AirBaltic : BT : BTI :

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AirBaltic will start charging a €5 ($7.36) fee per passenger for airport check-in on Nov. 16. Internet check-in will remain free of charge. The airport fee will not be levied against loyalty program members, passengers with reduced mobility, children younger than 12 and those departing from airports at which Web check-in is unavailable.
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La Lituanie devient plus accessible. AirBaltic a lancé le 18 décembre une grande opération de développement de son réseau depuis Vilnius. Elle a été inaugurée avec le lancement d’une liaison entre la capitale lituanienne et Paris.

La rotation Vilnius – Paris sera désormais réalisée trois fois par semaine par un Boeing 737-500. La capitale française est déjà desservie depuis la base d’airBaltic à Riga.

Quatre autres destinations ont été ou vont rapidement s’ajouter au réseau. Munich et Berlin l’ont intégré le 19 et le 21 décembre et seront desservies respectivement quatre et trois fois par semaine. Amsterdam et Rome suivront les 4 et 11 janvier. La capitale néerlandaise sera reliée à Vilnius six fois par semaine et la capitale italienne trois fois.

Ancienne filiale de SAS, airBaltic est aujourd’hui détenue par le gouvernement de Lettonie et par la direction de la compagnie. Elle exploite une flotte composée de huit B737-300, dix B737-500, deux B767-200ER et onze Fokker 50.

AirBaltic looks to launch fleet renewal program
AirBaltic next month will start evaluating an order for up to 30 new narrowbodies to replace its current fleet comprising 10 737-500s, eight 737-300s and two 757-200s, VP Corporate Communications Janis Vanags confirmed to this website.
The order will be for either 737s or A320 family aircraft, he said, emphasizing that the carrier wants to operate a single narrowbody aircraft type. The new aircraft will be acquired through a mix of operating and financial leases. "The first new narrowbodies might join the fleet [as soon as] the end of this year," he said, adding that all of the new aircraft would be scheduled to arrive by the end of 2013.
Vanags refrained from commenting on when the carrier will start taking delivery of new Q400s, of which it has eight on firm order and four options. However, a company source told ATWOnline that the first is scheduled to arrive in Riga in a couple of weeks and airBaltic should receive all eight of them by year end. It presently operates 11 F50s, which will be phased out by 2013.
Vanags also confirmed that the airline's shareholders have reached a long-awaited agreement to increase its capital by LVL30 million ($57.9 million) to support further growth and fleet renewal. The Latvian state, which holds 52.6% of the company, will inject LVL15.6 million and airBaltic President and CEO Bertolt Flick's Baltic Aviation Systems will invest LVL14.4 million.
AirBaltic, winner of ATW's 2010 Phoenix Award [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], reported a 2009 profit of LVL14 million. In the 2010 first quarter it increased passengers carried 25% compared to the year-ago period to 624,191. The number of flights operated rose 21% during the quarter and load factor lifted 2 points to 62%.

.........Bertolt Flick, President and CEO of airBaltic: “In the past twelve years, Fokker 50 has served airBaltic very well.

It has been our main workhorse for regional flights that today bring transit passengers to North Hub Riga for their onward journeys to destinations like Paris, London, Tel Aviv, or Kiev.........

Air Baltic files for protection amid row with Latvian govt

Struggling Latvian carrier Air Baltic has filed for legal protection in an attempt to enable it to continue operations despite its ongoing row with the Latvian government over a much-needed capital injection.

The airline, which has requested a Ls60 million ($115.8 million) bailout from Latvia's government - a 52.6% stakeholder in Air Baltic - said it has filed for legal protection in order to prevent the state from blocking any of the airline's decisions.

"For the past six months, the management of Air Baltic has informed about the necessity of a capital increase," said Air Baltic. "The government of Latvia as a minority shareholder in the airline has neglectfully and repeatedly delayed any decisions regarding the capital increase."

Latvia's government has said it is unwilling to inject any more capital into the airline unless chief executive Bertolt Flick steps down. Flick owns Baltijas Aviacijas Sistemas (BAS), which has a 47.2% stake in Air Baltic.

A spokesman for Latvia's prime minister said yesterday that BAS "has agreed to change the management of the airline and it appears Flick is leaving". But Flick today said that despite BAS agreeing to the government conditions, "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 the potential sale of its shares in the airline".

Flick added that Air Baltic's management "will not change during the period of legal protection".

The Riga-based carrier has suffered considerable losses over the past year, despite a cash injection last year of Ls30 million, split between the Latvian government and BAS.

