newstodate.aero
Sep 27, 2017 (newstodate): The Estonian carrier Nordica has had a tough start to September, marked by two AOG incidents and a corresponding drop in punctuality.
-Tough weeks in September, indeed, but we are recovering, says Sven Kukemelk, Nordica Executive Director Business Development.
-First, one Nordica aircraft was hit by a yet-unidentified external object en-route from Tallinn to Brussels, suffering engine damage and staying on ground at Brussels for 32 days before a replacement engine could be found and installed.
-On top of that, a Nordica ATR aircraft suffered AOG at Copenhagen Airport due to a recurring issue causing it to be out of service for 32-33 out of 40 days. This issue is still under investigation; I cannot reveal details on this but it is safe to say that it has been puzzling also ATR specialists considering the fact that is a a very new aircraft manufactured in 2015 with only few cycles.
-The over-all situation has now improved, and we expect to be fully back to normal by end of October at least.
-One lesson to be learned from this is that we need a larger pool of spares, and we even consider the acquisition of two engines to guard against disruptions to operations such as recently experienced.
-This time we had to lease aircraft from other operators such as Carpatair, Darwin and LOT to keep up the traffic, says Mr Kukemelk.
Nordica is currently in talks with aircraft leasing companies for new aircraft to be added to the fleet that will comprise over 15 units by summer 2018, with decisions to be announced within few months.
-Tough weeks in September, indeed, but we are recovering, says Sven Kukemelk, Nordica Executive Director Business Development.
-First, one Nordica aircraft was hit by a yet-unidentified external object en-route from Tallinn to Brussels, suffering engine damage and staying on ground at Brussels for 32 days before a replacement engine could be found and installed.
-On top of that, a Nordica ATR aircraft suffered AOG at Copenhagen Airport due to a recurring issue causing it to be out of service for 32-33 out of 40 days. This issue is still under investigation; I cannot reveal details on this but it is safe to say that it has been puzzling also ATR specialists considering the fact that is a a very new aircraft manufactured in 2015 with only few cycles.
-The over-all situation has now improved, and we expect to be fully back to normal by end of October at least.
-One lesson to be learned from this is that we need a larger pool of spares, and we even consider the acquisition of two engines to guard against disruptions to operations such as recently experienced.
-This time we had to lease aircraft from other operators such as Carpatair, Darwin and LOT to keep up the traffic, says Mr Kukemelk.
Nordica is currently in talks with aircraft leasing companies for new aircraft to be added to the fleet that will comprise over 15 units by summer 2018, with decisions to be announced within few months.