About us
Nordic Aviation Group - owned 100% by the Republic of Estonia, is the proud owner of two Capacity Provider Airlines. We operate long-term ACMI production for major airlines within Europe and operate with two successful brands - Nordica and Xfly for our customer's growth and capacity.
Our story
The Nordic Aviation Group was founded in 2015, after a decision of the Estonian Government to form a national airline and thus guarantee continuous connectivity after Estonian Air ceased its operations. Estonia has a long aviation history. A nation of over a million people at the time, Estonia was the 13th country in the world to have its own national airline, after “Aeronaut” was formed in March 1921. The aviation path tells us success-stories and milestones created by many talented people throughout the last hundred years. Estonia is one of the few countries in Europe to still run a national Aviation Academy, which we believe is crucial for the regional economy. More importantly, for the development of the entire aviation industry, the exploitation of new technologies and for a continuous education in aviation engineering.
We are the Nordic Aviation Group, a proud owner of two trusted CPA (Capacity Provider Airline) companies – Nordica and Xfly. The group is owned 100% by the Republic of Estonia. Our two brands operate a long-term ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance) production for major airlines in Europe, whereas our home market extends beyond the continents’ borders. We are also active in charter and PSO operations in the market. We are an industry innovator headquartered in Tallinn and with bases in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Turku, Aarhus, Vilnius, Lisbon, Hamburg, and Munich.
We are efficient, flexible, and easy to work with. In addition to Nordica and Xfly, the group also comprises a top-rated maintenance unit and our own Aviation Academy.
Our mission is to link people and regions through efficient and sustainable flights.
The Nordic Aviation Group, as the owner of Xfly and Nordica brands, has a strong position in the CPA market in Europe, where the major airlines seek to grow in a profitable and sustainable manner within a growing aviation segment. We keep in mind the well-being of our people and values ahead of all KPIs. Our stakeholders in Europe have heard of our successes, experience and talents and have envisioned their growth in co-operation with us. Our promise is: we will make our stakeholders grow by creating long-term value, domestic and beyond! We also have the expertise and capacity to support European start-up airlines with the launch of AOCs.
Our partners choose us to play a key role in their growth as a trustable partner. Partnership with either of our brands is a high quality, cost-effective and a flexible way for any airline in Europe to grow both in volume as well as in financial performance, bringing ahead a Nordic organizational culture comprising of soft values, inclusion and diversity. In addition to this, we are a modern and desired employer for many talents who cares about developing and training its people, helping them grow on wings.
The group is a caring employer to over 700 excellent people from all over the world who make it all possible with the languages they speak and technical and other know-how they represent.
Management Board
Remco Althuis
Chief Executive Officer
Chairman of the Board
Gabriel Rusu
Chief Financial Officer, Member of the Board
Tony Mackenzie
Chief Operating Officer, Member of the Board
Management Team
Inese Sitko-Bulle
Head of Human Resources
Annika Talve
Head of Legal
Jurgis Sedlenieks
Chief Commercial Officer
Peeter Soasepp
Technical Director
Supervisory Council
Kadri Land
Chairwoman of the Supervisory Council
Sander Salmu
Member of the Supervisory Council
Kaupo Raag
Member of the Supervisory Council
Koit Kaskel
Member of the Supervisory Council
Our fleet
Through its commercial airlines, the group currently operates a fleet of 19 aircraft with CRJ900, ATR 72-600 and Airbus A320 type. The state-of-the-art and emission-reduced fleet will give an upgrade our sustainability levels in terms of emissions and noise.
Sustainability
We at Nordic Aviation Group understand that there is no alternative to emission-free aviation in the long term. A carbon-based aviation fits into the past. We constantly monitor trends and developments of new technologies, and want to be part of the round-table influencing and implementing sustainable solutions. We also highly value equal rights and employee well-being. We are happy that our management board represents an equal number of male and female management and board members. We also provide different benefits to our employees, such as well-being events, socializing activities, peer support program for crews, ID-travel and much more.
