Finnish Commuter Airlines has closed its taxi flight department at Tampere airport and sold the last of its MU-2s as part of a plan to re-focus the business on scheduled flights. It has signed a contract worth around US$250m for eight new ATR 42-500 aircraft, with an option for eight ATR-500 Series aircraft.

The ATR 42-500s are scheduled for delivery between late 2005 and the end of 2007; up to 2009 for the optional aircraft. Finncomm Airlines will replace Golden Air’s current fleet of Saab 340s produced by Finncomm Airlines on Finnish routes with the ATR 42-500 aircraft.

Finncomm’s chief pilot Jarkko Haukkala said he is confident about the future of business jets in Finland and maintains that business is good for a small market which has little room for competition.

Although SAS and Finnair are still the major players and a low cost airline venture only lasted around

six months, Haukkala cited the train as its biggest competitor in a country that is mainly flat and where it is easy to move from one place to another.

Most of the demand for flights comes from the eastern part of the country where the train network is less effective and business people have tight schedules to meet.