A PSO in Finland has been awarded and might give an idea on who will be interested in this one too:
TransAviaBaltika (KTB,
Kaunas) has been awarded a EUR5.7 million (USD6.7 million) Finnish domestic public service obligation (PSO) route to handle traffic between
Helsinki Vantaa and the town of
Savonlinna in the south-east of the country, the transport agency Traficom has revealed.
The deal, whose costs will be borne equally by both the Finnish state and the municipality of Savonlinna of 32,700 inhabitants, cover the period from October 4 this year to December 20, 2024. The route is not currently served, according to the
ch-aviation capacities module, and was last operated as a scheduled passenger service before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, courtesy of Latvia’s
RAF-Avia (MTL,
Riga).
TransAviaBaltika will operate the same number of frequencies as before - two daily round-trip flights on weekdays, with the exception of Fridays when one will take place.
“A regular air traffic connection is perceived as very important for international industry and business life in Savonlinna as air traffic resumes after a stop of more than a year and a return to normal air traffic begins. Likewise, this continuation of air traffic guarantees the year-round operation of Savonlinna Airport and we can launch, for example, the marketing of charter flights on this basis,” said Jarmo Häkkinen, business director at Savonlinna municipality.
However, Traficom’s director, Pipsa Eklund, told the Finnish broadcaster Yle that no large-scale flow of passengers is expected and that the minimum requirement for the type of aircraft had been reduced to 19 seats.
“We have estimated the number of passengers at five to ten passengers per plane,” she said.
Traficom received seven tender applications, of which the lowest-priced offer won. Despite the limited passenger expectations, the number of offers was a positive surprise, she added.
The tender was announced on June 29 with a deadline of August 30. According to a document detailing the procurement decision, six of the seven were found to meet the conditions of the competition, none of which were Finnish. They provided the following offers, explaining TransAviaBaltika’s victory:
- Amapola Flyg (HP, Stockholm Arlanda) EUR9,529,954 (USD11.24 million)
- Budapest Aircraft Services (RP, Budapest) EUR6,535,583 (USD7.71 million)
- DAT (DX, Kolding) EUR12,621,585 (USD14.88 million)
- Nordic Aviation Group dba Nordica (ND, Tallinn Lennart Meri) EUR8,978,778 (USD10.59 million)
- NyxAir (NYX, Tallinn Lennart Meri) EUR7,402,431 (USD8.73 million)
- TransAviaBaltika EUR5,711,215 (USD6.73 million)
TransAviaBaltika operates three
Let 410 and two
Jetstream 31/2 turboprops, according to its website.
About TransAviaBaltika
Type
Passenger Charter Base
Kauna