Does God hate Estonian Air?

Is it bad luck or bad management?

An Estonian Air plane collided with a tow car pulling another aircraft last week at Tallinn Airport. There were no injuries, but Estonian Air’s management has to be wondering whether God is out to get them. Over the past year, Estonian Air flights have been often delayed, usually due to bizarre reasons and excuses.

Estonians and foreigners alike have made a hobby of speculating about the demise of Estonian Air. While the Riga-based AirBaltic expands, little Estonian Air creeps along, nothing much happening, except the usual bad luck. After the tarmac collision, Estonian Air cancelled several flights on Sunday and it took passengers hours waiting in European airports to get home. Passengers from Barcelona were directed to Copenhagen and promised a person would be there to handle their problem, but no contact person appeared. One passenger noted that even though Estonian Air had passengers’ e-mails and telephone numbers they failed to inform anyone of cancellations. Estonian Air PR Manager Maris Kivi says that the company understands the passengers’ resentfulness and apologizes.

This week, AirBaltic announced the addition of regular flights between Riga and Dubai. Of all the SAS children, it seems God loves AirBaltic best.