airBaltic starts airBaltic Training centre in Riga, Latvia

18.02.2010 06:10 | Latvia

Author: Janis Vanags
Source: A/S Air Baltic Corporation

The Latvian national airline airBaltic has established airBaltic Training at Riga International Airport, Latvia, to provide commercial aviation training for flight crews.

airBaltic President and CEO Bertolt Flick: “After a profitable year 2009, airBaltic is rapidly expanding. airBaltic Training is crucial to meet the growing needs of airBaltic, and to generate additional revenue by providing flight crew training services to other airlines.”

Riga has a rich history as a centre of aviation training. It is conveniently located to provide commercial aviation training services to airline customers in both Europe and the CIS countries. The new airBaltic Training and simulator centre was established by taking over facilities and equipment of Oxford Aviation Training.

For 2009 airBaltic has announced 20 million EUR preliminary profit, and achieved 6% passenger growth to 2.75 million passengers. In 2010, airBaltic will open at least nine new direct routes from Riga, and has so far announced new destinations including Madrid, Belgrade, Vaasa, Umea, Beirut, Amman, and Manchester. The number of direct routes from Vilnius, announced by airBaltic over the past month, already total 10 – London, Paris, Munich, Berlin, Amsterdam, Rome, Hamburg, Manchester, Dublin, and Oslo.

airBalticin brief:

AIR BALTIC CORPORATION (airBaltic) is a joint stock company that was established in 1995. The primary shareholders are the Latvian state, with 52.6% of stock, and SIA Baltijas aviācijas sistēmas, with 47.2% of stock. The airBaltic fleet consists of 31 aircraft – ten Boeing 737-500, eight Boeing 737-300, two Boeing 757-200, and eleven Fokker 50 airplanes. airBaltic offers nonstop flights from three Baltic capital cities – Riga, Vilnius, and Tallinn. airBaltic received the title of Airline of the Year 2009/2010 (Gold Award) from the European Regions Airline Association. airBaltic is the winner of Air Transport World Phoenix Award 2010 – a global recognition of excellence in restructuring business.