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airBaltic (airBaltic.com) (Riga) will start the Riga-Dushanbe (Tajikstan) route on June 1.
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airBaltic (Riga) will launch a new route tomorrow (March 31) between Riga and Tromso in northern Norway. The new route will be operated four times a week.
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airBaltic (Riga) will add Frankfurt and the Riga-Frankfurt route on July 17.
Copyright Photo: Malcolm Bezzina. DHC-8-402 C-FZGL (msn 4289) passed through Malta en route to Singapore for the Singapore Air Show. It will become YL-BAE on delivery.
airBaltic (airBalti.com) (Riga) is taking delivery of its first (of eight) Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400). The Q400s will replace the Fokker F.27 Mk. 050s (Fokker 50s).
airBaltic (airBaltic.com) Boeing 737-33V WL YL-BBL (msn 29334) ZRH (Rolf Wallner), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.
airBaltic (airBaltic.com) (Riga) starting on March 27, 2011 will drop four routes from Vilnius to Dublin, London, Paris and Rome due to overcapacity in Lithuania. Low-cost carriers Ryanair and Wizz Air have recently entered the Vilnius market.
airBaltic Slide Show: CLICK HERE
Copyright Photo: Rolf Wallner. Please click on photo for additional information.
airBaltic European Route Map (routes from Riga):
airBaltic (airBaltic.com) Fokker F.27 Mk. 050 (Fokker 50) YL-BAW (msn 20148) WAW (Michal Fiszer) (to be retired this winter), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.
airBaltic (airBaltic.com) (Riga) is planning to retire its Fokker F.27 Mk. 050s (Fokker 50s) this coming winter season.
airBaltic Slide Show: CLICK HERE
Copyright Photo: Michal Fiszer. Please click on the photo for the full story.
airBaltic (Riga) continues to lose money. The flag carrier lost over $67 million in 2010 and is losing money this year.
The government of Latvia, which already owns 52.6 percent of the carrier, will bailout the carrier with additional funding and raise it stake in the airline according to this report by Reuters.
Read the full report: CLICK HERE
airBaltic Slide Show: CLICK HERE
Copyright Photo: TMK Photography. Please click on the photo for additional information.
airBaltic (AirBaltic.com) Boeing 757-256 WL YL-BDB (msn 26251) LGW (Richard Vandervord), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.
airBaltic (Riga) yesterday (September 21) filed for bankruptcy and the struggling carrier reorganizes. Operations will continue.
The company issued the following statement:
“Latvian national airline airBaltic on September 21 is filing for legal protection to continue operations in its network of airports served in Europe, Middle East, and Russia/CIS.
For the past six months, the management of airBaltic has informed about the necessity of a capital increase. Baltic Aviation Systems (BAS), the private shareholder of airBaltic, has declared its willingness to cover the capital increase fully, or proportionally together with the government of Latvia. The government of Latvia as a minority shareholder in the airline has neglectfully and repeatedly delayed any decisions regarding the capital increase. In order to come out of a stalemate, the private shareholder BAS agreed to all government conditions on September 16. On September 20, the government again did not take a decision to participate in the capital increase of the airline, or to allow BAS to increase the capital unilaterally, but suddenly and surprisingly announced potential sale of its shares in the airline.
According to the procedure of legal protection in Latvia, the Board of airBaltic has submitted to the court a plan for continued operations, to be approved by the court. As a consequence, the Latvian government as shareholder will not be able to block any decisions in the airline. As part of the legal protection procedure, an Administrator is nominated, to be approved by the court and to be responsible for the legal protection plan that all parties have to follow, including the shareholders, the management, and the Supervisory Board. The management of airBaltic will not change during the period of legal protection, and all the creditors of the carrier will receive the outstanding debts.
The Board of airBaltic will continue operations of the airline. Should the airline be forced to make any cancellations, we will inform our passengers by separate notice as early as possible. We apologize to our passengers for any potential future inconvenience!
The Board of airBaltic is currently in negotiations with all the stakeholders of the airline. All of them, except the government of Latvia, are ready to support the airline in the future. The legal protection plan, approved by the court, must be obeyed and will help to overcome the blockage created by the government of Latvia as a minority shareholder.”
airBaltic Slide Show: CLICK HERE
Copyright Photo: Richard Vandervord.
airBaltic (airBaltic.com) Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) C-GCKV (YL-BAI) (msn 4302) FAB (Antony J. Best), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.
