"airBaltic" to set up base in Tallinn
Latvian national carrier "airBaltic" will establish a base in the Estonian capital Tallinn this year and introduce eight new routes in competition with Estonian airline "Estonian Air", "airBaltic" CEO Bertolt Flick said on Thursday.
Five of the new routes will connect Tallinn with destinations in Finland, the CEO said.
Riga-based "airBaltic" remains open to talks upon cooperation with "Estonian Air", which had losses for the past three years and is seeking a strategic partner to survive, Flick said in an interview at the Berlin tourism fair.
As reported, "airBaltic" is a joint stock company that was established in 1995. The primary shareholders are the Latvian state, with 52.6 percent of stock, and "Baltijas aviacijas sistemas", with 47.2 percent of stock.
"airBaltic" serves five direct flights from Tallinn - to Riga, Vilnius, Turku, Tampere, Lappeenranta, as well as direct flights from Tartu to Riga.
The "airBaltic" fleet consists of 31 aircraft - ten "Boeing 737-500", eight "Boeing 737-300", two "Boeing 757-200", and eleven "Fokker 50" airplanes.
