was impossible to find.

Yeah, they used to stop in Belgrade, Serbia on their way to JFK. I had been told that the service was not good, and Uzbekistan decided to replace BEG with RIX. During that time, they were able to offer two flights per week, but in Riga's case, I see just only weekly flight....? I came over too many negative reviews about them.. Some pax even said that they could bribe to sit in the business class. hehe

So what's up with a single weekly to JFK? Is the service still there? I was expecting at least 2-3 per week since RIX is at 5M already..

Yeah, they used to stop in Belgrade, Serbia on their way to JFK. I had been told that the service was not good, and Uzbekistan decided to replace BEG with RIX. During that time, they were able to offer two flights per week, but in Riga's case, I see just only weekly flight....? I came over too many negative reviews about them.. Some pax even said that they could bribe to sit in the business class. hehe

So what's up with a single weekly to JFK? Is the service still there? I was expecting at least 2-3 per week since RIX is at 5M already..

It's currently 1-weekly to JFK, but in some summers it has been two flights. BT once expressed wish to codeshare Uzbekistan's RIX-JFK section but this somehow didn't work out.
Surprisingly - BT don't operate their own RIX-TAS flights this winter, but there is extra TAS-RIX-TAS flight by Uzbekistan Airways every Friday.

If I was about to fly to JFK Uzbekistan Airways wouldn't be among the first options... to put it mildly :lol:

However, A lot of passengers are flying RIX-JFK leg.

They must be out of their mind...

Information is based on unique customer requests on Lennupiletid.ee, and the last two months on Piletid.eu websites
From Estonia http://www.cardatabase.net/modifiedairlinerphotos/photos/big/00000583.jpg
Destinations in the top 10 are pretty much the same as a year ago: to Amsterdam, Bangkok, Barcelona, Berlin, London, Malaga, Munich, New York, Paris, Rome.

Estonian Air should really consider using bigger aircrafts!!!

:yes: One route to Asia and one to North America would give considerable boost to both Estonian Air & TLL. Right now all those passengers are lost to larger hubs in Europe. I seriously hope that in next few years real steps will be taken for opening those routes.

Baltia Airlines

http://www.airlinereporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/baltia.jpg


and take-off video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVeOLKKBgIg

Baltia Air Lines Fleet Details and History

BTL
Country - United States
Fleet Size - 2 Boeing 747-200 Aircraft (Stored)
Average Fleet Age (on Sep 10, 2011) 34.8 Years :hammer:
:horse:

N705BL
17/10/1975 - TAP Air Portugal
01/04/1976 - Pakistan International Airlines
23/09/2005 - Evergreen Int
07/12/2009 - Baltia Air Lines (Delivered 10/02/2010)

N706BL
25/05/1979 - Northwest Airlines
25/08/2010 - Kalitta Air
09/12/2010 - Baltia Air Lines (Delivered 03/2011)


On 98 airlines operating this type of aircraft Baltia Air Lines ranks 90 !!!
:nuts:

A few photos of Jade Cargo B747-400ERF in Kaunas where it operates a direct regular Shanghai(PVG)-Kaunas(KUN)-Frankfurt(FRA) cargo route. According to some sources in Kaunas it mainly unloads some high-value IT equipment.

http://www.15min.lt/images/photos/616312/original/1324627720still1222_00004.jpg

http://www.15min.lt/images/photos/616312/original/1324627725still1222_00010.jpg

http://www.15min.lt/images/photos/616312/original/1324627717still1222_00003.jpg

http://www.15min.lt/images/photos/616312/original/1324627724still1222_00009.jpg

Photos source: http://www.15min.lt/gallery/gazas/Boeing-747-400-Kauno-Karmelavos-oro-uoste-21891

It's currently 1-weekly to JFK, but in some summers it has been two flights. BT once expressed wish to codeshare Uzbekistan's RIX-JFK section but this somehow didn't work out.
Surprisingly - BT don't operate their own RIX-TAS flights this winter, but there is extra TAS-RIX-TAS flight by Uzbekistan Airways every Friday.

Thank You

If I was about to fly to JFK Uzbekistan Airways wouldn't be among the first options... to put it mildly :lol:

I always wanted to know a bit more on what the problem is/was. It says in feetdata that their B767 are newer, like from 2004-2005. I think they don't have any AVOD/IFE onboard.

In 2011 Riga airport served 5,106 million passengers (+9%). > 5 million for the first time in the history of airport

Vilnius and Tallinn might expect Turkish Airlines this year, as TK expanding enormously. They have mentioned that TLL and VNO are among their plans in 2012. Should be interesting. http://rus.db.lv/nachalo/transport/turkish-airlines-budet-rasshirjat-sja-v-stranah-baltii-39238

Good news. About time. Turkey is a good destination and Turkish is a great airline. Connecting flights should be great too (especially to the Far East).

Statistics

Baltic's busiest airports by passenger traffic in 2011
1. Latvia Riga Riga International Airport 5,106,893
2. Estonia Tallinn Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport 1,913,172
3. Lithuania Vilnius Vilnius International Airport ?

Statistics

Baltic's busiest airports by passenger traffic in 2011
1. Latvia Riga Riga International Airport 5,106,893
2. Estonia Tallinn Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport 1,913,172
3. Lithuania Vilnius Vilnius International Airport 1,714,258
4. Lithuania Kaunas Kaunas International Airport 800,361

Impressive statistics for Kaunas airport! :okay:

Llinass don't upload false statistics :)

Baltic's busiest airports by passenger traffic in 2011:

1. Latvia Riga Riga International Airport 5,106,893
2. Estonia Tallinn Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport 1,913,172
3. Lithuania Vilnius Vilnius International Airport 1,714,258
4. Lithuania Kaunas Kaunas International Airport 872,618
5. Lithuania Palanga International Airport 111,133

i hope that Tallinn Airport handle more passengers in near future;) cause EA will open few new routes and also summer 2012 Pullmantur Air will fly with 3 x boeing 747 to Tallinn
but tallinn port 8,4 million passengers is remarkable

List of largest airports in the Baltic states
Busiest Air Routes 2009/2010

Busiest nonstop air routes within and to/from the Baltic States based on total annually carried passengers on each route.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_airports_in_the_Baltic_states

Great news from Estonian Air

Estonian Air head Tero Taskila said the decision to start flights from Tallinn to North America until the first flight at least 18 months.
so:
In order to be successful long-haul airline to offer, many things must be in place Taskila said. First, it must be allowed to fly to Asia and North America. Obtaining the permit is a lengthy process and it is not so easy to get.

If permission is obtained from the above, begin negotiations for overflight (various countries must have a permit airspace). Attention should also be obtained from the aircraft, train workers and create a suitable infrastructure. Must also take care of the customers to find.

"So, where such a decision should be born next year, we could make his first long distance flight 2014th In the summer, "said Taskila.

You do realise that he isn't even remotely implying that there will be Tallinn-North America line? He is only trying to give readers an idea of how long it would take from decision to actual flights.

i do yeah..but im sure that its gonna happen anyway....
dont be so old fashion:)

i do yeah..but im sure that its gonna happen anyway....
dont be so old fashion:)

:)

http://www.cardatabase.net/modifiedairlinerphotos/photos/big/00010545.jpg

:D

Great news from Estonian Air

Estonian Air head Tero Taskila said the decision to start flights from Tallinn to North America until the first flight at least 18 months.
so:
In order to be successful long-haul airline to offer, many things must be in place Taskila said. First, it must be allowed to fly to Asia and North America. Obtaining the permit is a lengthy process and it is not so easy to get.

If permission is obtained from the above, begin negotiations for overflight (various countries must have a permit airspace). Attention should also be obtained from the aircraft, train workers and create a suitable infrastructure. Must also take care of the customers to find.

"So, where such a decision should be born next year, we could make his first long distance flight 2014th In the summer, "said Taskila.

The only airline in Baltic States that might begin transcontinental flights would be air baltic, or the only airport Riga. Flylal used to talk about flights to North America it whole story ended not well. The only ways how I see the direct flights between Baltic and long-haul destinations are some country's national carrier will begin flights or airline will choose some city as pit stop point as the Uzbekistan Airways does.

only air baltic? hmmm why so?? is there any reason??

i see that estonian air is the only airline in baltics whos working to bring this idea to real life..so..
will see ;) who will fly to Asia or/and North-America

i like this one more)

http://www.cardatabase.net/modifiedairlinerphotos/photos/big/00000583.jpg

The only airline in Baltic States that might begin transcontinental flights would be air baltic, or the only airport Riga.
Air Baltic and airport Riga can do whatever they want, what has this got to do with Estonian Air and its flights between the US and Tallinn?

