OREANDA-NEWS. July 24, 2012. In June 2012 the amount of leisure travellers exceeded the number of business travellers, the load factor rose to 80%, reported the press-centre of Estonian Air.

While in previous years the amount of leisure travellers on Brussels route reached a maximum of one third then on some flights during this summer there has been more than half of leisure travellers.

“The increase in load factor and leisure travellers on Brussels route is due to the fact that people have discovered Belgium as a tourist destination and also as a result of using the route for visiting Northern part of France,“ noted Sven Kukemelk, the Business Analyst at Estonian Air.

“In addition, the popularity of the route is because of the growing number of transit passengers from Scandinavia as well as the attractive continuing flight opportunities offered by our partner Brussels Airlines,“said Kukemelk.

In this summer, Estonian Air added on the Brussels route five morning flights and increased the flight frequencies from six to eleven. One and a half years ago, the airline flew to Brussels only three times a week.

In the first six months Estonian Air carried altogether 423 581 passengers, out of which 422 625 on regular flights. The total number of passengers on regular flights increased 51.4% compared to the same period last year.

In the first six months Estonian Air operated 9484 flights, which is 72.1% more than during the same period last year. In the first six months the regularity of Estonian Air flights was 98.8% and the 15-minute punctuality was 83.5%.

Estonian Air flies currently to 24 destinations in Europe, Scandinavia and in CIS. The airline focuses on improving the connection between Estonia and the rest of the world with the aim of increasing competitiveness as a network carrier hub.