airBaltic's new business plan has been prepared at management board level - Martinovs

RIGA - The new business plan of Latvia's national airline airBaltic has been prepared at the management board level, Andrejs Martinovs, Chairman of the company's supervisory board, told LETA.

He informed that the management board has practically completed the work on the business plan, which is currently being reviewed and analyzed at the level of airBaltic's supervisory board.

Martinovs indicated that, provisionally, the supervisory board could review and approve the business plan this week. "However, given that the supervisory board consists of five members, I cannot promise that the business plan will be approved without any questions or objections," Martinovs said.

He noted that airBaltic is moving forward constructively and that the company wants to prepare a high-quality document. "The management board has prepared the plan, but its approval will also take time," he explained.

Martinovs said that the full content of the business plan will only be available to the members of the management and supervisory boards, as it contains "serious commercial secrets" on how airBaltic plans to make money and expand its market share in the coming years.

The airBaltic representative said that the business plan will be kept highly confidential, but that the company understands public interest and therefore the supervisory board considers that airBaltic's communication on the business plan should be as transparent as possible, as long as it does not involve commercial secrets.

"We will try to find a compromise between confidentiality that results from the commercial secrets and public interest in receiving such clarification. This will be a difficult task," Martinovs said.

As reported, a majority of Saeima members in April voted to grant a short-term state loan of EUR 30 million to Latvia's national airline airBaltic.

airBaltic's losses last year amounted to EUR 44.337 million, which is 2.7 times less than in 2024. Last year, airBaltic's turnover increased by 4.2 percent compared to 2024 and amounted to EUR 779.344 million.

Representatives of airBaltic explained that the airline’s losses in the first quarter were influenced by fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, financing-related costs, reduced commercial support, and ongoing cost pressures across several categories.

In 2025, the airline carried a total of 5.2 million passengers on its route network, an increase of 1 percent compared to 2024.

At the end of August last year, German national airline Lufthansa became a shareholder in airBaltic. Currently, the Latvian state owns 88.37 percent of airBaltic shares, Lufthansa - 10 percent, financial investor Aircraft Leasing 1, owned by Danish businessman Lars Thuesen - 1.62 percent, and other shareholders - 0.01 percent. The company's share capital is EUR 41.819 million.

After the initial public offering (IPO) of airBaltic shares, the size of Lufthansa's stake will be determined by the potential IPO market price. The transaction also provides that Lufthansa will own at least 5 percent of airBaltic's capital after the potential IPO.

On August 30, 2024, the Latvian government agreed that the state should retain at least 25 percent plus one share in airBaltic's capital after the IPO. On August 19, 2025, the government decided that Latvia, like Germany's Lufthansa, would make a co-investment of EUR 14 million in airBaltic ahead of a potential IPO.

However, given the 2025 financial results and market conditions, airBaltic has suspended its planned IPO and does not currently view it as a potential source of capital for 2026, according to airBaltic’s annual report.

The report indicates that, despite the expected improvement in operational and commercial performance, the airline will operate with a negative free cash flow in 2026, and, based on current forecasts, management expects that an additional capital injection of EUR 100 to 150 million will be required to finance operations for the 2026/2027 winter season.