Air Baltic
| Air Baltic Corporation AS | |
|---|---|
|
|
.jpg) Airbus A220-300 of Air Baltic
|
|
| IATA code : | BT |
| ICAO code : | BTI |
| Call sign : | AIRBALTIC |
| Founding: | 1995 |
| Seat: |
Riga , Latvia
|
| Turnstile : | |
| Home airport : | Riga airport |
| Company form: | AS |
| IATA prefix code : | 657 |
| Management: | Martin Gauss |
| Number of employees: | > 1500 |
| Sales: | 286 million euros (2016) |
| Passenger volume: | 3.5 million (2017) |
| Frequent Flyer Program : | BalticMiles |
| Fleet size: | 22 (+ 28 orders) |
| Aims: | National and international |
| Website: | www.airbaltic.com |
Air Baltic ( proper spelling airBaltic ) is the national airline of Latvia , based in Riga and based at Riga Airport . In 2017, Air Baltic had the best punctuality rate of all airlines worldwide with a good 90% punctuality (defined as “less than 15 minutes late”).
history
Foundation and first years
Air Baltic was created as the new national Latvian airline through the merger of the private Baltic International and the state-owned Latavio - Latvian Airlines in September 1995. The Latvian state held a 51% share in the new company. Other partners were Baltic International, SAS Scandinavian Airlines and two investment firms. The new company's first aircraft was a Saab 340 , which was followed in spring 1996 by three Avro RJ70s . The takeover of the earlier Latavio routes could only be carried out after the lengthy processing of this airline in 1998, which is why Air Baltic was limited in its strategic development options until then.
After Baltic International left at the end of 1998, SAS took over its shares in January 1999 and transferred some Fokker 50s for use on the routes from Riga to Copenhagen and Stockholm . After the restructuring, the Latvian state held 52.6% and Baltic Aviation Systems (BAS) 47.2% of the shares.
Air Baltic was voted Airline of the Year 2009/10 by the European Regions Airline Association ( ERA ). Air Transport World , the most important magazine in the industry, presented Air Baltic with the Phoenix Award in 2010 in recognition of the successful restructuring.
In 2008, two Boeing 757-200s that had previously been used by Audeli Air for Iberia joined the fleet. The two aircraft were equipped with winglets and individually handed over to TonleSap Airlines in 2011 and 2012 .
In June 2010, a new base was opened in Tallinn , and Air Baltic was represented for the first time in all Baltic states - Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania . However, since then both in Tallinn and in Vilnius , where a base already existed, the bases have been given up at least temporarily.
Financial affair and nationalization
In 2011 Air Baltic ran into increasing liquidity problems. The Latvian government ( Dombrovskis II cabinet ) made the granting of a loan to increase the share capital dependent on the resignation of the managing director Bertolt Flick , who was accused of opaque methods. In June 2011, at a press conference, Flick accused the government of reducing the value of the company through a smear campaign in order to be able to sell the state shares before the parliamentary elections for the 11th Saeima . In September there was an affront when several Air Baltic flights were canceled at short notice. Among those affected was the Latvian President Andris Bērziņš , who had an involuntary stay for one day after his inaugural visit to the European Union in Brussels . On September 16, the day before the 2011 parliamentary election , an agreement was reached on the cash grants, according to a spokesman for the main owner BAS.
On September 21, 2011, Air Baltic filed for bankruptcy due to a deficit of around 84 million euros while the flight operations were maintained . On November 27, the Latvian government ( Dombrovski's III cabinet ) announced an increase in the share capital. The state should invest 57.6 million lats , the BAS 50 million lats. One of the prerequisites for the agreement was Flick's resignation from the management. At the beginning of December 2011, the Latvian government exercised its right of first refusal and took over 99.8% of the shares in Air Baltic from BAS. This was thus nationalized.
In February 2012, Air Baltic was named the most punctual regional airline in Europe by FlightStats.
The company announced that its last Fokker 50s would be phased out in autumn 2013 . In the medium term, the fleet should consist exclusively of the two aircraft types De Havilland DHC-8-400 and Airbus A220-300 . Air Baltic received its first A220-300 on December 1, 2016, making it the first customer of this version.
In November 2015, the Latvian government sold a fifth of the shares to the German investor Ralf-Dieter Montag-Girmes. The latter sold the shares in April 2017 to the Danish charter airline Jet Time , which occasionally operates flights for Air Baltic.
In April 2020, Air Baltic decided on a new business plan in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the expected effects.
In May 2020 the government of Latvia decided to invest 250 million euros in equity. It is used to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic-related financial situation and to implement the new business plan. The competition watchdogs of the EU Commission approved this state financial injection at the beginning of July.
