ATW Daily News

AirBaltic seeks to represent the three Baltic states

Friday September 11, 2009

AirBaltic said it "very much appreciates and welcomes" a meeting between the transport ministers of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia and their discussions regarding a pan-Baltic flag carrier, while claiming that it already fits that profile. The Riga-based airline plans to expand its Tallinn operation with flights to Turku beginning Oct. 1 and is "prepared to become involved in future negotiations," according to President and CEO Bertolt Flick. "If the airline's capital base is expanded, airBaltic will expand even more rapidly than before in the Baltic states," he said.

AirBaltic's two shareholders, the Latvian government (52.6%) and a company owned by Flick (47.2%), are in negotiations to increase the carrier's capital. Latvia reportedly is proposing to boost capital gradually over three years to LVL30 million ($61.9 million), with each shareholder committing LVL2 million this year. Late last month, airBaltic told ATWOnline it remained on track to post a profit of around LVL12 million this year while strongly denying rumors that it was on the verge of bankruptcy following last year's loss (ATWOnline, Aug. 24). It carried 1.8 million passengers in the first eight months of 2009, up 6% year-over-year. Load factor rose 6 points to 68%.

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