Nordic Regional Airlines

This article is about the Finnish airline. For the former Swedish regional airline, see Nordic Regional.
Nordic Regional Airlines Oy
IATA ICAO Callsign
AY FIN FINNAIR
Founded 2011 (as Flybe Nordic)
Commenced operations May 2015 (as Nordic Regional Airlines)
Hubs Helsinki Airport
Frequent-flyer program Finnair Plus
Alliance Oneworld (affiliate)
Fleet size 23
Destinations 35
Parent company Finnair
Headquarters Vantaa, Finland
Website flynorra.com
Head office in Vantaa

Nordic Regional Airlines Oy, (trading as Norra) (often stylized as N°rra), and previously known as Flybe Nordic,[1] is a Finnish airline owned by Finnair. The airline began operations on 20 October 2011 as a joint venture between Flybe and Finnair, following their acquisition of Finncomm Airlines. Flybe sold its 60% to Finnair as a temporary solution at a price of one euro (€1) in March 2015. Ownership negotiations with StaffPoint and G.W. Sohlberg are still under way. The airline has operated under Finnair's flight code since 1 May 2015.

The company's head office and operations centre is located in Vantaa, Finland, near Helsinki, while the office in Seinäjoki houses the company's financial division.[2]

History

ATR-72-500 in old livery at Joensuu Airport.

The creation of the airline was announced on 1 July 2011, when Flybe and Finnair revealed plans to jointly purchase Finnish Commuter Airlines (FCA) and rebrand the airline Flybe Nordic, with Flybe and Finnair each holding a stake in the new entity.[3] Under the terms of the agreement, contingent on approval by regulatory authorities, the purchase price of FCA was €25 million, of which Flybe would pay €12 million and Finnair €13 million.[4] Flybe has a majority stake in Flybe Nordic, holding a 60% stake in the airline, with Finnair holding the remaining 40%; Flybe has three seats on the airline's board of directors with Finnair having the other two.[4] Flybe planned to invest a total of €23.6 million into the new airline, including expenses such as loan repayments in addition to the purchase price of FCA.[5]

At the time of the announcement of Flybe Nordic's creation, Flybe planned to begin operating the new airline on 1 August 2011, with the FCA name being phased out,[3] though the start date was later pushed back to 30 October.[6] A new route network was also planned to be announced in mid-August.[4]

Flybe announced in November 2014 that it would sell its 60% stake in the airline for €1, in an attempt to reduce group costs.[7] In February 2015 the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority approved the sale of its stake (60%) to StaffPoint Holding and G.W. Sohlberg.[8] Flybe sold its 60% to Finnair as a temporary solution at a price of one euro (€1) in March 2015. Ownership negotiations with StaffPoint and G.W. Sohlberg are still under way. The airline has operated under Finnair's flight code since 1 May 2015.[9]

In May 2015 Flybe Nordic was rebranded as Nordic Regional Airlines, Norra.[10]

Destinations

Codeshare agreements

As of November 2014, Flybe Nordic has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

Fleet

ATR-72-500 in new livery at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.
Embraer 190 in Finnair livery operated by Nordic Regional Airlines in 2016.

Current fleet

Nordic Regional Airlines's fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of August 2016):[12]

Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
J W Y
Total
ATR 72-500 11 – – – 68 68 All leased from Finnair[13]
72 72
Embraer E-190 12 – – – 100 100 Operated for Finnair
Total 23 —

The ATR 72 are owned by Finnair, which bought them from FCA at a cost of €104 million, and leased to Nordic Regional Airlines (Flybe at the time).[3]

Historic fleet

A former Nordic Regional Airlines ATR-42-500 at Tallinn Airport.
A former Nordic Regional Airlines Embraer 170 in Finnair livery in 2013.
Nordic Regional Airlines Historic Fleet
Aircraft Introduced Retired
ATR 42-500 2011 2014
Embraer 170 2005 2016

Services

Flybe Finland Ground

In April 2013 it was announced that Flybe Finland Ground will be established to provide ground services to Flybe operations in Finland. This business will initially focus on the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport where it will develop services to support Flybe’s own operations. In the future Flybe Finland Ground will also offer ground services to other airlines in Finland and overseas.[14]

Flybe Finland Maintenance

Formerly Finnish Aircraft Maintenance operates as Flybe Finland Maintenance since April 2013. It provides maintenance services for regional aircraft, in particular ATR (aircraft manufacturer) at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.

References

  1. ↑ "Finland's Flybe. Nordic rebrands as Nordic Regional Airlines". ch-aviation.com. 21 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  2. ↑ "About Us." Nordic Regional Airlines. Retrieved on October 25, 2016. "Nordic Regional Airlines Oy Öljykuja 2, 01530 Vantaa, Finland"
  3. 1 2 3 "New Nordic carrier to emerge from Flybe-Finnair tie-up". Flightglobal.com. 1 July 2011. Archived from the original on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 "Flybe, Finnair To Acquire A Nordic Airline". Aviation Week. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  5. ↑ "UPDATE 2-Finnair, Flybe to buy Finnish regional carrier". Reuters UK. 1 July 2011. Archived from the original on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  6. ↑ "Flybe Nordic Starts Operating 30 October". Scandasia.com. 25 August 2011. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  7. ↑ Lewin, Joel (12 November 2014). "Flybe agrees to sell Finnish division for €1". Financial Times. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Finnish regulator okays Flybe. Nordic's sell off". Ch-aviation. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "Flybe Finland to fly under the Finnair code starting on May 1". World Airline News. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  10. ↑ "Flybe Finland to rebrand as Nordic Regional Airlines in May". Air Transport World. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 http://www.flybe.com/franchises-codeshares/codeshares/codeshares.htm
  12. ↑ "Global Airline Guide 2016 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2016): 14.
  13. ↑ "Finnair leases ATR to Flybe Nordic (now Nordic Regional Airlines)". Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  14. ↑ "Fast-growing Flybe Finland establishes new business unit". Invest in EU. 5 April 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
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