State-owned airline Estonian Air board member Indrek Randveer said the company wants to open new routes, both in the summer and winter seasons, and is looking towards Milan, Italy, and Germany.

Randveer said Berlin will receive more focus as the route was popular in the summer, but the airline, which could be privatized soon, is also looking more into the charter market and has already signed five agreements with travel agents, Postimees reported.

Last week the company said it won a tender to connect two small Swedish industrial towns to Stockholm and will seek more routes outside of Estonia.

The airline is also planning to begin giving out free water, sweets, tea and coffee, and is drawing up an entertainment program.

The weekly Eesti Ekspress recently wrote that government had offered Estonian Air to many foreign airlines and entities, including Hong Kong's flag carrier Cathay Pacific, as well as companies in Latvia and Lithuania, but all have declined or asked for more state funding. Some have also proposed unacceptable conditions, such as Kazakhstan Airlines proposing to fly to Astana five times a day.

Eesti Ekspress also speculated that the sale of state-owned national airline Estonian Air to the owners of shipping company Tallink could mean for the state a loss of previously lent 90 million euros netting only a symbolic one euro.

The weekly wrote that the state has supported Estonian Air with 77.6 million euros, and will add another 12 million in the near future, but the company has little assets besides the trademark and contracts with airports. The current fleet has been purchased with loans, the weekly wrote.

VES/ERR