AirBaltic

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AirBaltic

IATA BT ICAO BTI Callsign AIR BALTIC
Founded	1995
Hubs	Riga International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Baltic Miles
Fleet size	25
Destinations	60
Parent company	Government of Latvia
Headquarters	Riga International Airport Mārupe municipality, Latvia
Key people	Martin Gauss (CEO)
Revenue	€292,4 million (2010)
Profit	€51,3 million (2010)
Website	www.airbaltic.com

Riga International Airport, the location of AirBaltic's main hub and corporate head office

A/S Air Baltic Corporation, operating as AirBaltic and styled as airBaltic, is the Latvian flag carrier airline and a low-cost carrier, with its head office on the grounds of Riga International Airport in Mārupe municipality, near the capital, Riga.^[1] Its main hub is at Riga International Airport. It has been state owned since 30 November 2011.

AirBaltic is the first national flag carrier airline marketed as a low-cost airline.

History

The airline was established on 28 August 1995 with the signing of a joint venture between Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) and the Latvian state. Operations started on 1 October 1995 with the arrival of the first Air Baltic aircraft, a Saab 340, at Riga, and that afternoon, the plane made the first passenger flight for Air Baltic.^[2]

In 1996, the airline's first Avro RJ70 was delivered; and Air Baltic joined the SAS frequent flier club as a partner. 1997 saw the opening of a cargo department and, in 1998, the airline's first Fokker 50 plane was delivered. The adopted livery was mainly white, with the name of the airline written in blue on the forward fuselage, the 'B' logo being heavily stylized in blue checks. The checker blue pattern was repeated on the aircraft tailfin.

In 1999, Air Baltic became a joint stock company; it was previously a limited liability company.^[3] All of their Saab 340s were replaced by Fokker 50s. By September, the airline had begun operating under the European Aviation Operating Standards, or JAR ops. Air Baltic welcomed the new millennium by introducing new uniforms and opening a cargo center at Riga's airport.

The first Boeing 737-500 joined the fleet in 2003, and on 1 June 2004, Air Baltic launched services from the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, initially to five destinations. In October 2004, Air Baltic was rebranded as AirBaltic. Their present livery consists of an all-white fuselage and lime tailfin. AirBaltic.com is displayed on the forward upper fuselage, and the word "Baltic" is repeated in blue on the lower part of the tailfin. In December 2006, the first Boeing 737-300 joined the fleet and was configured with winglets. In July 2007, AirBaltic introduced an online check-in system.^[4] It was the first online check-in system in the Baltic states. In Spring 2008, two long-haul Boeing 757 joined the existing AirBaltic fleet. On 10 March 2008, it was announced that in the next three years the airline would acquire new aircraft, experiencing the largest fleet expansion in the company's history. The new additions will be next generation Q400 aircraft.

AirBaltic previously had strong links with SAS, which owned 47.2% of the airline until January 2009. It operates frequent flights to SAS hubs in Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm. The airline formerly used the SAS EuroBonus frequent flyer programme, but now has its own: BalticMiles. Some products and services are still shared with SAS, including coordinated timetabling and shared airport lounges. AirBaltic is not a member of any airline alliance. At the moment, however, codeshare agreements are in place with several Star Alliance airlines and others.

It previously had secondary hubs at Vilnius International Airport and Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport.^[5] The majority of the routes commenced from Tallinn were cancelled shortly after opening, leading to complaints from the Estonian Consumer Protection Department.^[6] On 23 September 2010, AirBaltic made an announcement to establish a new secondary hub at Oulu Airport.^[7][8] In 2011 the plans of the hub at Oulu Airport are probably cancelled said the director of Finavia in Finland.^[9]

As at December 2010, AirBaltic employed 1443 people.

airBaltic Boeing 757−200WL take-off at Riga International Airport

Ownership and financial problems in 2011

In January 2009, SAS sold its entire stake in the company (47.2% of the airline) to Baltijas aviācijas sistēmas Ltd (BAS) for 14 million lats. BAS was wholly owned by Bertolt Flick (President and CEO) until December 2010, when 50% of BAS shares were transferred to Taurus Asset Management Fund Limited, registered in the Bahamas.^[10]

In August 2011, airBaltic requested more than 60 million lats in capital as its losses continued to mount,^[11] and has suffered speculation about its financial position^{[12][13][14][15]} and political scandals throughout 2011.^[16][17] In mid-September 2011, the company announced plans to lay off around half its employees and cancel around 700 flights a month to avoid possible grounding.^[18][19] The company also announced that a mystery investor was willing to pay 9.6 million euros for an additional 59,110 shares.^[20] On 4 October 2011, the plans were annulled in order to make the necessary investments in the airline's capital. The government of Latvia and Baltijas aviācijas sistēmas Ltd. agreed to invest around 100 million lats in the airline's share capital in proportion to their stakes in airBaltic.^[21][22] In connection with the agreement, Bertolt Flick stepped down as long-term President and CEO of the airline. Martin Gauss, former CEO of Hungarian airline Malev, became the new CEO of AirBaltic.^[23]

Following the collapse of a bank linked with a finance package negotiated for the airline, the Latvian state increased its shareholding to 99.8% of the total on 30 November 2011.^[24][25]

Destinations

AirBaltic destinations.

  Latvia

  AirBaltic destinations

AirBaltic operates 60 direct flights from Riga (some of them are seasonal), as well as non-stop flights on the routes Oulu–Turku and Vaasa–Umeå.

Codeshare agreements

AirBaltic has codeshare agreements with the following airlines (as of 16 April 2012 (2012 -04-16)^[update]):

Awards

The Latvian airline airBaltic was chosen for anna.aero ANNIES Award in 2010^[26] as Europe's largest flag carrier by new routes. In Europe, CIS and the Middle East airBaltic has operated 27 routes more in the summer season of 2010, compared to summer 2009.^[27] In the summer season of 2011 airBaltic announced three new destinations – Budapest, Gdansk and Bari.^[28]

Inflight services

On some flights, AirBaltic offers a buy on board menu offering food and drinks for purchase.^[29]

Fleet

Current fleet

As of January 2011, the AirBaltic fleet consists of the following aircraft with an average age of 16 years:^[30]

AirBaltic fleet

Aircraft	Photo	In Service	Orders	Options	Seats	Notes
Boeing 737-300		8	—	—	142/144/146
Boeing 737-500		6	—	—	120
Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 NextGen		8	—	5	76
Fokker F50		3	—	—	46/50/52	All to leave during 3rd and 4th quarter 2012 and 2 leased.
Total		25	0	5

Retired fleet

References

External links

	Latvia portal
	Companies portal
	Aviation portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: AirBaltic

• Official website
• Official website (Latvian)
• Air Baltic Travel
• airBalticcard mobile — free roaming in more than 120 countries

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