The government of Latvia has acquired a minority shareholder giving it a 99.8 percent stake in the flag carrier according to this report by Bloomberg Businessweek.
Read the full report: CLICK HERE
Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best.
airBaltic Slide Show: CLICK HERE
airBaltic (airBaltic.com) Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) C-GCKV (YL-BAI) (msn 4302) FAB (Antony J. Best), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.
AirBaltic (Riga) on December 13, 2011 announced the Latvian government agreed to a capital increase for airBaltic to enable the future development of the Latvian national carrier and fleet modernization.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved a capital increase by LVL 57.6 million. As part of the plan presented to the government, airBaltic will modernize its fleet to operate only two types of aircraft – the pictured Bombardier DHC-8-400 (Q400) Next Gen turboprop for regional flights, and either the Airbus A320 or Boeing 737 New Generation for the European routes. The operational fleet will consist of only 24 aircraft in 2012.
According to the airline, “the modernized fleet will allow airBaltic to operate more efficiently and retain focus on affordable tickets to Europe, Middle East, Russia/CIS, and increase flight frequencies to the highly demanded destinations.”
AirBaltic serves over 60 destinations.
Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best.
AirBaltic Slide Show: CLICK HERE
airBaltic (Riga) has announced a “business reshaping plan” in an attempt to return the carrier to profitability. Under the plan, the carrier will only operate two types of aircraft, the Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) and either the Airbus A319 or Boeing 737 Next-Generation.
Here is the full statement by the carrier:
“Latvian airline airBaltic has announced a business reshaping plan to return the airline to profitability and sustainable future development at North Hub Riga, which links the Baltic region with destinations in Europe, Middle East and Russia/CIS.
Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “In the past few years airBaltic achieved unprecedented growth that turned Riga into the only functioning transit hub in the Baltic region. However, it came at a cost to the airline. airBaltic has now been stabilised. Currently, we are focusing on reshaping our business, to achieve improvements of LVL 330 million in the next five years, and return to profitability in 2014.”
The new business plan, airBaltic ReShape, outlines the future development of the carrier, including the fleet modernisation, cost optimisation, operational efficiency, revenue enhancement and network improvements. By implementing airBaltic ReShape, the carrier plans improvements of LVL 330 million in the five years 2012-2016. airBalticReShape aims to return the carrier to profitability in 2014.
airBaltic will modernise its fleet to operate two types of aircraft in the future – Bombardier Q400 Next Gen turboprop for regional flights, and either Airbus A319 or Boeing 737 Next-Generation. The modernized fleet will allow airBaltic to operate more efficiently and retain focus on affordable tickets to Europe, Middle East, Russia/CIS, and increase flight frequencies to the highly demanded destinations.
airBaltic serves 60 destinations from its home base in Riga, Latvia. From every one of these, airBaltic offers convenient connections via North Hub Riga to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, CIS and the Middle East.”
Copyright Photo: Rolf Wallner.
airBaltic Slide Show: CLICK HERE
airBaltic (airBaltic.com) (Riga) will add twice-weekly Riga-Baku (Azerbaijan) service on May 17 through October 2012 according to Trend.
Read the full story: CLICK HERE
Copyright Photo: Terry Wade.
airBaltic Slide Show: CLICK HERE
Air Baltic Corporation (airBaltic) (Riga) has signed a letter of intent (LOI) to acquire 10 CS300 aircraft and take purchase rights on a further 10 CS300 jetliners.
Based on the list price of the CS300 airliner, a firm-order contract with the network carrier will be valued at approximately $764 million, and could increase to $1.57 billion should the 10 purchase rights be converted to firm orders.
According to the manufacturer, the CSeries is designed for the “growing 100- to 149-seat market, the 100 per cent new CSeries aircraft family combines advanced materials, leading-edge technology and proven methods to meet commercial airline requirements in 2013 and beyond. Powered by Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1500G engines, the CSeries aircraft family will offer a 15* per cent cash operating cost advantage and a 20* per cent fuel burn advantage. The CSeries aircraft’s clean-sheet design is ensuring that the aircraft will achieve greatly reduced noise and emissions, as well as superior operational flexibility, exceptional airfield performance and a range of 2,950 nm (5,463 km)*. The CSeries aircraft will be up to 12,000 lbs. (5,443 kg)* lighter than other aircraft in the same seat category and will provide passengers with a best-in-class, widebody cabin environment in a single-aisle aircraft.”
