LOT acquired share in Regional Jet OÜ

LOT Polish Airlines acquired 49% of the share capital of Regional Jet Ltd, until now entirely owned by the Estonian national carrier AS Nordic Aviation Group which operates under the NORDICA brand. TRINITI legal team advised Nordica in the share sales and shareholder agreements negotiation, merger control procedures and closing of the transaction. Estonian Nordica and Polish LOT began their strategic cooperation already in November last year. The cooperation includes a common commercial platform and ticket sales system, as well as code sharing. Nordica offers LOT its efficient regional flights operation services, soon including the flight services also on the Stockholm-Warsaw route. With the increased flight services three new planes will be added to Nordica’s fleet within a year, and more than 70 new jobs created. One of the most important steps in the strategic cooperation was made in February this year when LOT acquired 49% of Nordica subsidiary, Regional Jet OÜ, a company that offers a cost-effective commercial platform for its shareholders and other clients. According to the CEO of Nordica – Jaan Tamm, the company will continue flying with its main cooperation partner, Polish aviation company LOT codes, initially there are no plans to join the Miles & More loyalty programme or Star Alliance as a member, although passengers can already now collect Eurobonus points on all Nordica flights. Tamm confirms that Nordica already has the AOC certificate through its subsidiary Regional Jet, which also has the IATA code EE and internationally recognised IOSA safety certificate. In February 2017 Nordica served, together with its strategic partner LOT, 32,000 passengers, which is 70 percent more than in February last year. Within the first nine months of 2016, Nordica exported its services for €4.7m. Nordica plans to increase the amount of flights directed for export by more than 150%. LOT is a profitable company that successfully underwent reorganisation in 2016 and thanks to that now indicates a dynamic development. This year, 25 new destinations have been added to the line network, including two long-distance lines to Tokyo and Seoul, which makes LOT one of the fastest developing traditional European aviation companies.