Today the Baltic airline known as 'Regional Jet' held a press conference at the Talinn Airport in Estonia. The airline, which provides regional services throughout Baltics and much of Europe, announced a fleet expansion and an exciting brand change. Here are the details of the news.

You may have flown Regional Jet before but were unaware of the fact. This is because Regional Jet operates short-haul services for airlines such as SAS and LOT. Its parent company is Nordica - which is a slightly better recognized name in the Baltics and Eastern Europe. This is how the website breaks down the organizational structure of Regional Jet in relation to Nordica:

"Nordica’s flights are operated by its subsidiary company, Regional Jet OÜ, 51% of which is owned by the Estonian national airline while 49% belongs to the Polish state-owned airline LOT. Besides Nordica, Regional Jet OÜ provides flight services to SAS Scandinavian Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines and various contractual partners across Europe."

Luxair, AirSERBIA, and Flybe have also been clients of the airline, according to Aviator.

The new name

Jan Palmer, CEO of the newly named Xfly, said that his company has demonstrated rapid growth in the past four years. He also said that the airline has become a key player in European air traffic in the short time the company has been operating.

"The adoption of the new brand name will contribute to our strong growth, because it will provide the company, for the first time, with its own identity, emphasizing our distinctiveness in the market as an employer and a service provider,” -Jan Palmer, CEO, XFly

According to Estonian media outlet ERR, Palmer says that the aviation market is seeing continued consolidation and there is no longer any room for small independent commercial airlines. Therefore, an airline's brand name is becoming increasingly important with travelers and their preferences.

This reasoning makes sense. The term "Regional Jet" is broad and can be easily confused with the types of aircraft labeled as 'regional jets'. Distancing itself from the old name will also give it some flexibility to fly more than just regional routes.

Fleet expansion

In its short five-year history, this recent decision to add more aircraft to its fleet represents the largest expansion in the history of the company. The expansion consists of seven Embraer aircraft that will join the fleet within the next six months.

Simple Flying contacted Nordica regarding its XFly subsidiary, asking them where these new aircraft will fly. They responded saying that they will serve three LOT routes from Tallinn, the destinations being Warsaw, Stockholm and Brussels. The spokesperson said that additional lines (routes) will be announced later.

According to Aviator, the new planes will also be used to replace some of the airline's older Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft. This is what their CEO had to say about the expansion:

“We are now a unique company in the European aviation market, with the capacity to provide services to airlines with three different types of aircraft, including the ATR72-600 turboprops and the CRJ900 and Embraer 190/195 jet airliners. This will give a significant boost to our competitiveness throughout Europe,” -Jan Palmer, CEO, XFly

Conclusion

Xfly currently employs a relatively small team across the Baltics and Scandinavia. This includes 260 people in Tallinn, 150 in Denmark, 60 in Sweden, and an additional 35 specialists in other countries. With the upcoming expansion, the number of employees is expected to rise close to 700 before the end of the year.

Have you ever flown on a Regional Jet service via Nordica, SAS, or LOT? Let us know how the experience was by leaving a comment.