In two successive months towards the middle of this year, Finland's Copter Action bought two brand new Sikorsky S-76C+ helicopters for the purposes of transporting business passengers from Helsinki to Talinn in Estonia. With many projects taking shape in the countries of the Baltic region because of plans to join the European Union, industry professional such as financiers and investment managers are now making the trip from Finland to Estonia on a regular basis.

Before taking the decision to opt for the Sikorskys, Copter Action compared the US-built aircraft with Eurocopter's EC155.

Copter Action's chairman of the board Kari Ljungberg told EBAN: "About three years ago, we carried out a market study. We asked our customers what was of most importance to them, when flying with Copter Action. \r "They pointed out that our operations should be very safe and reliable, that we should be able to fly every flight according to schedule and that we had to meet the requirements of JAR OPS 3.

"We opted for the Sikorsky S-76 because it has already flown more than three million flight hours and the C+ has been on the market for four years.

"We have an EC135 in our fleet and during the first year, we found that there were a lot of modifications to be made. It is difficult to explain to the customer that the service is unavailable on any given occasion.

"The second reason was because the Sikorsky is faster. During the studies, we found that the average flight time for the Sikorsky is around 20 minutes. With the EC155, the flight time is two minutes more. We decided that the loss of two minutes each way could be critical to the success of the service."

Since May 5, Copter Action has carried out more than 5,000 flights between Helsinki and Talinn, with one flight having been cancelled due to technical reasons. The service departs every hour from Helsinki and every half an hour, it departs from Talinn back to Finland.

In addition to the Finnish professionals who use the service, around 5-10 per cent are made up of foreign businesspeople who have business first in Finland and then in Estonia.

In comparison to the [commercial] aeroplane or boat options between Helsinki and Talinn, Ljungberg says the advantages of using Copter Action are self-evident. He said: "If you want to go by [commercial] aeroplane or boat, you must leave very early in the morning and not return until late evening.

"With our service, you are able to leave at midday if you wish because we save you more than two hours each way."Ljungberg says the customer avoids the delays associated with passing through Customs because Copter Action deals with the paperwork in advance. He said: "When you're travelling outside the EU, there are extra checks that have to be made before you can pass the controls.

"We get all this information from the passengers beforehand and give it to the relevant authorities. When the helicopter departs, the information has already been sent to the other side to be checked. Three minutes after landing, the first customer is already in the first taxi."

The price to charter Copter Action's Sikorsky S-76C+ is 18,000 Finnish Marks per hour [approximately 3,000 Euros]. The aircraft carries a two-pilot crew and is able to transport up to 12 passengers. The helicopter is able to fly in all IFR conditions and to Category A procedures.

While Copter Action has been launching this product, only one C+ has been in action while the other has been on stand-by. Ljungberg explained: "The second helicopter is used just for back-up because it's a new type of aircraft and because we have invested a lot of manpower and money into the technical side of the operation.

"For the first eight months, we are learning to live with the Sikorskys and are gradually creating our product.

"Next year, we will start using the two helicopters at the same time with an extra four flights in the morning and an extra four flights in the late afternoon or evening. We will also start flying on Saturdays."

Copter Action has been in existence for ten years, has a fleet of 14 helicopters and between Helsinki and Talinn, has a total staff base of 80 people.