It is important to be up-to-date with ESG trends, thus we constantly monitor and seek to follow new trends in environmental, sustainability and governance related issues. The group actively participates in local and regional organizations and working groups for green initiatives and sustainability goals, monitored and guided by our sustainability team.
We have joined the Alliance for Zero-Emissions Aviation (AZEA). The main aim of the Alliance is to gather private and public stakeholders of the EU and help prepare the aviation industry for the entry into commercial service of hydrogen and electric aircraft in a long perspective. The EU has an objective of net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 from all flights within and departing from the Union. We are also a member of the Estonian Association for Hydrogen Technologies and the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance. We are a supporting member of the Hydrogen Valley Estonia.
In addition, we constantly train and raise awareness on sustainability issues among our employees.
Maintenance team
Building up our own skilled maintenance team has been an important decision! The group, under the brand of Xfly, has a great one – PART145! The maintenance team makes sure the fleet is fit to fly and regularly maintained in an efficient manner. Maintenance team affects both, safety of travel and financial performance KPIs of the company. Thus, it directly influences the KPIs and employment levels of our crews, last but not least, roster planning.
We believe that our maintenance team gives more than just a service one can trust. It is the most united generation of organizational growth. It enacts as a single-voiced team and is valuable to us and our customers.
Flight Academy
We foresee a raising deficit of pilots in the coming two decades. The infrastructure is not ready to meet that market need and train as many pilots as are currently needed. According to Boeing, the global demand for pilots is skyrocketing: it is estimated that about 602 000 new pilots and 610 000 aircraft technicians will be needed globally in commercial aviation alone by 2041. The aviation industry already faces a lack of skilled personnel. According to Boeing, education efforts are a solution to the problem. Therefore we have decided to found our own flight academy and make sure we as a company will develop in a sustainable way. We co-operate with the best aviation academies of Europe in order to provide aviation talents with the necessary training to become pilots. The future pilots will be given a profound training on aviation management and engineering within the program of Xfly Flight Academy.
Working with us
The Nordic Aviation Group unites a family of over 600 aviation experts from 30 different nationalities. We are currently recruiting other 250 new aviation talents to grow with us. As a pan-European employer, we culturally strive towards being a workplace of open, inclusive and fun professional experience proud of diversity it embraces as a team.
We feel it is our responsibility to find and pursue opportunities to increase our positive impact on all aspects of a persons’ working day. We encourage our people to find sustainable ways for uniting work and family life. We map employee lifecycle at work and seek to map and meet professional growth and training. Our compensation and benefits package gets constantly revised and keep in mind long-term well-being and “growth on wings” of our people. We organize events, trainings and award- programs for all of our people.
The Nordic Aviation Group rewards both, team- and individual performance. We apply most recent technologies for work processes to facilitate motivated people in their daily tasks.
We are and will be a trusted employer in the sector. Aviation talents happily join our team and become a part of one of the biggest Capacity Provider Airlines in Europe. Culturally we envision our company to grow on the wings of empowered teams – talented people united by fun, personal development and trust. When working with us, you will become a family member of passionate aviation enthusiasts.
Supporter of National Defenders 2024
Nordic Aviation Group has been recognized as a “Supporter of National Defenders” by the Estonian Minister of Defence in 2024. This annual award honors outstanding organizations and employers who provide exceptional support to reserve soldiers participating in military training exercises.
Key criteria for the recognition include maintaining full salaries for employees during training periods, offering additional compensation or paid time off, as well as covering the difference between the training compensation provided by the military and the employee’s regular salary.
By fostering an environment that enables its employees to fulfill their national defense obligations, Nordic Aviation Group plays an important role in upholding Estonia’s security. This recognition underscores the company’s commitment to being a socially responsible employer that actively contributes to the nation’s defense capabilities.
