OREANDA-NEWS. April 06, 2012. According to the audited data, the consolidated sales revenue of Estonian Air in 2011 grew by 12% last year, reaching 76.1 million euros.  The financial result of Estonian Air in 2011 was a loss of 17.3 million euros, of which non-recurring expenses formed 1.8 million euros, reported the press-centre of Estonian Air.

Estonian Air’s financial results were primarily influenced by the increased fuel prices, which rose on average by 40% last year. With flights up by 13.5%, the fuel expenses for Estonian Air rose by 50%, which is 8.3 million euros in 2011.

Wade Stokes, the Chief Financial Officer and board member of Estonian Air said that last year could be characterized with several extraordinary developments in the company and market. “The higher fuel prices exposed the fact that we did not have the right size of fleet, as we were unable to fill the Boeings sufficiently given our traffic patterns.  The company made the decision last spring to close the Vilnius hub, and while the new management was developing the network strategy approved in the fall, we decided to stabilize the network. In addition, the non-recurring effects were 1.8 million euros, consisting of non-accrued Boeing redelivery costs and a write-off of a Boeing engine repair,” Stokes said.

Joakim Helenius, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Estonian Air said that the Supervisory Board has set a goal for the Board to reach profitability within next 24 months. “Despite the last year’s slump in the aviation market and the fact that Estonian Air’s loss was the smallest in Northern Europe, we are not satisfied with last year’s results,” said Helenius.

“Electing a new Management Board and approving the new business strategy in the second half of the last year were inevitable. These decisions have already had a positive impact on our operating results, particularly on the growth in passenger numbers and revenue. The same positive trend has been seen in customer satisfaction and product development. In the next two years, the impact of the decisions also has to reflect in the financial results,” added Helenius.

“There are three key factors to achieve a further pragmatic and responsible profit growth – restructuring the company, right-sizing the fleet with more suitable and economical aircraft and increasing customer loyalty and customer service. All these activities have also already been launched,” said Helenius.

“Our goal for the ongoing year is to serve 850 000 clients and we are well on a way to reach that target,“ added Helenius.

Estonian Air carried 678 049 passengers last year, which is 16.4% more than in 2010. Estonian Air operated altogether 11 720 flights in 2011, which is 13.5% more than a year before. The market share of Estonian Air grew up to 32.6% in Tallinn Airport.

The regularity of Estonian Air flights in 2011 was 99.1%, which is one percentage point better than the year before. The 15-minute punctuality of Estonian Air was 90.8%, which is 4.1 percentage points better than in 2010 and with that result Estonian Air was also the most punctual airline in the Baltic and Nordic region.

AS Estonian Air, Estonia’s national carrier, 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 added new destinations to its flight schedule, such as Helsinki, Riga, Jyvaskyla, Hannover, Vienna, Venice, Joensuu, Kajaani and Thbilisi. Estonian Air has significantly increased flight frequencies to Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Vilnius, Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Estonian Air is the National Partner of the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Finland.