ALEXANDER CAMPBELL / HELSINKI
Finnish helicopter operator Copterline plans to expand its scheduled services with a route from Helsinki to St Petersburg in 2005, which it claims will bring in up to €17.5 million ($22 million) in annual sales.
Managing director Kari Ljungberg says the service will outperform fixed-wing services on frequency and speed. "They offer a minimum of four hours from city centre to city centre - we will do it in one and a half hours," he says. At present, the route supports a single daily service by Finnair and another by Bulkov Air, but Ljungberg says extra services will grow demand. "Finnish companies are keen to expand their activities in St Petersburg. They would visit three or four times more often, but it is very difficult to make the trip at the moment," he says, adding that Copterline's planned four return flights a day would make business trips far more convenient, with 50,000 passengers expected annually. "Finnair already has more passengers than they can fly, but bilateral treaties restrict them to one flight a day," he adds.
Copterline operates 14 daily round-trip services to Tallinn, Estonia with two Sikorsky S-76s, but will need to purchase longer-range aircraft for the St Petersburg route. The company has two options for the Sikorsky S-92, but is undecided whether to take them or acquire a similar helicopter.
Source: Flight International