Destinations
From Riga, Air Baltic serves cities and holiday destinations throughout Europe as well as in the Middle East and the Middle East .
In German-speaking countries, there are flights to Berlin , Düsseldorf , Frankfurt , Geneva , Hamburg , Munich , Stuttgart , Vienna and Zurich from Riga . From December 21, 2019, the provincial capital Salzburg will also be connected to Riga.
As of April 2019, there were direct flights from Tallinn to Amsterdam , Berlin, Brussels , Copenhagen , London , Malaga , Oslo , Paris , Riga, Stockholm , Vilnius and Vienna.
As of April 2019, there were direct flights from Vilnius to Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Paris, Riga and Tallinn.
fleet
Current fleet
As of June 2020, the Air Baltic fleet consists of 22 aircraft with an average age of 2.0 years:
| Aircraft type | number | ordered | Remarks | Seats | Average age
(June 2020) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A220-300 | 22nd | 28 | + 30 options, currently 8 disabled | 145 | 2.0 years |
| total | 22nd | 28 | 2.0 years |
Air Baltic plans to operate a fleet of 22 Airbus A220-300s for two years after the COVID-19 pandemic . From 2023 the remaining 28 Airbus A220-300s will then be floated in.
Historic fleet
Air Baltic has already used the following aircraft in the past:
| Aircraft type | number | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-300 | 6th | 2007-2020 |
| Boeing 737-500 | 11 | 2003-2019 |
| Boeing 757-200 | 2 | 2013-2014 |
| British Aerospace 146-200 | 1 | 1995-1996 |
| British Aerospace Avro RJ70 | 3 | 1996-2005 |
| De Havilland DHC-8 | 12 | 2010-2020 |
| Fokker F50 | 10 | 1998-2014 |
| Saab 340 | 1 | 1996-1999 |
See also
Web links
- AirBaltic website (German, English, Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian, Russian, Finnish)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Basic information airbaltic.com, accessed June 3, 2019
- ↑ airbaltic.com: airBaltic - Growth and Profit in 2016
- ↑ Air Baltic buys up to 60 more C-Series , accessed on May 31, 2018
- ↑ Timo Kotowski: Air Baltic flies most punctually . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of January 9, 2018, p. 18.
- ↑ airline-evaluations.eu - Air Baltic / Bertolt Flick: Alone against the Mafia ?, June 18, 2011 , accessed on September 17, 2011
- ↑ apollo.lv - BAS piekrīt valdības izvirzītajiem nosacījumiem ( Memento of December 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (Latvian; apollo.lv, September 16, 2011: BAS agrees to the conditions set by the government ), accessed on June 3, 2019
- ^ Airliners.de - Air Baltic takes refuge in bankruptcy protection , accessed on 23 September 2011
- ↑ bizness.delfi.lv - airBaltic sāga: valdība gatava ieguldīt lidsabiedrībā 57,6 miljonus latu, BAS - 50 miljonus latu (Latvian), September 27, 2011
- ↑ airliners.de - Latvia takes over Air Baltic , December 1, 2011
- ↑ business-traveler.eu - Air Baltic: Europe's most punctual airline , February 24, 2012, accessed on May 29, 2015
- ↑ austrianaviation.net - Air Baltic increases its DHC-8-400 fleet , accessed on September 4, 2013
- ↑ aerotelegraph.com - Large C-Series soon in Munich, Frankfurt and Vienna , accessed on November 24, 2016
- ↑ aerotelegraph.com - Air Baltic has a new shareholder , accessed on April 14, 2017
- ↑ a b Air Baltic decides on new business plan and two-year fleet reduction. In: airliners.de. April 24, 2020, accessed April 25, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Air Baltics post-crisis strategy is in place. April 24, 2020, accessed April 26, 2020 .
- ↑ Air Baltic receives 250 million euros from the state. In: aeroTELEGRAPH. May 8, 2020, accessed May 10, 2020 .
- ↑ Communication from the EU Commission of July 3, 2020.
- ↑ airbaltic.com - Destinations
- ↑ Destinations , accessed April 25, 2019.
- ↑ Direct routes from Tallinn , accessed April 25, 2019.
- ↑ Direct routes from Vilnius , accessed April 25, 2019
- ↑ a b c d Air Baltic Fleet Details and History. In: planespotters.net. Retrieved March 5, 2020 .
- ↑ airbaltic.com - Fleet , accessed May 29, 2017
| Current | |
| Former |
Alpha Express Airlines • Baltic International • Concors • Inversija • Latavio • Primera Air Nordic • Transeast Airlines |