OREANDA-NEWS. June 7, 2012. In the first five months of 2012, Estonian Air carried 46% more passengers than in the same period in 2011. The amount of passengers on regular flights increased by almost half, also the load factor of Estonian Air flights has improved significantly.

In May Estonian Air carried in Tallinn Airport altogether 98 439 passengers on regular flights, which is 91.1% increase compared to last year. The load factor of Estonian Air flights in May was 73.8% which is 11.4 percentage points higher than year before.

In the first five months of 2012, Estonian Air carried altogether 323 240 passengers, out of which 322 590 on regular flights. The amount of passengers on regular flights increased by 46%.

Estonian Air operated 7433 flights in the first five months, which is 65.4% more flights than last year. In May 2192 flights were operated, which is 98.9% more flights than last year.

The regularity of Estonian Air flights in the first five months was 98.6% and the 15-minute punctuality was 83.2%. In May the regularity and the punctuality were 99% and 84.9% respectively.

"The new business model, which was launched at the end of March, has shown positive results: the number of point-to-point and transit passengers has increased significantly and the operations have been stabilized,“ said Rauno Parras, CCO of Estonian Air.

AS Estonian Air, Estonia’s national carrier, provides both business travellers and tourists direct air link from Estonia to European cities. Estonian Air is the biggest operator at Tallinn Airport. Estonian Air focuses on improving the connection between Estonia and the rest of the world with the aim of increasing competitiveness as a network carrier hub.

Estonian Air flies to 24 destinations in CIS, Scandinavia and Europe. The airline has recently announced new destinations for next summer, such as Helsinki, Riga, Jyvaskyla, Hannover, Vienna, Venice, Joensuu, Kajaani and Tbilisi.

The ticket prices start at 49.90 euros, if purchased from www.estonian-air.com, including all fees and taxes, baggage, snacks and soft drinks on longer flights and soft drinks on flights that last less than 1 hour.