Former AirBaltic CEO Sees High-Flying Future for Estonian Air
Bertolt Flick, until recently president and CEO of Latvian carrier AirBaltic, has predicted that Estonian Air would become a serious competitor to his former company and may one day even replace it.
In an interview with the Riga-based daily Dienas Bizness, Flick said that Estonian Air had made the right choices in aircraft acquisition, given the current fuel market, and that its development plans were solid.
"The company has a good strategy and since I am very familiar with the head of Estonian Air Tero Taskila, who had earlier been AirBaltic's commercial director, I know he thinks very strategically, working hand in hand with the government. And the government in Estonia is working with the company rather than against it," Flick said.
"I think that Estonian Air will be a very serious rival to AirBaltic if not a replacement," he added.
Flick stepped down as president and CEO of the troubled Latvian airline in October, after which the country's transport ministry bought up nearly all remaining shares in the company, making it 99.8 percent state owned.
The Estonian state owns 90 percent of Estonian Air with the remaining 10 percent owned by SAS.
Steve Roman