Including this announced LOI from airBaltic for 10 CS300 airliners and purchase rights for 10 CS300 airliners, as well as a conditional order for five CS100 and 10 CS300 jetliners placed by an unidentified customer earlier this week during the Farnborough Airshow, Bombardier has booked orders and commitments for 352 CSeries aircraft.
The CSeries aircraft order book also includes firm orders for 138 CSeries airliners from Braathens Aviation (five CS100 and five CS300 aircraft), Deutsche Lufthansa AG (30 CS100 aircraft), Korean Air (10 CS300 aircraft), Lease Corporation International Group (17 CS300 and three CS100 aircraft), PrivatAir (five CS100 aircraft), Republic Airways (40 CS300 aircraft), an unidentified major network carrier (10 CS100 aircraft), an unidentified European customer (10 CS100 aircraft) and a well-established, unidentified airline (three CS100 aircraft). The CSeries aircraft program has also booked options for 124 aircraft and purchase rights for 10 aircraft from these customers, as well as LOI’s for up to 30 CSeries aircraft from Ilyushin Finance Co, and for up to 15 CS300 aircraft from Atlasjet.
airBaltic: 
airBaltic (airBaltic.com) (Riga) has been successful in turning around the fortunes of the company by achieving a profit through its reorganization program. The airline issued the following statement:
“In July 2012, Latvian airline airBaltic reported a profit, as summer travel peaks and airBaltic ReShape restructuring programme gathers pace.
Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “We are delighted to see that airBaltic ReShape restructuring program brings consistently better net results every month. We are very satisfied to achieve a net profit of LVL 1.4 million.”
In July 2012, airBaltic operated 4,520 flights, or 19% less than in July 2011 when airBaltic operated 5,590 flights.
The airline carried 322,430 passengers in July. During the first seven months of 2012, airBaltic transported a total of 1,732,920 passengers.
The airline’s load factor, which represents the number of passengers as a proportion of the number of available seats, was stable high at a level of 80% in July 2012, compared to the same month a year ago. The airline’s load factor for the first seven months of 2012 was at a level of 73%, unchanged compared to the same period last year.
The 15-minute flight punctuality indicator for airBaltic was at a level of 89.5% in July 2012. This means that 89 of every 100 airBaltic flights in July departed at the planned time or with a delay of no more than 15 minutes.”
| July ’12 | |
| Number of flights | 4 520 |
| Number of passengers | 322 430 |
| Load Factor | 80% |
| January-July ’12 | |
| Number of flights | 28 270 |
| Number of passengers | 1 732 920 |
| Load factor | 73% |
Copyright Photo: Stefan Sjogren. Part of the success has been the transition to more fuel efficient aircraft and dropping unprofitable routes. Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) YL-BAE (msn 4289) climbs away from Stockholm (Arlanda) bound for the Riga hub.
airBaltic Slide Show: 
Frameable Color Prints and Posters: 
airBaltic (Riga) has signed a firm purchase agreement to acquire 10 new Bombardier CS300 airliners. The Latvia-based airline also has purchase rights on a further 10 CS300 aircraft. The purchase agreement represents the conversion to firm orders of a Letter of Intent (LOI), announced at the Farnborough Air Show on July 10, 2012. The LOI also included the purchase rights on the 10 additional CS300 aircraft.
Based on the list price of the CS300 airliner, the firm-order contract is valued at approximately $764 million US and could increase to $1.57 billion should the 10 purchase rights be converted to firm orders.
Designed for the growing 100- to 149-seat market, the 100 per cent new CSeries aircraft family combines advanced materials, leading-edge technology and proven methods to meet commercial airline requirements in 2013 and beyond. Powered by Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1500G engines, the CSeries aircraft family will offer a 15* per cent cash operating cost advantage and a 20* per cent fuel burn advantage. The CSeries aircraft’s clean-sheet design is ensuring that the aircraft will achieve greatly reduced noise and emissions, as well as superior operational flexibility, exceptional airfield performance and a range of 2,950 nm (5,463 km)*. The CSeries aircraft will be up to 12,000 lbs. (5,443 kg)* lighter than other aircraft in the same seat category and will provide passengers with a best-in-class, widebody cabin environment in a single-aisle aircraft.
