thumb|right|[[ATR 72 at Tallin airport in 2013]]

thumb|right|An [[ATR 42 in 2008]]

Finnish Commuter Airlines Oy, trading as Finncomm Airlines, was a regional airline with headquarters at Seinäjoki Airport in Ilmajoki, near Seinäjoki Finland. The air carrier operated flights to Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, Romania, Sweden and 16 destinations within Finland from its base at Helsinki Airport. In those times it was the largest domestic air carrier in Finland in terms of number of flights. The airline was a member of the European Regions Airline Association.

The company adopted Flybe Nordic trading name and Flybe Finland operating name from 30 October 2011. It was renamed NORRA-Nordic Regional Airlines on 15 June 2015.

History

The beginning

In 1993, Juhani Pakari and his father started an air taxi operation flying light aircraft to remote airstrips which other carriers did not serve. Seeking to acquire an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) to begin scheduled flights, Finncomm partnered with Swedish regional airline Golden Air Flyg in 1999 until they could receive their own AOC. Golden Air meda available a fleet of seven Saab 340s and one Saab 2000 and Finnish Commuter Airlines was in full swing. The growth allowed an operating profit of over €9.4 million which was a 9.8% increase over 2007.

New ownership

On 9 September 2010, Finnair Group announced that they had signed a preliminary agreement to acquire all the aircraft from Finnish Commuter Airlines and 20% of its shares for the total sum of €48 million. On 1 July 2011, Finnair and BEA-British European Airways (branded Flybe) announced they were to jointly buy the airline for €25 million. The company was rebranded Flybe Nordic with Flybe Finland operating name. 60% of shares were owned by BEA while Finnair controlled 40%. The fleet was further strengthened with two Embraer E170s which allowed to fly over 70 passenger on longer routes and with speeds higher than ATR turboprops.

Further changes

In November 2014, British European Airways announced that it would sell its 60% stake in the airline for €1 in an effort to reduce group costs. In February 2015, the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority approved the sale of the stake (60%) to StaffPoint Holding and G.W. Sohlberg. The 60% share was sold to Finnair as a temporary solution in March 2015 and the airline operated with Finnair's flight codes from 1 May 2015. Completing the new phase the transition to NORRA-Nordic Regional Airlines name on the following 15 June.

Destinations

As of June 2011 Finnish Commuter Airlines operated the following routes:

  • Estonia
  • Tallinn – Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport
  • Finland
  • Enontekiö – Enontekiö Airport [seasonal]
  • Helsinki – Helsinki Airport base
  • Joensuu – Joensuu Airport
  • Jyväskylä – Jyväskylä Airport
  • Kajaani – Kajaani Airport
  • Kemi/Tornio – Kemi-Tornio Airport
  • Kittilä – Kittilä Airport [seasonal]
  • Kokkola/Jakobstad – Kruunupyy Airport
  • Kuopio – Kuopio Airport
  • Kuusamo – Kuusamo Airport [seasonal]
  • Oulu – Oulu Airport
  • Pori – Pori Airport
  • Savonlinna – Savonlinna Airport
  • Seinäjoki – Seinäjoki Airport
  • Tampere – Tampere-Pirkkala Airport
  • Turku – Turku Airport
  • Vaasa – Vaasa Airport
  • Varkaus – Varkaus Airport
  • Germany
  • Stuttgart – Stuttgart Airport
  • Latvia
  • Riga – Riga Airport
  • Poland
  • Gdańsk – Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport
  • Romania
  • Bucharest – Henri Coandă International Airport
  • Sweden
  • Norrköping – Norrköping Airport
  • Skellefteå – Skellefteå Airport

Fleet

thumb|right|[[Embraer E-145|Embraer ERJ-145 later replaced by Embraer E170]]

As of 13 May 2011 the fleet included the following aircraft:

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Finncomm Airlines fleet

|-

! Aircraft

! style="width:25px;"|In fleet

! Orders

! Passengers

|-

| ATR 42-500

| style="text-align:center;"|4

| style="text-align:center;"|0

| 48

|-

| ATR 72-500

| style="text-align:center;"|10

| style="text-align:center;"|3

| 68–72

|-

| Embraer E170

| style="text-align:center;"|2

| style="text-align:center;"|0

| 76

|-

!Total

!16

!2

!

|}

Finnish Commuter Airlines had announced plans to have 16 ATR42-500 aircraft by the end of 2011, suggesting they planned to convert at least 3 of their options into firm orders.

Environment

Finnish Commuter Airlines mitigated its environmental impact. The carrier utilised a very modern and fuel efficient fleet of ATRs and Embraers which reduced fuel burn and noise. FThe air carrier commented that the ATR fleet saved 70,000 tonnes of fuel and 200,000 tonnes of in a five-year period over a jet fleet.

References

Further reading

  • "Finncomm Airlines", Airliner World monthly magazine, U.K., July 2009
  • Finncomm Airlines Fleet
  • Finnish aviation authority curbs Finncomm turboprop pilots' rights (2007)

ja:フィンコム航空