newstodate.aero
Apr 28, 2012 (newstodate): Estonian Air is in no hurry to dispose of its Bombardier aircraft.
The carrier took delivery of its three CRJ900 NextGen aircraft only in 2011, but under the new management introducing a new strategy a decision was made in 2012 to replace the Bombardier fleet with Embraer aircraft instead.
From this spring Estonian Air is thus operating four Embraer E-170 aircraft on a one-year lease contract with Finnair, having placed orders for delivery of a further eight Embraer aircraft with the factory.
-We are thus operating a total of seven jet aircraft, but we are in no hurry to phase out the Bombardier aircraft, says Tero Taskila, Estonian Air CEO.
-We have placed the four CRJ900 aircraft on the market, but we are not pushing them. The Bombardier aircraft will stay with us till the end of 2012 and are good aircraft allowing us to pursuit our strategy of increasing frequencies on a growing number of existing destinations and opening up flights to new additions to our route network.
-The Embraer aircraft is the ideal size for us, and a crucial benefit is the fact that all types of Embraer aircraft can be operated by all pilots due to their cockpit commonality. This contributes to reducing the unit costs.
-In contrast, the various types of Bombardier aircraft require specific pilot qualifications reducing the flexibility of our cockpit crews, says Mr Taskila.
Subject to the approval of Estonian Air's Supervisory Council, Estonian Air has signed a contract with Embraer for the outright acquisition of three E-175 and one E-190 aircraft, with deliveries to start from 2nd quarter of 2014.
Estonian Air will also take eight additional aircraft, four E-170 and four E-190, under a combination of lease agreements with third parties and leasing companies.
The carrier took delivery of its three CRJ900 NextGen aircraft only in 2011, but under the new management introducing a new strategy a decision was made in 2012 to replace the Bombardier fleet with Embraer aircraft instead.
From this spring Estonian Air is thus operating four Embraer E-170 aircraft on a one-year lease contract with Finnair, having placed orders for delivery of a further eight Embraer aircraft with the factory.
-We are thus operating a total of seven jet aircraft, but we are in no hurry to phase out the Bombardier aircraft, says Tero Taskila, Estonian Air CEO.
-We have placed the four CRJ900 aircraft on the market, but we are not pushing them. The Bombardier aircraft will stay with us till the end of 2012 and are good aircraft allowing us to pursuit our strategy of increasing frequencies on a growing number of existing destinations and opening up flights to new additions to our route network.
-The Embraer aircraft is the ideal size for us, and a crucial benefit is the fact that all types of Embraer aircraft can be operated by all pilots due to their cockpit commonality. This contributes to reducing the unit costs.
-In contrast, the various types of Bombardier aircraft require specific pilot qualifications reducing the flexibility of our cockpit crews, says Mr Taskila.
Subject to the approval of Estonian Air's Supervisory Council, Estonian Air has signed a contract with Embraer for the outright acquisition of three E-175 and one E-190 aircraft, with deliveries to start from 2nd quarter of 2014.
Estonian Air will also take eight additional aircraft, four E-170 and four E-190, under a combination of lease agreements with third parties and leasing companies.