As of September 30, 2012, Bombardier had booked orders and commitments for 352 CSeries aircraft that include firm orders for 138 CSeries airliners.
Image: Bombardier.
airBaltic: 
Nordic Aviation Capital A/S (NAC) (Billund, Denmark) has signed a firm purchase agreement to acquire four Q400 NextGen airliners.
The four aircraft will be operated by airBaltic (Riga, Latvia) and will join eight DHC-8-402 (Q400) NextGen airliners ordered directly from Bombardier as the airline transitions to an all-Bombardier fleet.
In December 2012, airBaltic announced it was in the process of transitioning to an all-Bombardier fleet of CSeries and Q400 NextGen aircraft. The airline has placed a firm order for 10 CS300 aircraft and holds purchase rights on a further 10 CS300 airliners. These aircraft will replace older Boeing 737 and Fokker 50 aircraft.
Copyright Photo: Rolf Wallner. Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) YL-BAY (msn 4331) taxies at Zurich.
airBaltic: 
airBaltic (Riga) on May 12, 2013 launched a new route from Riga to Malta. The new route will offer convenient travel between the airports, and beyond to destinations in the Baltics, Scandinavia, Russia, and the CIS.
| Destination served
(from North Hub Riga) |
Flight frequency | Start date | Price*, Basic | Price*, Business Flex |
|
Malta |
1 flight weekly | May 12, 2013 | 59 LVL/ 85 EUR | 315 LVL/ 449 EUR |
airBaltic will fly from Riga to Malta once a week on Sundays, the return flight from Malta to Riga will be operated also on Sundays to secure convenient connections. Passengers will board a Boeing 737-300 aircraft (above) for a flight that will last for 3 hours and 40 minutes.
airBaltic serves 60 destinations from its home base in Riga, Latvia. airBaltic offers convenient connections via North Hub Riga to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, CIS and the Middle East. For summer 2013, airBaltic has introduced six new destinations – Prague (Czech Republic), Heviz-Balaton (Hungary), Olbia (Sardinia, Italy), Rijeka (Croatia), Larnaca (Cyprus), and Malta.
On the financial, the struggling flag carrier stated it trimmed its first quarter net loss by over $12 million. The airline issued this statement:
Latvian airline airBaltic has improved its net result by LVL + 6.7 milllion in the first quarter of 2013, compared to the same perid a year ago.
Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “After improving our consolidated net result by LVL +66 million in 2012, we were again able to beat our own plan.”
For the January to March period, airBaltic achieved +41% improvement of its net result, compared to the same period a year ago. airBaltic achieved +10% yield improvement in the first quarter of 2013 compared to the same period in 2012, and generated LVL 44.5 million in revenues. The unit revenue, or RASK – revenue per available seat kilometer, was improved by +8% in the January to March period, compared to the same period a year ago.
airBaltic operated 9,685 flights in the first quarter of 2013, or 9% less than in the first quarter of 2012 when airBaltic operated 10,637 flights. In March 2013, airBaltic operated 3,442 flights. The airline carried 534,879 passengers in the first three months of 2013 in its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, CIS and the Middle East, but in March 2013 the airline carried 201,757 passengers. The airline’s load factor, which represents the number of passengers as a proportion of the number of available seats, in the first quarter of 2013 was at a level of 63%, while in March it stood at 69%.
The 15-minute flight punctuality indicator for airBaltic was at a level of 83.9% in the first quarter of 2013. This means that 83 of every 100 airBaltic flights in the first quarter of 2013 departed at the planned time or with a delay of no more than 15 minutes.
For summer 2013, airBaltic has introduced six new destinations - Prague (Czech Republic), Heviz-Balaton (Hungary), Olbia (Sardinia, Italy), Rijeka(Croatia), Larnaca (Cyprus), and Malta.
