SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK, Copenhagen Kastrup (CPH)) has announced that it will set up a joint venture with ground handling services provider Swissport that will take over its ground handling operations and 5000 staff at various Scandinavian airports. Swissport will own 51% in the joint venture and manage the company until it will take full control of the new company at a later stage. Making further progress on its restructuring plan, several bidders for SAS' Norwegian regional subsidiary Wideroe (WF, Bodø (BOO)) have emerged before the end of the deadline by this weekend. While SAS has not yet disclosed the names of the bidders it is talking to, according to Norwegian press reports Swedish aviation group Braathens Aviation, Norwegian ferry operators Fjord1 and Torghatten, Flybe. Nordic (FC, Helsinki Vantaa (HEL)) and a group of Widerøe pilots are among the companies that have submitted bids.

Flybe. (BE, Exeter International (EXT)) has announced a major two year restructuring and cost reduction plan to return the regional carrier to profitability. As part of the plan, Flybe. expects to cut up to 300 jobs in the United Kingdom, approximately 10% of its workforce. It has blamed the measures on a 20% decline of domestic traffic due to the increases of the air passenger duty over the course of the last couple of years. As part of its restructuring efforts, Flybe. will set-up new entity Flybe. Outsourcing Solutions that will be offering its wet-lease contracts, maintenance and training services. Flybe. currently operates four Dash 8-400s for Brussels Airlines (SN, Brussels National Zaventem (BRU)) and subsidiary Flybe. Nordic (FC, Helsinki Vantaa (HEL)) operates two EMB-170s and twelve EMB-190s for Finnair (AY, Helsinki Vantaa (HEL)). Flybe. hopes to save 35 million GBP (approximiately 41.6 million EUR) as part of the plan.

Flybe. (BE, Exeter International (EXT)) has expressed its interest in the sales process for Norwegian regional carrier Wideroe (WF, Bodø (BOO)) currently fully owned by SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK, Copenhagen Kastrup (CPH)) which has officially put the airline up for sale on Monday of this week. Flybe. had already acquired Finnish regional airline Finncomm Airlines (FC, Helsinki Vantaa (HEL)) in cooperation with its partner Finnair (AY, Helsinki Vantaa (HEL)) last year and has then rebranded it as Flybe. Nordic (FC, Helsinki Vantaa (HEL)).

Air100 (Pori (POR)) has launched scheduled operations on September 26 offering up to four daily round-trips between Pori (POR) and Helsinki Vantaa (HEL). The domestic route had been left unserved since April 2012 when Flybe. Nordic (FC, Helsinki Vantaa (HEL)) had stopped services on the route. Pori is a city at the Finnish west coast with approximately 83000 inhabitants. Its only remaining scheduled route now had been a twice daily Blue 1 (KF, Helsinki Vantaa (HEL)) service to Stockholm Arlanda (ARN). Air100 uses Saab 340B OK-CCD (MSN 340B-161) on the route to Helsinki. Central Connect had terminated all of its own scheduled operations from Prague Vaclav Havel Ruzyne (PRG) in June due to poor financial performance.

Finnair (AY, Helsinki Vantaa (HEL)) has agreed with its partner Flybe. (BE, Exeter International (EXT)) in principle to let the joint subsidiary Flybe. Nordic (FC, Helsinki Vantaa (HEL)) operate its 12 EMB-190s from the IATA winter timetable season starting on October 28. Flybe. owns 60% in Flybe. Nordic with the remainder held by Finnair which hopes to be able to save costs with this outsourcing move.