Latvian carrier Air Baltic is continuing to prepare for its long-discussed IPO amid fresh reports linking the Lithuanian and Estonian governments with stakes in the state-owned operator.
Lithuania’s publicly owned news outlet LRT reported on 9 January that transport minister Marius Skuodis has held discussions with his Latvian counterpart about Lithuania taking a stake in the airline. Estonia’s publicly owned ERR then ran a story on 10 January suggesting the head of Tallinn airport, Riivo Tuvike, believed the Estonian state should also consider taking a stake in the Riga-based carrier.
Tuvike is quoted by ERR as saying that an Estonian government stake in the airline would given it a degree of control over expanding capacity in the country on a national-interest basis, whereas a publicly owned Air Baltic could be more beholden to the economic rationale of each route. Lithuania’s Skuodis similarly cites the potential for more aircraft being based at Vilnius, should the government have a stake in the airline.
Air Baltic said on 11 January that it could not provide any details on discussions between governments, saying it was continuing to work on its IPO.
“The possible listing of shares on the stock exchange is an important step in the process to reach a new level in the development of Air Baltic,” the airline tells FlightGlobal.
Air Baltic is currently 98% owned by the Latvian state. While its main operations are from Riga, it also operates from Tallinn and Vilnius – offering the most flights of any carrier from those airports in January 2024, according to Cirium schedules data. That dynamic has developed after the failure of national carriers in Estonia and Lithuania over the past decade.
It also has a small base in Tampere, Finland, and a seasonal base in Gran Canaria. The carrier wet-leased out around 14 aircraft during the summer 2023 season to operators including Lufthansa Group, while flying 30 or so A220s on its own services.
It is in expansion mode, having placed an order for up to 50 more Airbus A220s at last year’s Dubai air show. Those aircraft are earmarked for expansion in the Baltic states and the Nordic region (potentially through new bases), and for its wet-lease business.
Air Baltic appointed financial advisors for its IPO in September 2023, although the timeline for that process remains unclear.