Copyright Photo: Ole Simon/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-33V WL YL-BBK (msn 29332) taxies past the camera at Paris (CDG).
airBaltic:
Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi) has announced its plans to acquire the five Boeing 777-200 LRs (Longer Range) from Air India (Mumbai). The airline issued this statement:
The two carriers signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) in Mumbai earlier this week paving the way for the deal.
The 777-200 LRs will be used on the airline’s new route between Abu Dhabi and Los Angeles, which starts on June 1, 2014.
Etihad Airways currently flies to New York (JFK), Chicago (O’Hare), Washington (Dulles), DC and Toronto (Pearson) in North America, and to São Paulo in Brazil, and has stated its ambition to add new services to both continents.
Subject to approvals, the aircraft will be delivered to Etihad Airways from the beginning of 2014 and each will be re-fitted in a three class cabin configuration consistent with similar aircraft in the Etihad Airways fleet. It is expected the first aircraft will enter service in April 2014.
The purchase comes as Etihad Airways finalizes details on a new fleet order which will meet its organic growth and expansion requirements to 2025 in line with its rolling network plan.
The Boeing 777-200 LR, of which less than 60 were manufactured, has a design range of 17,370 km, allowing it to connect almost any city in the world from Etihad Airways’ hub at Abu Dhabi International Airport.
The five Air India 777-200 LR aircraft, which Etihad Airways is purchasing, are on average, six years old, helping the airline to maintain its overall position of having one of the most modern fleets in the industry.
Etihad Airways’ current fleet will reach 87 aircraft by year end, with 14 new deliveries from aircraft manufacturers during 2013.
In other news, Etihad has announced it will increase its share in Virgin Australia Holdings to 19.9 percent. At 19.9 percent, Etihad Airways has reached the threshold approved by Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board in June 2013.
Etihad Airways and Virgin Australia Airlines (Brisbane) signed a 10-year strategic partnership agreement in August 2010 that includes code-sharing on flights, joint sales and marketing activities, and reciprocal earn-and-burn on their respective frequent flyer programs.
For more information, please see: CLICK HERE
Finally, Etihad Airways and airBaltic (Riga) have announced a new Abu Dhabi-Riga joint route which will start on December 16, 2013.
The announcement follows the signing of a codeshare agreement between the two airlines. Subject to regulatory approvals, airBaltic will operate the new four weekly return flights using a 116 seat Airbus A319 aircraft.
With seating capacity for 14 Business class and 102 Economy class passengers, the flights will operate on a split schedule, ensuring optimal connectivity over each airline’s respective hubs in Abu Dhabi and Riga.
Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Air India’s Boeing 777-237 LR VT-ALD (msn 36303) prepares to touch down at London’s Heathrow Airport.
Air India: 
Etihad Airways:
airBaltic (Riga) on June 3, 2014, will launch a new route between Riga, Latvia and the Romanian capital of Bucharest.
airBaltic will fly from Riga to Bucharest four times a week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Passengers will board a Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) NextGen aircraft for a flight that will last for 2 hours 55 minutes.
Top Copyright Photo: Tony Storck/AirlinersGallery.com. Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) YL-BAX (msn 4324) departs from Berlin (Tegel).
airBaltic: 
Bottom Copyright Photo: airBaltic.
Current routes from Riga:
AirBaltic (stylized as airBaltic) (Riga) has also returned to the black. The Latvia carrier achieved a net profit of 1 million euro ($1.39 million) for the full year of 2013. AirBaltic has surpassed its original plans and has turned around the FY 2012 loss of EUR -27 million, converting it into a net profit of 1 million euro for 2013. AirBaltic has achieved profitability one year ahead of the initial schedule.
AirBaltic achieved 5% better yields and 1% of unit revenue improvements over the twelve months of 2013 (RASK – revenue per available seat kilometer), when compared to the same period a year ago, and generated stable revenues of EUR 325 million, despite capacity reductions.
AirBaltic serves sixty destinations from its home base in Riga, Latvia.
Copyright Photo: Rolf Wallner/AirlinersGallery.com. The Boeing 737s will be phased out and replaced reportedly by 2017 by the new Bombardier CS300s assuming the latter can unravel its testing and production issues. Boeing 737-522 YL-BBN (msn 26683) in the special “Official Carrier of Latvia Team for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics” taxies at Zurich.
airBaltic:
