Anew airport-departure tax imposed by the Latvian Government may stop Riga-based carrier Air Baltic from meeting its break-even target this year.
Former company chief executive Kjell Fredheim says that a $12-per-passenger charge has been levied from 1 June, and a new fuel tax is forcing the airline to refuel outside Latvia. The company has been operating in the red since its founding as a Latvian-Scandinavian-US joint venture in October 1995, but it has set its sights on breaking even this year.
Air Baltic operates a leased fleet of three AI(R) Avro RJ70s and one Saab 340 turboprop. According to Fredheim, who retired in March, the airline plans to replace one of the RJ70s with a larger RJ85 within 18 months, with possibly a second RJ85 to follow. The acquisition of a second Saab 340, or a larger Saab 2000, is also under consideration.
Senior marketing vice-president Kristian Kirchheiner says that Air Baltic is in "discussions about traffic rights to Moscow and St Petersburg". These are being held up by Russian insistence that the airline pays off debts accrued by former state-owned national carrier Latavio, which has since folded.
Source: Flight International
