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AirBaltic

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

Contents

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 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, adopting a new corporate livery in the process.

As of May 2006, airBaltic flies from Riga to 30 cities around Europe, Asia and connects Vilnius with 14 European destinations. 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.

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, Aerosvit Airlines, Georgian Airways.

airBaltic carried 1,037,925 passengers in 2005 and achieved an operating profit of €1.2m on a turnover of €73.4m(2004)

Destinations

Asia

Europe see also SAS Group destinations

Fleet

Boeing 737-500
Enlarge
Boeing 737-500

The airBaltic fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of June 2006):

Type Number Seats Notes
Boeing 737-500 7 120
Fokker 50 9 46-52

Partners

Saspartner.gif others:

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
[Special]
Members of the SAS Group

Scandinavian Airlines • SAS Braathens • Widerøe • Blue1 • Spanair • airBaltic

Affiliated Airlines: Estonian Air • Air Greenland • Skyways
Radisson SAS • Country Inn • Park Inn • Regent Hotels'''


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