AirBaltic

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airBaltic
IATA BT	ICAO BTI	Callsign AIRBALTIC
Founded		1995
Hubs		Riga International Airport
Focus cities		Vilnius International Airport
Frequent flyer program		EuroBonus
Fleet size		19
Destinations		48
Parent company		SAS AB
Headquarters		Riga, Latvia
Key people		Bertolt Flick (CEO airBaltic), Mats Jansson (CEO of SAS Group
Website: http://www.airbaltic.com

airBaltic is the Latvian national airline, based in the capital of Latvia, Rīga. Its main base is Riga International Airport (RIX), its also the largest airline at its secondary hub in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Contents 1 History 2 Inflight magazine 3 airBaltic destinations 4 Fleet 5 Partners 6 External links 7 References

[edit] History

The airline was established on 28 August 1995 with the signing of a joint venture between Scandinavian Airlines System (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 was making the first passenger flight for Air Baltic.

In 1996, the airline's first AVRO RJ70 was delivered; and Air Baltic joined 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 Air Baltic in blue on the forward fuselage, the 'B' logo being heavily stylised in blue checks. The blue checked pattern was repeated on the aircraft tailfin.

In 1999, Air Baltic became a joint stock company, and all their Saab 340s were replaced by Fokker 50s. By September, the airline had began 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 June 1, 2004, Air Baltic launched services from the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, initially to five destinations. In October 2004, Air Baltic 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 simply Baltic is repeated in white on the lower part of the tailfin.

In the near future, according to ATW Media Group website, the airline anticipates to increase its fleet till at least 30 aircraft (from current 18) and expects to exchange current Boeing 737-500s for a total of 12 Boeing 737-300 and Boeing 737-400. In December 2006, the first Boeing 737-300 was delivered to airBaltic.

As of January 2007, airBaltic flies from Riga to 34 cities around Europe, Asia and Africa, 12 European destination from Vilnius, and finally connects Kaliningrad with 2 cities in Europe.

airBaltic has strong links with SAS Scandinavian which owns 47.2% of the airline (the Latvian state holds the remainder). It operates frequent flights to SAS hubs in Copenhagen and Stockholm. The airline boasts "Well connected with SAS" status and the airline's frequent flyer programme is SAS' EuroBonus scheme. Other products and services shared with SAS include co-ordinated timetabling and shared airport lounges.

Unlike its affiliated carrier, SAS, airBaltic is not a member of the Star Alliance or any other airline grouping, though this may change in the future if SAS successfully sponsors the carrier as a regional member. At the moment, however, codeshare agreements are in place with Spanair and Blue1, as well as a partnering agreement with Russian carrier Pulkovo, Aeroflot and Austrian, Atlasjet, Belavia, DonbassAero, Estonian Air, Azerbaijan Airlines, Uzbekistan Airways, Aerosvit Airlines, Georgian Airways.

airBaltic carried 1,425,276 passengers in 2006, a 37% increase from 2005, when airBaltic carried 1,037,925 passengers. airBaltic President Bertolt Flick said the airline about to carry around 2.2 million passengers in 2007. Approximately 2/3 passengers are generated by airBaltic's Riga bound flights.

Turnover for 2006 reached 115.9 million lats (164.9 million euro), an increase of 37% compared to 2005. At FYE 2006, operational result (EBITDAR) reached 16.9 million lats (24.0 million EUR), a 65% increase from 2005(9.7 MLVL/13.8 MEUR). The airline’s net profit for 2006 was 4.305 million lats (6.125 million euro) vs. -1.14 million lats (-1,62 million euro) a year before.

At the end of 2006 airBaltic employed 790 people.

airBaltic have own offices in Riga, Vilnius, Minsk, Moskow, Kiev, Berlin and in St. Petersburg.

[edit] Inflight magazine

airBaltic's inflight magazine, Baltic Outlook, is published six times per year by SIA Rīgas laiks, and can be found in the seatback pockets of every seat. Passengers can take the magazine with them when they disembark their flights. There are only English articles in the magazine. The first edition of Baltic Outlook magazine was published in 2003. There is also a selection of domestic and international newspapers on all flights in business class, except for flights in Baltics.

[edit] airBaltic destinations

airBaltic operates 46 direct flights from Riga and 18 from Vilnius, as well as a non-stop flight between Kaliningrad and Copenhagen.

Main article: AirBaltic destinations

Further information: SAS Group destinations

[edit] Fleet

The airBaltic fleet includes the following aircraft (as of April 2007):

Type	Number	Seats	Notes
Boeing 737-500	9	120-126	2 new aircrafts YL-BBN, YL-BBP
Boeing 737-300	2	147	YL-BBL, YL-BBK
Fokker 50	8	46-52

Fleet history:

• 3 Saab 340 1995-1999
• 3 Avro RJ70 1996-2005

[edit] Partners

• Skyways Express
• SAS Scandinavian Airlines
• SAS Braathens
• Blue1
• Wideroe
• Estonian Air
• Spanair

Others

• Aeroflot
• Aerosvit Airlines
• Austrian Airlines
• Atlasjet
• Azerbaijan Airlines
• Belavia
• Georgian Airways
• Georgian National Airlines
• Gomelavia
• Rossiya Airlines
• Uzbekistan Airways

[edit] External links

• airBaltic
• SAS Group
• Baltic Outlook

[edit] References

SAS Group, SAS AB
Scandinavian Airlines Business	Scandinavian Airlines Danmark | Scandinavian Airlines Sverige | SAS Business Opportunities | SAS Braathens
Subsidiaries	airBaltic | Blue1 | Spanair | Widerøe
Affiliated	Air Greenland | Aerolineas de Baleares | bmi | Estonian Air | Skyways Express
Destinations	SAS Group destinations | Blue1 destinations | Scandinavian Airlines destinations | SAS Braathens destinations | Spanair destinations | Widerøe destinations
Airline Support Business	SAS Cargo Group | SAS Media | SAS Technical Services | SAS Ground Services
Alliances	Star Alliance | WOW Alliance
History	DDL (1946) | DNL (1946) | SILA (1946) | ABA (1948) | Linjeflyg (1992) | Braathens (2001)