Baltic national carrier Estonian Air is to introduce a new route to the Swedish city of Gothenburg from its Tallinn base as part of a revised Winter 2012/2013 schedule which will see the suspension of some routes and increased capacity to other destinations. The new four times weekly Tallinn – Gothenburg link will begin from February 1, 2013 and will be operated using an Embraer 170.
The coastal city of Gothenburg is the second largest city in Sweden by population and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries and is the main gateway to West Sweden. It is a popular destination for leisure travellers with a lively cultural scene, stylish shopping and a fast-growing reputation as a foodie hotbed, but strong demand for business travel is also anticipated.
Last year an estimated 25,000 O&D passengers travelled on the route, which until November 2011 was flown by Swedish carrier City Airline. Estonian Air has previously served the route flying a three times weekly link using a Boeing 737-500 between August 2004 and March 2005.
The airline confirms that a number of its routes will be switched to seasonal services and will cease to operate during the winter. These include Venice, which will close from September 1, 2012; Nizza from September 29, 2012; Kajaani from October 8, 2012, Tbilisi from October 17, 2012 and Hanover from October 29, 2012. More details on the resumption of these flights in spring 2013 are expected to be announced in the coming months.
The seasonal closures will enable Estonian Air to boost its activities in some of its existing markets. According to the airline more flights will be offered on routes to Stockholm, Vilnius, Oslo, Amsterdam, Brussels, Moscow, St Petersburg and Kiev. “The coming winter schedule offers much more flights than last winter,” said Rauno Parras, Chief Commercial Officer, Estonian Air.
Another route that will be closed for the winter is Estonian Air’s link to London Gatwick, which will end from October 16, 2012. However, the carrier has plans to upgrade this route and will resume services in the spring with a more regular schedule. When resumed, the route will be flown with one of two new E190s that are due for delivery from GECAS over the winter.
“Our regional jet aircraft fleet is getting a new member in the beginning of next year, the 112-seater Embraer E190, which will take over the routes operated by soon replaced Boeing 737 in previous years,” said Rauno Parras. “The new aircraft will bring us better economics than Boeing, but with improved customer comfort.”
Related Content