Air Baltic and airport Riga can do whatever they want, what has this got to do with Estonian Air and its flights between the US and Tallinn?
I know that Estonian can also of whatever they want, but I guess that it won't work. Riga has a lot of transit passengers, which BT brings. So if Estonian Air would like to establish bridge between Tallinn and US, they should already begin to work on TLL as transit hub. If BT would sell Uzbekistan's tickets to JFK on their website product would be more successful.

Long range flights require very steady flow of passengers, organizing them just for dick-wawing purposes might ruin the company in short time. Am sure that Mr. Taskila is very careful man, it rather sounds like a wishful thinking of journalist.

Even in its most optimistic times around 2008 airBaltic was considering long-range flights as rather distanct perspective, talking about "if everything will be ideal in this world then may be... sometimes around 2014. may be." Now airBaltic is undergoing huge restructuring and keeps silent about Napoleonic plans. Just like whole Latvia.

Lol,are you guys jealous or what? So much negative sentiment towards proposed idea of long distance flights from TLL.

If this proposal ever becomes real (and as they've said,it will take years before they actually start making serious plans of opening routes to US or Asia) ,then Estonian Air will obviously use TLL as a half way stop along the way between some larger European cities & final destination in US (or Asia)


@ri-xu - That's too small :-/

If Tallinn airport somehow manages to increase its number of passenger at the rate it's currently doing, long-distance flights from TLL might not be a complete sci-fi in the long run. It definitely won't happen in the next 5 years, though.

Ryanair seems to be further expanding in the Baltics and challenging charter companies. In addition to route Kaunas-Palma (Mallorca) from end of March, they will fly to Paphos (Cyprus) and Malta from the beginning of May. Alicante, Rhodes and Kos are also back in the network for the summer season.

El al to begin 1 weekly flights between Vilnius and Tel Aviv as of 20th of june. If the results will be positive company might add second weekly flight. Interesting, that flights will be provided with B757 aircraft.

Btw would anyone be familar with the capacity of Riga's airport? The reason why I would like to know is because it looks quite small for some reason. Is the shengen terminal separated? I guess so.

El al to begin 1 weekly flights between Vilnius and Tel Aviv as of 20th of june. If the results will be positive company might add second weekly flight. Interesting, that flights will be provided with B757 aircraft.

Now that's a good news. Great opportunity for tourism.

Btw would anyone be familar with the capacity of Riga's airport? The reason why I would like to know is because it looks quite small for some reason. Is the shengen terminal separated? I guess so.

Riga Airport is working on it's max capacity now - 5 million pax. It has two non-Shengen sectors (C, D) and two Shengen sectors (A, B)

All You Need to Know About Baltia Air Lines


US based start-up, Baltia Airlines, has painted its second acquired aircraft - a Boeing 747-200. The airline acquired the ex- Northwest aircraft, N706BL, from Kalitta Air in December, 2010. With this recent purchase, Baltia's fleet now comprises of two Boeing 747-200s.

http://www.baltia.com/images/logoInteriors_05.gif

Who is Baltia?

Looking like one of the odd airline start-ups, Baltia has been in the start-up mode since 1989. It states that its primary goal "is to become the leading U.S. airline in the Trans-Atlantic market between the major U.S. cities and capital cities of Eastern Europe, including Russia, Latvia, Ukraine, and Belarus."
Baltia is headed by Igor Dmitrowsky, who acts as the Prseident and CEO of the company. A Latvian national born in 1956, Igor started his first US based company in 1979 - as American Kefir Distribution, a diary distribution company. He completed American Kefir's public offering in 1986, and retired from it in 1987. Since 1989, Igor has been building Baltia.
Trading in the stock market (NASDAQ) as Baltia Air Lines Inc. (BLTA), Baltia's stock data shows that today it employs 20 people with assets of 3.43m. The airline's ICAO code is BTL.

The Routes

Based at New York JFK, Baltia has long maintained that its first route would be to St. Petersburg, Russia, from JFK. With two aircraft in its fleet now, Baltia believes that it is inching closer to the first flight on this un-served route.

The Fleet

Baltia acquired its first aircraft in 2009, when it took delivery of N705BL, an ex-PIA aircraft from Logistics Air. Baltia paid USD475,000 for the aircraft sans engines, and took the engines under a Power-by-the-Hour deal from Logistics Air.

Given below is a detailed set of data about the two aircraft in Baltia's fleet.

Aircraft # 1
Aircraft Model: Boeing 747-282B
CN: 21035/256
First flight: 27FEB1975
Date of acquisition: 15NOV2009
Current registration: N705BL
Previous registrations: CS-TJD (TAP, 1975), AP-AYW (PIA, 1976), N559EV (Evergreen, 2005)
Status: Unknown. Not seen in Baltia colours. Last seen in Malaysia, for maintenance.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2745/4451138987_560f1ba826.jpg
N705BL, after acquisition by Baltia with engines hung. March, 2010. By okimlost_again.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2693/4451139177_1a252ec8d5.jpg
Interior of N705BL. By okimlost_again.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4001/4451139273_c3a6ce1f0d.jpg
Cockpit of N705BL. By okimlost_again.


Aircraft #2
Aircraft Model: Boeing 747-251B
First flight: 11MAY1979
Date of acquisition: DEC2010
Current registration: N706BL
Previous registrations: N623US (Northwest, 1979 and Kalitta, 2010)
Status: Painted into Baltia colours and the first aircraft in fleet to do so. Is presently undergoing maintenance and testing.

The following images of N706BL are courtesy of the airline.

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-networker/assets_c/2011/09/N706BL-1-thumb-540x405-141087.jpeg
After painting. September, 2011.

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-networker/assets_c/2011/09/N706BL-2-thumb-540x405-141090.jpeg
A classic in new clothes.

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-networker/assets_c/2011/09/N706BL-3-thumb-540x405-141093.jpeg
The Baltia logo, painted on the tail-fin.

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-networker/assets_c/2011/09/N706BL-Interior-thumb-540x359-141101.jpg
Economy class interior of N706BL.

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-networker/assets_c/2011/09/N706BL-5-thumb-540x811-141104.jpg
Upgraded cockpit with older style gauges being replaced with monitors.

The following video shows N706BL during its test flight following the paint job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AVeOLKKBgIg

The Story So Far
Although Baltia has been set up in 1989, it actually began preparations to receive an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) only in 2008. It was on 8th February 2009 when Baltia formally began the FAA certification process. On 20th March, 2009, DoT awarded Baltia its initial frequencies for flights from JFK to St. Petersburg. On 4th June, 2010, Baltia applied from the DoT for JFK - Moscow Sheremetyevo service. In August of the same year, N705BL, went into Kuala Lumpur for maintenance with Malaysia Airlines. And on 10th September of 2011, N706BL finished receiving its fresh coat of paint and flew back to Oscoda, MI. As of now, Baltia is conducting FAA Air Carrier Certification process under Part 121.
Baltia has already made arrangements with Evergreen for the line maintenance of its fleet at JFK and has appointed SOVEX as its fuel supplier. It has also signed agreements for office space at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg and has already arranged the gate, check-in and customs clearance facilities.
The airline will be able to take into the skies once it has received the necessary approvals, made some proving flights, completed an evacuation test and finally received its Air Carrier Certificate from the FAA.

Will Baltia be able to finally take to the skies this time? Only the time will tell - but it surely would be an interesting airline take off to watch.

i wrote to Baltia and they write me back i asked that are they planning to fly to Tallinn..and they say its future plan..2-3years...thats great start;)


And BTW news from Estonian Air will buy 3 new embraer 190 and lease 3 embraer 170

For some reason, Baltia Air Lines gives me the creeps. Buying old 747s as your first planes isn't something you would usually see. It would be awesome if it worked out for them, although I have serious doubts. NYC - St. Petersburg doesn't seem like a bad route though.

And BTW news from Estonian Air will buy 3 new embraer 190 and lease 3 embraer 170

Can you link me to a source, so I can read more about it? Thanks!

And BTW news from Estonian Air will buy 3 new embraer 190 and lease 3 embraer 170

CRJs are not performing as well as planned?

By the way, Estonian 737 ES-ABJ left the fleet on 21st of January.

Can you link me to a source, so I can read more about it? Thanks!

From bbn.ee:
Estonian Air to replace new Bombardiers with cheaper Brazilian aircraft
20.01.2012, 14:03
Estonian national carrier Estonian Air has received permission from the ministry of economy to replace the new Bombardiers that the airline acquired recently with cheaper planes made by Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer.

„We are in talks with a competing aircraft manufacturer aimed at reaching better terms,” is how Estonian Air president Tero Taskila commented the case.

It has been only a year when Estonian Air was handed over three new Bombardier aircraft. The airline needed new planes badly since it was in the process of removing the Saab turboprops from service and closing the lease of Boeing aircraft.

The airline also announced that it was negotiating purchase of three other Bombardier aircraft. However, when the Canadian manufacturer who knew that the airline was in dire need of new aircraft started to set demands, most of which were unacceptable, the airline’s management with the approval of the economic minister Juhan Parts started to look around for an alternative.

It found it in Embraer, a Brazilian aircraft manufacturer that was able to offer a much wider choice of aircraft. Both Embraer and Bombardier are fierce competitors since they operate in the same category of aircraft.

Embraer is no newcomer (it was founded in 1969) and is the world’s fourth largest aircraft manufacturer, one place behind Bombardier. Embraer, however is world leader in the segment of regional aviation and this is what makes it so interesting for Estonian Air.

The Estonian carrier has now decided that it will shortly lease three Embraer 170 aircraft from one European airline as a temporary measure until the manufacturer is able to deliver three new Embraer 190 aircraft.

In comment, Estonian pilot coach Rein Porro said that the main reason why Embraer is better than Bombardier is that the latter have notably less space for passengers, luggage and pilots.

Embraers have the widest body in their class and they offer more legroom. Notably, Finnair has 18 Embraer planes, LOT has 27 and Lufthansa has 35.

By the way, Estonian 737 ES-ABJ left the fleet on 21st of January. Seems that also Oscar has left the fleet in December;now only ES-ABL is left.

Looks like a clever move and if all aircraft are delivered on schedule,it shouldn't have any negative effect on Estonian Air. I wonder how much discount they got from Embraer... You know,for persuading to select their aircraft ;)

Clever move would be to order Embraers from the beginning. Changing the fleet once a year means that huuuuuuuge amount of money is thrown away. And the movements like that can be very dangerous for a such small airline.
Well, SAS didn't asked which aircrafts to choose not to Estonian, nor to airBaltic. :)

airBaltic to increase number of flights to Moscow

http://client.oobelisk.com/files/airbaltic/2012_01_06_13_00/Video/large_Why_is_it_important_to_increase_flights_to_Moscow.mp4

todays interview with Erik Sakkov/board member

Tallinn Airport future of aviation is the Far East - services to India and the Persian Gulf - North American

Tallinn Airport begins to build the runway from 600 to 700 meters long right now its 3070 then its 3770 m long(or 3670) , then we are ready for regular servicing of aircraft as airbus a330,boeing 777
this year they wanna start build new terminal "Point-to-point" for airlines who dont need transfer service.


http://logistikauudised.ee/?PublicationId=5D28AC39-E6D0-4C19-AA6E-5DC347CE762B&SiteId=C86E12B7-5686-435B-A111-6618930AF799 its Estonian website

todays interview with Erik Sakkov/board member

Tallinn Airport future of aviation is the Far East - services to India and the Persian Gulf - North American

Tallinn Airport begins to build the runway from 600 to 700 meters long right now its 3070 then its 3770 m long(or 3670) , then we are ready for regular servicing of aircraft as airbus a330,boeing 777
this year they wanna start build new terminal "Point-to-point" for airlines who dont need transfer service.


http://logistikauudised.ee/?PublicationId=5D28AC39-E6D0-4C19-AA6E-5DC347CE762B&SiteId=C86E12B7-5686-435B-A111-6618930AF799 its Estonian website

i dont get it.. building with words.

Kaunas airport has joined the other two airports in the Baltics with CAT II ILS (Vilnius and Riga). The three airports have Cat II from one end and Cat I from another end of the runway. RWY length and ILS category of the largest Baltic airports:

Kaunas: 3250x45, Cat II
Riga: 3200x45, Cat II (interestingly-contrary to what Riga airport claims-it does not have the longest runway)
Tallinn: 3070x45, Cat I
Vilnius: 2515x50, Cat II
Palanga: 2280x45, Cat I

I omit the longest runway, Siauliai, since it is a military airport.

SAS vice-president – Lithuania needs a strong main airport

Scandinavian airline company SAS vice-president Elisabeth Milton Hemmingsen states that a strong main airport and the national airlines company are necessary for Lithuania, 15min.lt wrote on 26 January.

“For us, Lithuania is a country of 3 airports. Of course, in my opinion, Vilnius should be the biggest. Palanga is the smallest, it has some sort of its own market, but this is completely different. And it is interesting to watch the rivalry between Vilnius and Kaunas. From economical point of view, Kaunas is quite strong. Naturally, a strong main airport and a national carrier are needed”, – said the vice-president on an interview with Verslo Žinios.

According to E.M.Hemmingsen, Lithuania should not need to be satisfied with having a low-priced air companies, such as Raynair, Wizzair and even airBaltic.

“It is wise to have your own player. Of course, this is very complicated, Lithuania has a small market. It is quite difficult to give an advice”, – said E.M.Hemmingsen.

According to SAS vice-president, profit margins are very small when establishing an airline; it would be hammered by fuel prices and capital expenses of purchasing new aircrafts.

“This is not a “juice selling”; a capital and thus a strong investor is needed. From my own point of view, it is a pity you do not have one. It could be a smaller player, who cooperates with bigger networks, such as SAS and others. But SAS is here, we are happy to be here, and Copenhagen is a great airport. It is great to have a link with Copenhagen from Vilnius and from Palanga. I think this is good for your country”, – commented the vice-president.
http://www.lithuaniatribune.com/2012/01/29/sas-vice-president-%E2%80%93-lithuania-needs-a-strong-main-airport/

I think we will eventually have to make a decision :)

I omit the longest runway, Siauliai, since it is a military airport.

Šiauliai is a mixed use airport. Civilian flights are allowed there and some occasional cargo flights do land there. There is a passenger terminal in SQQ as well.

There were some talks about attracting charter flights or even some low frequency regular flights, but the proximity of Riga, Kaunas and Palanga in combination with rather hopeless management would not let it come true.

Estonian Air serves 42657 passengers in the first month of the year

Estonian Air served 42657 passengers in January 2012, which makes a 14.7% increase compared to the same period of time last year. Additional characteristics for January 2012: punctuality 85.9% and regularity 99.4%.

Source: http://majandus.delfi.ee/news/uudised/aasta-esimesel-kuul-lendas-estonian-airiga-42-657-reisijat.d?id=63867040

---

Estonian Air is leasing 4 new planes from Finnair

Today, 03/02/2012, Estonian Air and Finnair will be signing a lease agreement by which Finnair hands over 4 new Embraer E-Jet 170s to Estonian Air. The planes should arrive within this month. Additionally, Estonian Air is planning to order 8 new planes (E-175 and E-190) in the upcoming years, ie. 2013-2015.

Source: http://www.epl.ee/news/majandus/estonian-air-liisib-finnairilt-neli-uut-lennukit.d?id=63866998

---

It is great to see something happening in Estonian Air. The company stood completely idle for years. Hopefully, the small regional plane strategy and the idea of turning Tallinn Airport into a some sort of hub will work out. I do want to see bigger planes in EA's fleet and I do hope for more exotic destinations. :cheers:

Holy crap! 12 new planes! Looks like getting rid of SAS control over company definitely helped to improve business strategies for Estonian Air.

:eek2:

It looks like that Estonian is going under Finnair control. =)
I don't think that Finnair is so stupid to borrow the planes to the competitor that wants to build the hub at Tallinn. I guess that they have signed a kind of agreement.
Other scenary is that Finnair will try to weaken airBaltic positions in Finland this way, than killing both BT and EA.

Finnair doesnt borrow the planes, but Estonian air will lease them:) these r 2 different things;)

I don't think those Finnair's Embraers are Trojan horses or something.
=====================
Flybe will discontinue their Tallinn to Finnish towns routes (Tallinn to Oulu, Turku, Vaasa, Tampere) starting from late February. Helsinki-Tallinn operated for Finnair will stay as well as Tallinn-Bromma with one daily tag Bromma-Copenhagen.

Let be remind that Estonian air will open their own Tallinn to Finnish towns flights (Helsinki, Joensuu, Jyväskylä, Kajaani and Kokkola) in March/April. These routes are supposed to feed the TLL hub.

The first month of 2012 in Vilnius Airport saw a new all time January high.

Passengers - 129.300, a growth of +66,1% compared to 01.2011

:cheers:

The first month of 2012 in Vilnius Airport saw a new all time January high.

Passengers - 129.300, a growth of +66,1% compared to 01.2011

:cheers:

Whoa! That is a HUGE increase in passengers. :cheers: What may have contributed to such a big growth?

TLL: January 2012 - 133,440 (+20,0%).

RIX: 317,228 (+5.28%)

Whoa! That is a HUGE increase in passengers. :cheers: What may have contributed to such a big growth?

TLL: January 2012 - 133,440 (+20,0%).
When you fall much because of some reasons (like flyLAL bankruptcy, etc.), sooner or later you'll grow much. Plus currently Vilnius airport is trying quite hard to attract more flight companies by offering lower taxes, etc. If I'm not mistaken, Vilnius already has more flight companies than Riga or Tallinn plus it does not depend on one company so much like Riga (airbaltic) and Tallinn (estonian air). Vilnius will keep quite big growth for some time I guess, though it'll be hard to compete with Tallinn and Riga because it has no "home" company. Vilnius might overtake Tallinn for some time but if it'll not have its own "home" company sooner or later it'll be behind again.

Anyway, for now it seems that Vilnius will even get some exotic destinations - Tel Aviv and probably Iceland (there should be more news about this soon).

It seems that Iceland Express is already selling tickets for flights between Vilnius and Reykjavik KEF: www.icelandexpress.com

According to some rumors Turkish Airlines should soon announce Vilnius route.

It seems that Iceland Express is already selling tickets for flights between Vilnius and Reykjavik KEF: www.icelandexpress.com

Return fares are €350+ :ohno:

Todays News
On Thursday Estonian government and Singapore air services discussed an agreement, which aims to establish air link between Estonia and Singapore.

According to the agreement government of Estonia and Singapore will approve the draft and Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications Juhan Parts will be authorized to sign it.
After signing it must be ratified in Parliament

Todays News
On Thursday Estonian government and Singapore air services discussed an agreement, which aims to establish air link between Estonia and Singapore.

According to the agreement government of Estonia and Singapore will approve the draft and Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications Juhan Parts will be authorized to sign it.
After signing it must be ratified in Parliament

It is most probably just an agreement for cooperation of some sort. These things are signed all the time and more than often that is how far it goes with the cooperation. I may sound pessimistic, yet again, but that's the way it works. :)

Lithuania and Singapore already signed something similar, I guess it allows for instance SQ flyover Lithuania, and in particular case Estonia. I may be wrong, that only my assumption.

flyover agreement is bit different thing and they already have this permissions to fly over Estonia.
but will see what happens.

;)

It is most probably just an agreement for cooperation of some sort. These things are signed all the time and more than often that is how far it goes with the cooperation. I may sound pessimistic, yet again, but that's the way it works. :)


yeah seems u dont believe nothing:) typical estonian;)

One thing it doesn't mean for sure is direct passenger flights between Estonia and Singapore.

This could mean, however, some cargo route which still would be great development.

I think there are already cargo flights to/from Asia and I doubt that there's room for newcomers. Jade Cargo (or whatever it's called) has been flying to TLL for a long time and there are few others...

Photo by Pistik.com forumer Marek,all rights reserved.
http://gallery.pistik.com/albums/Mareki-stuff/IMG_5963.jpg

Estonian Air announces tomorrow their new brand and new livery! They will also reveal bit of their future plans...

Source: http://www.e24.ee/733680/estonian-air-avaldab-homme-uue-kujunduse/

Btw,I read the news article what ri-xu posted here and they really are discussing about setting up Tallinn-Singapore airline! :shocked: I hope we will see some solid plans soon.

i dont think that theres some new cargo carrier from Asia(singapore) cause we have already a lot of them
and yeah that tallinn-singapore they dont discussing about setting some new cargo carrier but they r goin to talk about passenger flight

but will read the news soon;)
seems that Tallinn Airport and also Estonian Air will finally wake up:)

Wizzair to begin Vilnius - Stavanger flights 2xweekly, as of May 27. Summer in Vilnius should be interesting.

Estonian Air announces tomorrow their new brand and new livery! They will also reveal bit of their future plans...

Source: http://www.e24.ee/733680/estonian-air-avaldab-homme-uue-kujunduse/

Btw,I read the news article what ri-xu posted here and they really are discussing about setting up Tallinn-Singapore airline! :shocked: I hope we will see some solid plans soon.

Exciting stuff! Hopefully Estonian Air will not pull another Finnair by introducing a livery that is an outright eyesore. The current livery is just hawt.

Estonian Air got new planes from Finnair, Finnair said yesterday they have union plan with one other northern airline company, Estonian air new livery and brand presentation . Something really-really interesting is happening tomorrow:shifty:

^^
FAS - Finno-Ugric Airlines System? :shifty:

FinEst Airline ;D

^^
That's pure WIN! :okay:

Direct scheduled passenger flights from Tallinn (Riga, Vilnius) to Singapore are about as much likely to happen as me becoming the president of the United States :D

Direct scheduled passenger flights from Tallinn (Riga, Vilnius) to Singapore are about as much likely to happen as me becoming the president of the United States :D


will see that:) im realy glad if thiskind of thing will hapen like tallinn get direct flight to singapore ...them we will talk again:):banana:

Let's get real. Even big and established companies (AirAsia) are cancelling routes from such global hubs like London or Paris... there is Helsinki next door which is an important hub. Then there is Moscow in the east, Warsaw not too far away and of course Frankfurt. Those who think Tallinn could get direct flights to SIN and somehow be competitive must be dreaming. That is simply NOT going to happen. :)

Let's get real. Even big and established companies (AirAsia) are cancelling routes from such global hubs like London or Paris... there is Helsinki next door which is an important hub. Then there is Moscow in the east, Warsaw not too far away and of course Frankfurt. Those who think Tallinn could get direct flights to SIN and somehow be competitive must be dreaming. That is simply NOT going to happen. :)

might happen, will fail.

Direct scheduled passenger flights from Tallinn (Riga, Vilnius) to Singapore are about as much likely to happen as me becoming the president of the United States :D

Sometimes unlikely just happens ;)

- Iceland Express in summer will start operating route Vilnius - Reykjavik. 1x a week with an Airbus A320 (180 seats).

Sometimes unlikely just happens ;)

- Iceland Express in summer will start operating route Vilnius - Reykjavik. 1x a week with an Airbus A320 (180 seats).

I think that this will be one season route.
TLL-SIN in nearest years is just a dream of some kid.

So where is the pics of new EA livery?
Either it will be another wasting of money, like changing CRJs to Embraers. (EA has the coolest livery in Baltic right now and I don't think that the livery is the most important thing for the growing airline.)
Either we'll see the EA and Finnair alliance, as I wrote some days ago. And I guess that this kind of alliance may start the war against BT.

^^
Few more hours and new livery will be revealed to general public ;) But until then,here's a small fraction of it:
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/428310_10150600574662668_166974672667_8900312_198899311_n.jpg

^ According to EA's Facebook, this winglet isn't part of EA's new livery. However, this one (background image of EA's Youtube profile) may be it:

http://i3.ytimg.com/u/fsPMQTCa5GPsc2WqYK7ADQ/channels3_background.jpg?v=4f33ebfe

Can't wait to see the official news! :)

Official news is in: http://www.e24.ee/735208/estonian-air-tutvustas-oma-uut-nagu/

http://f.postimees.ee/f/2012/02/10/950536t55hda49.jpg


Not that much different from what it was imo, reminds me a lot of the Tallinn2011 temporary livery they had last year on one of the Boeings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Estonian_Air_Tallinn_2011_737-33R.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Estonian_Air_Saab_340A_ES-ASN.jpg

Not bad :).


(btw, kind of funny that suddenly huge airBaltic commercial is on postimees frontpage)

Wasting of money... The old livery was much better. The new one looks childish.
Or the drunk workers weren't capable to draw a straight blue line on the new Embraer - that's the main reason of re-branding. :lol:
OK, I'm joking.
And what's about new strategy?

Looks nice, I like it.

And what's about new strategy?

- In February/March, EA will receive 4x Embraer E-170s.
- In March/April, EA will open 8 new destinations: Vienna, Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Joensuu, Kajaani, Kokkola, Hannover, Riga.
- In June, Estonian Air will start flying to Venice.
- Between 2013-2015 8 new planes should arrive (Embraer 175 and 190).
- The main goal for the near future is to strenghten company's financial situation and the position in N&B region. This, in turn, could lay a foundation for growth and bigger plans in the future.

In a nutshell, EA is laying low for now, trying to build up a strong foundation. It is probably a wise thing to do - a number of carriers have gone down recently and we will probably see more of that happening this year.

If you want to read more about EA, follow this link and use Google translator: http://majandus.delfi.ee/news/uudised/estonian-air-plaanib-2012-aastal-vedada-850-000-reisijat.d?id=63902663

Meh...got mixed feelings about new livery :sleepy: Looks bit too girly. Paint it pink and chicks will dig it...

Meh...got mixed feelings about new livery :sleepy: Looks bit too girly. Paint it pink and chicks will dig it...

Nice idea for Estonian logojet! :lol:

Someone's trying to be witty on EA's wikipedia page:

http://i44.tinypic.com/1z31j5i.png

That would be awesome though! :D

(I hope it is not you my ambitious and overly enthusiastic friend, ri-xu :D)

hahaa..great joke.:)

im sure that thiskind of thing will not goin to happen next 10years:)

but im more likely to see what will happen with that singapore route

Singapore, Estonia sign bilateral air services agreement


14.02.2012, 14:47

Today Estonia signed an air services agreement (ASA) with Singapore, potentially opening up an air link between the two countries.

Under the open skies agreement signed by Estonian minister of transport Juhan Parts, airlines belonging to both Singapore and Estonia will be able to fly between the two countries, via and beyond to any third country, without restrictions on capacity, frequency or aircraft type.

This agreement is more liberal than conventional agreements and allows Singapore carriers to base their aircrafts in Estonia and use the country for cargo operations to third countries without any restrictions, and vice versa for Estonian carriers.

From the Singapore side, OSA was signed by transport minister Lui Tuck Yew.

http://balticbusinessnews.com/article/2012/2/14/singapore-estonia-sign-bilateral-air-services-agreement

heh i just read this articel about estonian-singapore possible air link..
seems something will maybe happen soon:) i hope

Your overly enthusiastic

Yeah, next month launches the direct flight Singapore-Tallinn 5x weekly and for summer season additional flight Singapore-Tartu 2x weekly. See you in Singapore :)


By the way Lithuania have already signed the same agreement some time ago:)

i know that Tallinn Airport started the 5-year subsidy program to increase the number of flights and also Estonian covernment helps with negotiations

Singapore has signed an Open Skies Agreement (OSA) with Estonia.

http://news.xin.msn.com/en/singapore/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5882381

Yeah, next month launches the direct flight Singapore-Tallinn 5x weekly and for summer season additional flight Singapore-Tartu 2x weekly. See you in Singapore :)


By the way Lithuania have already signed the same agreement some time ago:)

i knew it!

Vilnius to have its own airline – airLituanica

«This Monday, the working group has made the decision to found a new airline, which shall be named – airLituanica», – the Mayor of Vilnius Arturas Zuokas reports in the Facebook network, bnn-news.com writes.

<...>

According to the plan proposed by Gudnason, after the formation of an appropriate capital and receiving the necessary permits, the airline will be able to perform regular flights starting from March next year.

<...>

The name “Lituanica (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lituanica)” comes from historical transatlantic flight by Lithuanian-American pilots Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas.
http://www.lithuaniatribune.com/2012/02/15/vilnius-to-have-its-own-airline-%E2%80%93-airlituanica/

Vilnius to have its own airline? :) Does that deny it the right to expand to the other Lithuanian airports or does it limit the support for the airline to the Vilnius municipality only and not the national budget? Will I have to live in the capital in order to be able to take a flight with this company? I know A. Zuokas is Vilnius-centric, which is nothing wrong per se, but this project will of course be of national importance and national support will be necessary to keep it alive (especially in the context of Malev and other unfortunates). So I'd rather consider that a national carrier.

Not that I have problems with the statement or something. Just saying :)

Tough times for a new airline to join the game. These days airlines are going down, cutting down on routes and government-owned companies are desperately trying to find new private owners. It is always interesting to see new carriers popping up though, especially if it happens in our region. :cheers:

PS! lol @ the styling. airBaltic much? :lol:

PS! lol @ the styling. airBaltic much? :lol:

I think the idea is pretty simple, they have chosen a name that creates an association with both the field of activity and Lithuania. The word "air" is quite popular among various airlines (e.g., Air France-KLM, Air Iceland, Air Italy, Air Moldova, etc.). So the only thing airBaltic differs is that the words are joined in their name. The name could also be Air Lituanica, I see no big difference. So the idea isn't original, but I don't think airBaltic has anything to complain about in particular :)

By the way, airBaltic name has some strategic advantage as it implies "that there may be lots of airlines in the Baltics with various neat names, but this particular airline is common for these countries, the superior one here, serving some general purpose". It would be much more interesting if they chose to include the word "Baltic" too :D

mby estonian airlines can be rebrander as AirnotBaltic. :)

Kaunas KUN - Reykjavik KEF

http://wowair.com/sites/default/files/styles/subpage_image/public/wow-eigendur_0.jpg

WOW air will take off on June 1st, 2012 and fly between Iceland and 13 interesting destinations around Europe. Your choice is Alicante, Basel, Berlin, Cologne, Copenhagen, Kaunas, Krakow, London, Lyon, Paris, Reykjavik, Stuttgart, Warsaw and Zurich.

From 11.06.2012 - every Monday fly to Kaunas

^^ Oho, now also Kaunas. How Lithuanians make this?

Iberia will start 2 weekly flights from Madrid to Riga starting July.

Flights will operate on Saturday and Sunday.

IBERIA in Summer 2012 season is to offer seasonal service on Madrid – Riga route, where the airline is operating twice weekly on board Airbus A320 aircraft.
Service to operate from 07JUL12 to 29SEP12, on weekends only.

A video of Estonian Air's new Embraer 170 arriving to the hangar:

yUdQRKhj3Dw

Ak Bars Aero to begin Vilnius - St. Petersburg flights as of 26 of March. Flights will be with CRJ-200 2xweekly.

^^ It starts to look pretty impressive. So far, this summer season Vilnius airport will be connected to 38 airports with 21 airline.

Estonian Air transitions to all-Embraer E-Jets fleet.

Estonian Air has selected Embraer’s family of E-Jets to revamp its entire fleet of narrow-body and regional jets. The national flag carrier of Estonia and Embraer have signed a contract for the purchase of three E175s and one E190.

Estonian Air will also take eight additional aircraft, four E170s and four E190s, under a combination of lease agreements with third parties and leasing companies. The direct purchase from Embraer is subject to the approval of Estonian Air’s Supervisory Council.

The first of four E170s leased from Finnair is entering service this month, while the aircraft on firm order will be delivered in the second semester of 2014.

Source: http://estonian-air.ee/en/service/news/press-releases/estonian-air-transitions-to-all-embraer-e-jets-fleet/

Does that mean Estonian Air is going to get 4x E170, 3x E175 and 5x E190?

Don't forget that Estonian Air has said that they are also keeping CRJ900's for some time.

So in close future Estonian Air's fleet will be:
4x E170
3x E175
5x E190
3x CRJ900
Oh,and those Saabs too. I don't know if they are keeping them or not.

:)

From April 27 Small Planet Airlines is to start once weekly flights to Almaty (Kazakhstan) from VNO. Flight operated by B737-300.

From April 27 Small Planet Airlines is to start once weekly flights to Almaty (Kazakhstan) from VNO. Flight operated by B737-300.

Is 737-300 still legal in the EU?

Is 737-300 still legal in the EU?
Yes, some airlines still use this vintage aircraft.

Yes, some airlines still use this vintage aircraft.

The airframe doesn't mean THAT much. It's the engines that they lease that matters. In fact when it comes to critical parts (engines, landing gears etc) older aircraft usually have them changed/overhauled several times during their lifetime.
It's the sky high costs of D-checks that makes majority of operators to phase out planes.

Data for February:
RIX 286 160 passengers +2,69% growth
VNO 120 894 passengers +70,3% growth
PLQ 8 040 passengers +14% growth

No data for TLL and KUN yet.

february stat. TLL 126 054 passengers 21,0% growth

According to Delfi.ee, airBaltic had a loss of 110 mio € in 2011. The year before that the loss was 51 mio €. These numbers are ENORMOUS, especially if we take into account the size of airBaltic and its revenue. The company must have been really poorly managed. The state of Latvia has literally been keeping it up for years only so that people from different countries could fly with decent prices.

AirBaltic RIP?

In 2010 AB's revenue was at nearly 300 million Euros. If the revenue stayed similar in 2011 and the loss was in the region of 100 million... it's a disaster. I guess this is the end of AirBaltic...

In 2010 AB's revenue was at nearly 300 million Euros. If the revenue stayed similar in 2011 and the loss was in the region of 100 million... it's a disaster. I guess this is the end of AirBaltic...

AB is phenomenal in a way that for the past 3 years or so the company has been surrounded by drama almost every month. Everything's been indicating that AB won't last for long. Yet they are still alive and running. I bet it won't be any different this time. They'll just convince the Latvian government that AB is the leader of aviation in the Baltic region and it must be kept alive... the poor tax-payers will make another 50 mio € injection into the company.

I can't complain though - all in all, AB has been a pretty good deal for Estonians.

50 million €? Would that be enough?

Sounds like a miniature version of Greece. :D

Meanwhile...
Air Baltic CEO Martin Gauss: company plans to become profitable again in 2014.

According to Martin Gauss,Air Baltic achieved unprecedented growth and managed to transform RIX into only functional transit airport in Baltic region. However,airline had to pay it's price. Now Air Baltic is stable again. At the moment we will focus on business transformation in order to improve the results by 330 million lats in the next five years and return to profitability by 2014.

Source: http://www.e24.ee/764874/air-baltic-sihib-kasumit-2014-aastal/

50 million €? Would that be enough?

Sounds like a miniature version of Greece. :D

Probably not. Surely they'd have to find alternative funds as well. Currently there are talks about privatisation in Latvian media. Turkish Airlines and even Qatar Airways (:lol:) have been mentioned. I'd be really surprised to see someone acquiring AB as it is. The times are very tough for most airlines.

thats kinda terrible that Latvian taxpayers have to keep up this airline:(

thats kinda terrible that Latvian taxpayers have to keep up this airline:(

Like Estonians are keeping up Estonian. =)

Like Estonians are keeping up Estonian. =)

Yes, except Estonian Air hasn't earnt losses of 110 and 51 million Euros in the past two years. Nowhere near that magnitude.

Let's see what will happen in next 2 years with new planes coming and network expansion.

im sure that estonian air will never get thiskind of losses as air baltic..
whats the point of this airline..????? carry passengers and just exist..even if theres losses of 110 and 51 million Euros in the past two years and seems only growing? whatever

airBaltic alone creates 1.5 - 2% of our GDP, Riga airport even a bit more - and success of Riga airport to a big extent is based on airBaltic. If this company would be hopeless or of smaller importance, may be we would take this loss, like we did with Krājbanka. Currently airBaltic looks alive and kicking and with good chances for development.

So - why should we give up those 600 - 700 mio EUR for our GDP?

Interesting, how % of Lithuanian GDP Maxima creates?

anybody knows??????

http://svo.aero/en/timetable/today/1715-xf-11-3-c/

anybody knows??????

http://svo.aero/en/timetable/today/1715-xf-11-3-c/

Interesting. Could be invalid information though, unless they have opened a new Moscow-Tallinn-New York line. .9

anybody knows??????

http://svo.aero/en/timetable/today/1715-xf-11-3-c/

That's might be some kind of charter flight.

That's might be some kind of charter flight.

Yeah, probably. Sheremetyevo's terminal C is generally reserved to charter flights and IATA code XF stands for Vladivostok Air.

and also http://svo.aero/en/timetable/today/5158-su-11-3-c/


have no idea why they r flying to tallinn today;)

and also http://svo.aero/en/timetable/today/5158-su-11-3-c/


have no idea why they r flying to tallinn today;)

Ilyushin 96? Is that allowed in the EU?

its question for me aswell:D
'but ive seen in flightradar24 all the time some tupolev on ilyushin flying somewhere in europe airspace
so have no idea is it allowed...if they r flying i quess its okei:)

It's a myth that European sky is closed for Russian aircrafts.
They just need to have some additional equipment to be installed on board to fly to Europe.

It's a myth that European sky is closed for Russian aircrafts.
They just need to have some additional equipment to be installed on board to fly to Europe.

...and comply with noise regulations. IL96, however, it is a nice piece of aircraft. Too bad it was designed 15 years too late.

I saw some IL96 photos in Salzburg. So I don't think that it's forbidden in Europe, moreover I'm not sure about now, but some years ago SU used to fly to Havana. Probably they didn't exceed European countries areas.

Mystery solved! :D This article (http://www.delfi.ee/news/paevauudised/eesti/fotod-tallinna-lennujaamas-seisab-haruldane-vene-reisilennuk.d?id=64057731) says that it was a charter flight and they hauled bunch of Russian tourists here.

http://y.delfi.ee/norm/248457/13640589_mMwA7K.jpeg

Data for February:
RIX 286 160 passengers +2,69% growth
VNO 120 894 passengers +70,3% growth
PLQ 8 040 passengers +14% growth

No data for TLL and KUN yet.

Update from the two biggest in the nordic section:
February:

CPH 1 621 373 passengers +6.5% growth
OSL 1 609 815 passengers +12.4% growth

Data for February:
RIX 286 160 passengers +2,69% growth
VNO 120 894 passengers +70,3% growth
PLQ 8 040 passengers +14% growth

No data for TLL and KUN yet.

Update from the two biggest in the nordic section:
February:

CPH 1 621 373 passengers +6.5% growth
OSL 1 609 815 passengers +12.4% growth
I doubt that Baltic airports will ever reach such numbers as Nordic ones (even our mighty so called "Northern Hub" with even mightier "AirBaltic Corporation" :D) but it's obvious that there is still much place for Baltic airports to grow.

even our mighty so called "Northern Hub" with even mightier "AirBaltic Corporation"
Interesting thinking. Can say only - better mind your own business, there's much room for improvement.

Interesting thinking. Can say only - better mind your own business, there's much room for improvement.
Can say only - not sure how it is in Latvia but here I'm free to choose my own topics of interest and express my opinion even if someone does not like it. :cheers:

Seems that Turkish will start operating on Vilnius - Istanbul route come July 2012.

hmm where did u get that information, because theres no news about that:)

hmm where did u get that information, because theres no news about that:)
There were some assumptions according to our Ministry of Foreign Affairs. So we will see what might happen about it.

hmm where did u get that information, because theres no news about that:)

Here (Lithuanian): http://vz.lt/article/2012/3/16/turkish-airlines-zada-reisa-vilnius-stambulas

The source of this information seems to be the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the negotiations are far advanced.

daah only a negotiations :)

daah only a negotiations :)

Final stages though.

Estonian Air is planning to change the structure this summer

planning to great roofing company first handles regional flights,secong long-haul and third charters
sounds promising

http://www.e24.ee/782902/estonian-air-plaanib-struktuuri-muuta/

and seems that tallinn airport may get tramline soon, with 200m underground;)
if they start to build passenger terminal.where`s tram,bus,trains and also shopping center.
http://www.epl.ee/news/majandus/taismahus-tallinn-algatab-ulemiste-supervaksali-planeeringu.d?id=64111071

I heard the rumors that Estonian is searching for third Saab 340.

Yeap, EA got it already last week. Also third embraer arrived (170).

i just got answer to my email from tallinn airport
tallinn airport will start to build point-to-point terminal next year and will be ready 2013 autumn

interesting just saw at flightradar24.com that estonian air flight london to tallinn are operated by smartlynx airlines ?????

^^
Maybe it's temporary replacement? Atleast I haven't heard that Estonian Air would have made any new code share agreements lately.



Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport (TLL) future - 5 million passengers yearly.

Erik Sakkov,marketing manager of TLL,said on an interview that in next 10 years Tallinn's airport plans to increase number of passengers to 5 million per year. After reaching that goal,airport starts planning it's relocation to areas outside Tallinn. But right now airport is aggressively going to expand,as it's getting close to it's service capacity - TLL can service 2,3 million passengers yearly (and TLL has already had 1,9 million passengers in this year).
Within next decade airport is going to extend it's runway by 700m (making it 3770m long),build new taxiways,freight terminals,extend main passenger terminal (again!) and build entirely new terminal for low cost carriers.

Source: http://majandus.delfi.ee/news/tarbija/erik-sakkov-uritame-avada-koiki-uksi-ja-flirdime-koikidega.d?id=61554726

TLL's CEO said yesterday on Lufthansa's "20 years of service from TLL"-anniversary that current TLL's one runway layout has maximum limit at 7-8 million passengers in a year,so there's plenty of growth room.
Imho,terminal (-s) capacity becomes the limiting factor in the future.

And about Lufthansa:
They doubled their flights on Tallinn-Munich route.

