
SAS currently holds 47.2 percent while the Latvian government holds 52 percent.
“Even in this difficult economic climate, the management believes in the company's future and has decided to buy the shares which currently belong to SAS AB,†said Bertolt Flick, president of airBaltic.
Once the deal is completed on Jan 31 2009, airBaltic will be completely owned by the state of Latvia. AirBaltic will however continue to work together with SAS on commercial flights as before.
AirBaltic’s fleet is made up of 28 aircraft including ten Boeing 737.