Air Baltic operates a fleet of 34 aircraft, comprising six [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-500s, eight [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 737-300s, two [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-200s, 10 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 50s and eight [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Q400s.

The airline could not be reached for comment.

Air Baltic Blames Govt. For Bankruptcy

Air Baltic is blaming the Latvian government’s lack of financial support and attempt to offload its holding in the troubled carrier for its decision to file for bankruptcy protection.

The carrier, which will continue operations during its bankruptcy, says the government has “neglectfully and repeatedly delayed” decisions on a capital increase requested by management for the past six months and approved by Baltic Aviation Systems (BAS), a private shareholder in the airline. The Latvian state currently owns 52.6% of the airline’s stock, while a further 47.2% is held by BAS.

According to Air Baltic President and CEO Bertold Flick, BAS on Sept. 16 agreed to the government’s demands for new investment, but four days later the government withdrew its participation, blocked BAS from unilaterally increasing its capital investment and “suddenly and surprisingly” placed its holding on sale.

In a statement, Flick, who only yesterday told Aviation Week he would have left the company “a long time ago, if I was not the owner,” says the bankruptcy filing restricts the Lativan government’s involvement in “any decisions in the airline” and that an administrator will be placed in charge of the reorganization.

“The management of Air Baltic will not change during the period of legal protection, and all the creditors of the carrier will receive the outstanding debts,” adds Flick.

The airline’s top executive also notes that the board of directors “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.”

Court rejects AirBaltic legal protection plan; board vows to continue operations

The legal protection plan filed by Latvian national airline airBaltic (BT) Wednesday has been rejected by the court, although it did not provide details.

BT president and CEO Bertolt Flick said the BT board would continue airline operations.

In the latest development in BT’s shareholder dispute ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]), the Latvian government on Thursday considered proportionally increasing BT’s capital with the participation of both shareholders (the Latvian state and Baltic Aviation Systems), selling the state-owned shares to BAS, and setting up a new national airline. Latvia owns 52.6% of BT while BAS, the company controlled by Flick, owns 47.2%.

Additionally, Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis confirmed that the Latvian government has contracted with consultancy company Prudentia to evaluate how much the BT recapitalization and restructuring plan would cost and how much establishing a new airline would cost, a move that prompted Flick to take legal action with the prosecutor general's office against Prudentia, citing conflict of interest.

“Prudentia has had a conflict of interest, and we have to consider that commercial information provided by airBaltic will be used for the benefit of a competing airline,” Flick said in a statement. “It is now no longer surprising why a solution regarding airBaltic has not been reached for more than seven months, while at the same time details of the new airline will be clear within the coming days at the earliest and within two weeks at the latest. Confidence in Latvia's national airline has been methodically and systematically undermined in order to pave the way for a new project.”

BT said its board filed for legal protection to “break the blockage from the Latvian government.”

Latvian carrier AirBaltic (BT) has confirmed plans to acquire four new Bombardier Q400s, which will join its fleet on lease in spring 2013.

In July, BT CEO Martin Gauss told ATW he was looking to add three new or used Q400s (ATW Daily News, July 13).

“We are in final discussions to take two new Q400s in May and two in June,” Gauss told ATW on the latest developments.

“There were discussions about taking used aircraft on lease this autumn, but we are going with the new ones now,” he said.

BT is aiming to take the aircraft from an operating lessor straight off the production line, rather than have the “hassle” of a sale-leaseback deal, according to Gauss.

“The fact is that the serial numbers of four brand new Q400s should be on our apron next spring.”

This winter, the Latvian carrier will operate 10 Boeing 737s, eight Q400s and two Fokker 50s.

It also has two Boeing 757s, which are on lease in Cambodia.

Source: airBaltic
26/11/2012

In October 2012, Latvian airline airBaltic operated 4,141 flights, or 7% less than in October 2011 when airBaltic operated 4,467 flights.

The airline carried 251,705 passengers in October.

During the first ten months of 2012, airBaltic transported a total of 2,582,520 passengers.

The airline’s load factor, which represents the number of passengers as a proportion of the number of available seats, in October 2012 was at a level of 71%.

The airline load factor for the first ten months of 2012 was 74% - 1% point less than in the same period in 2011.

The 15-minute flight punctuality indicator for airBaltic was at a level of 87.88% in October 2012.

This means that 87 of every 100 airBaltic flights in October departed at the planned time or with a delay of no more than 15 minutes.