Source: http://majandus.delfi.ee/news/uudised/lufthansa-tahistab-tallinnas-tegevuse-alustamise-20-aastapaeva.d?id=64127021

And about Lufthansa:
They doubled their flights on Tallinn-Munich route.


Same at RIX, with night stopover now.

Eurolot start operating on Krakow - Vilnius(2xweekly) route come June 2012.

^^ Great news, so far 9 new destinations for Vilnius this summer. 10 would look even better, so we are waiting for Vilnius - Istanbul with Turkish airlines, or maybe something else.

Some graphs by Simonas Bartkus from http://simonas.bartkus.lt/blog/
http://foto.terpe.lt/inkelti/20120326/i31_s12_vnodestinations.png

http://foto.terpe.lt/inkelti/20120326/i31_s12_vnoairlines.png

http://foto.terpe.lt/inkelti/20120326/i31_s12_kedesREKOR.png

Vilnius seems to be up for some serious growth this year. Good. :)

Estonian Air extends its wings to Asia
soon become a reality for direct flights to China, Singapore and Thailand

http://www.e24.ee/788024/estonian-air-sirutab-tiibu-aasiasse/

Direct scheduled flights to Asia? What's next? Estonian air announcing direct flights to Mars? :lol:

The CEO of Estonian Air may sound like an ambitious nutcase, but so far I am glad that EA has him. The company was inactive with no changes for too many years.

It's so useful to post links in Estonian here, coz everybody in Baltics reads Estonian.

Taskila's plan needs a huge investments or it will make big losses for the company. Lets believe that Tero will not kill such a nice company.

Talks about Far Asia is a sweet candy for public (for a such young optimists like ri-xu).

If anyone's interested, here's Estonian Air's annual report of 2011: here (http://estonian-air.ee/public/Annual_Reports/Annual_Report_2011.pdf). Shabby results, but probably not worse than expected. 2011 was a revolutionary year for EA - a new CEO, in fact, a completely new board, a new direction, a decision to move on with a new and different fleet, and, of course, the raising gas prices.

So far it doesn't seem to be going in the wrong direction. It better not be... according to recent news, Tero Taskila earns 33228€ per month, which is A LOT for Estonia and a lot for a CEO of such a small company.

33228? FU! Savisaar earns 1/10 of that!

Sales were last year 76,1 mil and loss 17,3 mil and they are paying that kind of money to Taskila, does he lay golden eggs ore something? :bash:

he will soon;)

Turku Air will start flights between Turku-Tallinna on April!

joke or what?

http://www.turkuair.fi/in_english

Data for March:
TLL 163 732 passengers 19,3% growth

Does the passenger numbers include both departures and arrivals?

Estonian Air under police investigation in Denmark


The Danish Travel Guarantee Fund has issued a complaint against Estonian Air to the police as the enterprise does not have travel insurance fund guarantee, writes Äripäev.ee, citing epn.dk.


The Danish Travel Guarantee Fund has informed the police that Estonian Air as well as two travel agencies do not have the Travel Guarantee Fund guarantee – i.e. the airline is not a member of the fund, writes LETA.

The director of the fund Birgitte Fjeldoff stated that their organisation suspects that the abovementioned companies sell trips without the guarantee.

Estonian Air’s public relations director Ilona Eskelinen stated that Estonian Air had submitted a request to the Danish Travel Guarantee Fund in September 2011 already. In order to support its request, Estonian Air received a guarantee from Swedbank.

Eskelinen explained that Estonian Air’s sales results in Denmark during the past few months have been very positive, exceeding expectations and outlooks. “The Danish Travel Guarantee Fund did not accept our guarantee, or more specifically its form, as it had been based on the initial (i.e. lower) sales outlooks, and hence we were unable to complete the registration process,” she described.

Estonian Air has achieved an agreement with the Danish Travel Guarantee Fund over the procedures for approving the guarantee and the matter ought to be resolved next week at the latest.

silliest question i ever heard:D

The impressive rebound in Vilnius continues. Data for March:


142 thousand passengers
growth of 56,5% compared to 03.2011

2012 March
Riga airport 346.717 -3.6%
Tallinn airport 163.732 +19.3%
Vilnius airport 142.000 +56.5%
Palanga airport 9.661 +15%

It seems that Kaunas airport is slow to announce data as it keeps declining for quite a few months now though in summer Kaunas will have the largest number of flights in its history so it should start to grow again.

airbaltic cancelled 20 Vilnius-Riga flights and 23 Tallinn-Riga flights for this April. Not sure what is going on, probably trying to increase load factor. Most people who already bought tickets will probably choose earlier/later flights with airbaltic, though I'm not so sure they'll be very happy. Though it's their own fault, who buys tickets with airbaltic anyway?

airbaltic cancelled 20 Vilnius-Riga flights and 23 Tallinn-Riga flights for this April. Not sure what is going on, probably trying to increase load factor. Most people who already bought tickets will probably choose earlier/later flights with airbaltic, though I'm not so sure they'll be very happy. Though it's their own fault, who buys tickets with airbaltic anyway?

Is it true that the remaining AirBaltic flights will be substituted by buses?

Since 02.04.12 RIX has 3x daily cargo flights with Boeings-747. Operated by National Airlines and Kalitta Air.

http://www.aviofoto.lv/foto/2012/kravas/thumbnails/DSC_4103_585x585_w_a3c855b4163370449329e23014c1cb58.jpg

Source: http://www.aviofoto.lv/?c=bilde&id=11203

Since 02.04.12 RIX has 3x daily cargo flights with Boeings-747. Operated by National Airlines and Kalitta Air.


Do you know where they operate to?

Comes from Sharjah, Bugras, Baku etc. Departs mainly to Kabul, Bagram -US Army freighters.

TLL is going to build new terminal for low cost carriers in next year. New terminal will have 5 gates.
TLL hopes to have strong passenger numbers growth and 2,3 million passengers (+20%) are expected to use TLL in this year.

Source: http://uudised.err.ee/index.php?06250400

Same article in English: http://news.err.ee/Economy/b7c3e9b6-4c40-445f-91f5-54f480aaf18d

Does anybody know, where the new terminal will be located?

And oh, yes... During the reconstruction of Tallinn Airport main passenger terminal (held in 1998-2000 or so...), there was a temporary terminal, maybe someone else could remember? When I flew from Tallinn for the first time (in 1999, at 6 years old :lol:), I can remember that terminal building was a bit of strange, so that couldn't be the main terminal... And its location remains a mystery to me...
I've even found an article about it (in Estonian, though - http://www.epl.ee/news/majandus/lennujaam-saab-ajutise-terminaali.d?id=50751231), word "terminal" is written there as "terminaal". :lol:

Does anybody know, where the new terminal will be located?
It was mentioned somewhere that new terminal will be located on the city side of TLL,between old and new passenger terminals (see tuleb otse Lennujaama tee kõrvale).
And oh, yes... During the reconstruction of Tallinn Airport main passenger terminal (held in 1998-2000 or so...), there was a temporary terminal, maybe someone else could remember? When I flew from Tallinn for the first time (in 1999, at 6 years old :lol:), I can remember that terminal building was a bit of strange, so that couldn't be the main terminal... And its location remains a mystery to me...
I've even found an article about it (in Estonian, though - http://www.epl.ee/news/majandus/lennujaam-saab-ajutise-terminaali.d?id=50751231), word "terminal" is written there as "terminaal". :lol:
In one of TLL's cargo terminals? Odd...can't remember anything from that time...

Does anyone know anything about North Wind Airlines (http://northwind.aero/)? It appears to be a relatively new company. They are registered in Estonia and they have a valid Air Operator Certificate since January 2012.

Our services include:
• Flight Operations:
- Charter flights (cargo; passenger routes to be opened soon) in Far East and Asian regions
- Aircraft wet-lease service for airlines

I learned about this company last week, but then they didn't even have a website up and running.

It seems to be the new name of Small Planet Airlines Estonia.

Avia Solutions Group AB sold Estonian charter operations

One of the largest aviation business groups in Eastern Europe Avia Solutions Group AB transferred its entire controlling package of shares (95.5%) in Small Planet Airlines AS (Estonia) to Brova Air OU. Following the transaction the name of the company will be changed to North Wind Airlines AS.

http://www.smallplanet.aero/en/home/charter/press-room/news/avia-solutions-group-ab-sold-estonian-charter-operations/ (http://www.smallplanet.aero/en/home/charter/press-room/news/avia-solutions-group-ab-sold-estonian-charter-operations/)

Riga airport handled 7519 tons of cargo in April. 657% increase comparing to April 2011.

