For Nordica's Chief Commercial Officer, route procurements represent the greatest potential for his airline. With the global health crisis, Ahluwalia acknowledges that airlines aren't willing to take the risk of launching routes where profitability is uncertain.
However, the airline is looking at local authorities and other organizations and agencies responsible for transport links as greater sources of stable operating revenues:
“We’re taking part in quite a number of other European procurements, and if we win them we’ll be operating the routes using our own aircraft and crews...It’s a similar model to the one for flights between Tallinn and the Estonian islands," Ahluwalia explains.
While the airline is searching for procurements further afield, it hasn't forgotten about its Estonian base. Board Chairman Erki Urva notes that in the future, regular flights out of Tallinn will be launched once the market has recovered:
“The route procurements taking place outside of the country don’t negate direct flights from Tallinn...Quite the reverse: they’re providing us with income to operate with that doesn’t rely on ticket sales or how full our flights are. They’re a great business opportunity for us, and a chance for us to export our service, all of which is helping us get by in the crisis.” -Erki Urva, Chairman of the Management Board
Nordica is part of the Nordic Aviation Group, which was founded in 2015. The group includes Nordica’s subsidiary
"Regional Jet," which operates under the Xfly brand. Xfly also provides flight services to Nordica, LOT, SAS, and other procurement-based partners in Europe.
What do you think of Nordica's procurement-based strategy? Let us know in the comments.
