Gunter Endres/LONDON
THE LATVIAN Government has approved the Baltic International USA (BIUSA)/ Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) proposal for the establishment of a partially privatised airline to take over the operations of Baltic International Airlines (BIA) and the loss-making state-owned carrier Latavio Latvian Airlines.
The new airline is expected to retain the Baltic International name, and will start operations around 15 July.
The $26 million capital of the company will be subscribed by the Latvian Government (51%), and BIUSA, SAS and Swedish and Danish financial institutions. Details of the individual shares are being worked out.
The seven-person board will be made up of four Latvian Government appointees (including the chairman), and one each from the other participants. A portion of the Government's share could be made available to Latvian nationals as a further step in the process of privatisation.
The combined network will provide services to Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Moscow, Stockholm and St Petersburg, with expansion to Kiev, Vienna and Warsaw to follow swiftly.
Some ex-Soviet equipment from Latavio and BIA, now consisting of five Antonov An-24s, two An-26s, ten Tupolev Tu-134Bs and six Tu-154Bs, will be retained for a short period only, before the acquisition of more secondhand Western aircraft to add to the two Boeing 727-100s in the BIA fleet.
Some Latvian pilots are already licensed to fly the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and Boeing 737-200, and the new fleet is likely to come from those two types.
Source: Flight International