It seems that Estonian air slowly takes part of passengers from airBaltic. Data for April:
Riga airport 396 891 -8,7%
Tallinn airport 192 113 +28,3%
Vilnius airport 159 194 +39,4%
Palanga airport 10 859 +37%

As usual no data for Kaunas yet. In March Kaunas airport served 72 724 (-5,88%) passengers though in April they probably returned to growth again.

Estonian Air Saab 340 became "Hockey Bird" ! Design by Rovio designer :cheers2:
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/303318_10150866498767668_166974672667_9567174_1330794588_n.jpg

Ijgds50ADe8

Estonian Air signed a contract with GE Capital Aviation Services to lease 2x Embraer E-190 (112 seats?). The planes should be here in the first quarter of 2013.

Moar: http://majandus.delfi.ee/news/uudised/estonian-air-solmis-lepingu-kahe-uue-embraeri-rentimiseks.d?id=64371433

The management of the Estonian national carrier Estonian Air is going to meet with representatives of three Asian countries Singapore, Qatar and Oman in May to discuss opening possible routes between Tallinn and these countries, writes Eesti Päevaleht.


http://balticbusinessnews.com/article/2012/5/9/estonian-air-eyes-asian-routes

The management of the Estonian national carrier Estonian Air is going to meet with representatives of three Asian countries Singapore, Qatar and Oman in May to discuss opening possible routes between Tallinn and these countries, writes Eesti Päevaleht.


http://balticbusinessnews.com/article/2012/5/9/estonian-air-eyes-asian-routes

They should also meet with Marsians to discuss (im)possible routes between Mars and other planets. :D

ou jeah sorry from eastern europe u can fly with ryanair only:)

even no national carrier...

pointless people

ou jeah sorry from eastern europe u can fly with ryanair only:)

even no national carrier...

pointless people

National carrier is ok. It's possible to fly to Frankfurt or Paris. But certainly not to Singapore. I know that, you know that and Estonian Air most definitely know that.

Sometimes the most surprising things just happen. :P Although, by the sounds of it, it seems to be yet again Estonian media blowing things out of its proportion. These airlines are here for Routes Europe and not specifically to negotiate with Estonian Air.

I think Estonian Air is copying Ryanair's marketing strategy. Just make noise with unbelievable news items which will function as cheap advertising.

Also, Ryanair has always marketed their fleet as being the most modern (recently they even sold a few Boeings that were almost 10 years old, which is basically new still). But now with all these new planes coming in for Estonian Air, won't it soon be the airline with the most modern fleet?

Also in the ticket system they've introduced tickets without luggage and in the end of the booking an extra administration fee is added (which you don't see in the first steps).

On the other hand they're very open to customer's feedback, which is something Ryanair definitely doesn't give a f*ck about and they offer connecting flights.

In general I quite like Estonian Air, I'm just afraid they might adopt this Ryanair model too much :).

^^
I think as long as Estonian Air won't apply AirBaltic's model of transporting passengers to its 'hub' by buses it will be fine. :D

I've flown twice in the past five months. Once to Bangkok via Moscow (EA/Aeroflot) and once to Dubai via RIX (airBaltic).

Boy oh boy, I would be hard-pressed to ever fly via Riga or AirBaltic again. After the relative ease of business in Moscow (what with the lack of transit visas and all that), Riga seemed like passenger hell.

I've flown twice in the past five months. Once to Bangkok via Moscow (EA/Aeroflot) and once to Dubai via RIX (airBaltic).

Boy oh boy, I would be hard-pressed to ever fly via Riga or AirBaltic again. After the relative ease of business in Moscow (what with the lack of transit visas and all that), Riga seemed like passenger hell.

Could you elaborate on that please?

Could you elaborate on that please?

Quite recently I was flying DXB-RIX with AirBaltic. And I said to myself - never again. The main reason is the aircraft. The 752 is very dated and worn down. Lack of legroom, uncomfortable seats, no entertainment system. You have to pay even for a cup of tea. This would be bearable on a short flight, but hey - 6 hours...

As for RIX as an airport - I rather like it and compared to others in the region it is not bad at all.

Quite recently I was flying DXB-RIX with AirBaltic. And I said to myself - never again. The main reason is the aircraft. The 752 is very dated and worn down. Lack of legroom, uncomfortable seats, no entertainment system. You have to pay even for a cup of tea. This would not be bearable on a short flight, but hey - 6 hours...


No free drinks, no fixed entertainment system, 6h flight time and aircraft model was no secret when purchasing ticket. How it comes that so service-sensitive person as you are booked BT at the first place?

Quite recently I was flying DXB-RIX with AirBaltic. And I said to myself - never again. The main reason is the aircraft. The 752 is very dated and worn down. Lack of legroom, uncomfortable seats, no entertainment system. You have to pay even for a cup of tea. This would not be bearable on a short flight, but hey - 6 hours...

As for RIX as an airport - I rather like it and compared to others in the region it is not bad at all.

Doesn't sound good. Especially given that their prices are far from those of Ryanair. The most shocking thing though is not the apalling service level but the fact that such a company hasn't gone belly up long time ago. Or is it because of subsidies paid by the Latvian taxpayers?

No free drinks, no fixed entertainment system, 6h flight time and aircraft model was no secret when purchasing ticket. How it comes that so service-sensitive person as you are booked BT at the first place?

The only option time-wise. One connection flights NBO-VNO were sold out, this one offered the shortest layover. Normally I would have chosen any connection within Star Alliance.

Entertainment systems are not indicated in the booking, same goes for the legroom and seats. And a free drink on such a long flight should be considered as a simple courtesy.

Could you elaborate on that please?

vytauc explained a part of it. But in general, RIX seemed horribly narrow and cramped. It was pretty clear this place was never meant to handle such traffic levels, the transit desk was basically a booth in everyone's way. Shuttle transport across the airport tarmac in -20 degree weather was also something I wasn't used to when flying EA/SVO. On the way back, we had to wait for a bunch of passengers heading for St Petersburg because their airplane's cabin pressure had a problem and most of them got really sick. They were apparently offered free drinks at the bar and got completely lost for a while until finally showing up completely plastered, being noisy and annoying for the whole flight.

I have to mention that the Fokker doesn't give me any particular sense of safety and that flight didn't really help either, but I guess that's more of a general gripe about flying that I have.

I'm not one to complain much about bad flight experiences since I'm still going hundreds of kilometres in an hour in a chair in the sky, but EA gives you a cup of coffee and a cupcake or two. The Airbus that I flew from Moscow to Bangkok was of course a whole different experience (if you don't include the strict alcohol ban. Fortunately the lady sitting next to me 'smuggled' in a little something something from tax free.) Sheremetyevo is massive, but I never got lost or confused.

^^ Why was there an alcohol ban?

^^ Why was there an alcohol ban?

Perhaps not surprising given the drinking manners in Russia.

vytauc explained a part of it. But in general, RIX seemed horribly narrow and cramped. It was pretty clear this place was never meant to handle such traffic levels, the transit desk was basically a booth in everyone's way. Shuttle transport across the airport tarmac in -20 degree weather was also something I wasn't used to when flying EA/SVO. On the way back, we had to wait for a bunch of passengers heading for St Petersburg because their airplane's cabin pressure had a problem and most of them got really sick. They were apparently offered free drinks at the bar and got completely lost for a while until finally showing up completely plastered, being noisy and annoying for the whole flight.

I have to mention that the Fokker doesn't give me any particular sense of safety and that flight didn't really help either, but I guess that's more of a general gripe about flying that I have.

I'm not one to complain much about bad flight experiences since I'm still going hundreds of kilometres in an hour in a chair in the sky, but EA gives you a cup of coffee and a cupcake or two. The Airbus that I flew from Moscow to Bangkok was of course a whole different experience (if you don't include the strict alcohol ban. Fortunately the lady sitting next to me 'smuggled' in a little something something from tax free.) Sheremetyevo is massive, but I never got lost or confused.

I hardly kept myself in my arms not to comment ssh first post about leg room, a/c age, food etc.

But this one - On the way back, we had to wait for a bunch of passengers heading for St Petersburg because their airplane's cabin pressure had a problem and most of them got really sick - is a total bullshit.

If you don't feel safe in Fokker, ride a car! Interestengly, how do you feel in EA SAAB 340 or AFL SSJ100?

Thank you God, that adeqaute people understand that this post is a total mess.

Looks like a poor black PR from EA side.

Some minor news. Starting 17th of June Russian airline RusLine starts weekly flights between Palanga and Moscow. This is, of course, a seasonal flight which will probably be discontinued in September.