Finnair acquires controlling interest in Nordic Airlink

Finnair is acquiring a controlling interest in Swedish airline Nordic Airlink through the acquisition of 85 per cent of the company's shares.

"The Nordic countries are our home market, and we are now expanding and deepening our operations in Sweden. We intend to turn Nordic Airlink into the leading budget airline in the Nordic countries. This will enable us to provide services for price-conscious passengers who are looking for competitive travel alternatives in terms of price and efficiency," explains Henrik Arle, Executive Vice President for Scheduled Passenger Traffic at Finnair.

Nordic Airlink has six aircraft, which are used for scheduled flights between Stockholm and Luleå, as well as charter and regional operations.

"Up to now, there has been a monopoly at work on many busy flight routes in Scandinavia, both in terms of services and price. We want to change this by using Nordic Airlink and a budget airline strategy, in order to offer passengers a low-cost alternative. Nordic Airlink has a fleet that is well-suited to this purpose, a competent and highly motivated staff, and a competitive cost level," Mr Arle says.

"We are convinced that this strategic move will give us a firm foothold on the growing Scandinavian budget flight market."

Gunnar Ohlsson, Managing Director of Nordic Airlink, is also pleased with the deal.

"This is good news for Nordic Airlink. Finnair is a successful and well-managed airline which is capable of developing Nordic Airlink and taking us forward in the right direction."

Finnair stated that the airline is expected to carry 200,000 passengers this  year, with turnover rising to some SEK 240 million (25.9 million euro). Nordic Airlink will be expanding its flight network in the autumn.

The transaction still requires the approval of the relevant authorities.