airBaltic – a Regional Airline
Latvian airline A/S "Air Baltic Corporation" (airBaltic) was founded in 1995. The company's major shareholders are the Latvian State with 52.6% and Baltijas aviācijas sistēmas SIA - 47.2%. airBaltic is a hybrid airline taking the best practices both from traditional network airlines and low cost carriers. In 2008, airBaltic changed its operating model from a point-to-point carrier to a network airline making Riga a connecting hub between East and West. Since the transition, airBaltic has experienced significant improvements in traffic and financial performance, including a 30% rise in passengers at its home airport in 2009. In 2009, airBaltic carried almost 2.8 million passengers. The top priorities of airBaltic are – safety, punctuality and service. In 2010, airBaltic received the ATW’s Phoenix Award, the “Oscar” for the aviation industry, as well as anna.aero ANNIES Award as Europe's largest flag carrier by the number of new routes.
Simple and Accessible
The airline offers low-fare tickets in its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, CIS and the Middle East.. The prices are competitive not only with other airlines, but also with the prices of bus, car, train or ferry. One way tickets are available not only for direct but also for transfer flights. One-way ticket structure allows combining air travel with other means of transportation and gives customers wider options for travel schedule. Ticket pricing is demand driven. Ticket sales are made through airline's internet page as well as travel agencies.
 | | Professional Personnel
The company employs over 1300 people, the majority of whom are directly involved in flight operations. Since March 1, 2002, Mr. Bertolt Flick is the company's President and CEO. Prior to this Mr. Flick has been a member of A/S Air Baltic Corporation Supervisory Board (1996 – 1999), but from 1999 till 2002 he was nominated Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Destinations
Currently, airBaltic operates direct flights out of three Baltic States capitals – Riga, Latvia, Vilnius, Lithuania and Tallinn, Estonia and serves over 70 destinations. 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. From Riga airBaltic offers direct flights to Aalesund, Almaty, Amman, Amsterdam, Arkhangelsk, Athens, Baku, Barcelona, Beirut, Belgrade, Bergen, Berlin, Billund, Brussels, Bukharest, Chisinau, Copenhagen, Dubai, Dublin, Dushanbe, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Goteburg, Hamburg, Hannover, Helsinki, Istanbul, Kaliningrad, Kaunas, Kiev, Kittila, Kuopio, Kuusamo, Lappeenranta, London, Lulea, Madrid, Milan, Minsk, Moscow, Munich, Nice, Odessa, Oslo, Oulu, Palanga, Paris, |
Rome, Rovanniemi, Simferopol, St. Petersburg, Stavanger, Stockholm, Tallinn, Tampere, Tartu, Tashkent, Tbilisi, Tel Aviv, Tromso, Turku, Umea, Vaasa, Venice, Vienna, Vilnius, Visby, Warsaw, Yerevan, Zurich.From Vilnius airBaltic offers direct flights to Copenhagen, Dublin, London, Paris, Riga, Rome, Tallinn. From Tallinn airBaltic offers direct flights to Lappeenranta, Oulu, Riga, Stockholm, Turku, Vilnius. Within Scandinavia and Finland airBaltic operates flights to and from Bergen, Kittila, Kuusamo, Lappeenranta, Oulu, Rovaniemi, Stavanger, Stockholm, Tampere, Turku, Umea, Vaasa. airBaltic has established close co-operation with airlines that enhance airBaltic’s well-balanced network of West-bound and East-bound destinations. The flights are operated in code share with the following partners: SAS, Spanair, Austrian Airlines, Aeroflot, Rossiya, AeroSvit Airlines, Azerbaijan airlines AZAL, Belavia, Uzbekistan Airways, Georgian airways, AirOne, Air Astana, Malev, Armavia, Aeroflot Don, Donbassaero, Brussels Airlines, Moldavian Airlines. airBaltic’s business model is based on both point-to-point service and transfer traffic. airBaltic provides air cargo transportation services and is the official representative of Singapore Airlines in Latvia. Fleet
The airBaltic fleet currently consists of 4 types of aircraft - 2 Boeing 757-200, 10 Boeing 737-500s, 8 Boeing 737-300, 11 Fokker-50s and 1 Bombardier 8 Q400 NextGen, in total – 32 aircraft. |
