Estonian Air to Continue Servicing Island Route
The national carrier Estonian Air and Saare County Government have reached a deal according to which the airline will continue servicing the Tallinn-Kuressaare route during the winter season with Saab 340 aircraft. The winter schedule will list seven weekly flights per week.
Acting County Governor Jaan Leivategija said that the county government had also considered holding a new public procurement or switching to smaller planes before a mutually satisfactory compromise was reached.
"From the passengers' point of view, it is important that the flight schedule and the size of the planes remain as similar as possible. Taking into account the demand that has developed, the deal represents the best possible solution and will guarantee continued service at the current level,“ said Leivategija.
According to Commercial Vice President of Estonian Air Rauno Parras, the company is glad that a deal was reached. “Our firm desire was to continue [...], but since the operating costs of this route have increased considerably in recent years, we had to look for new solutions,” he added.
According to Parras, the winter flight schedule will contain one change compared to the summer flight schedule, with Monday flights between Tallinn and Kuressaare dropped.
Parras said that despite the 70 percent increase in fuel price in recent years and the higher airport costs, Estonian Air failed to obtain additional subsidy for continued servicing of the route.
“In order to uphold the current standard of service on the Tallinn-Kuressaare route, we will be forced to raise the ticket price to the level agreed upon in 2008. A one-way ticket from Tallinn to Kuressaare will cost from 31 euros upward and from Kuressaare to Tallinn from 30 euros upward,” said Parras.
However, Parras stressed that the price hike will remain within the limits stipulated in the contract signed by Estonian Air and the county government. ”Until now, we have been offering a 50 percent discount on the Kuressaare route to popularize the air link, but due to the increased costs, it is no longer possible to do so,“ he said.
Estonian Air is currently in the process of developing a new strategy that will also determine which planes the airline will use for servicing its various routes in the coming years.
Sigrid Maasen