RIGA - Despite a steadily worsening economy, the Latvian national airline company airBaltic has announced that it carried 38 percent more passengers in July 2008 over the same period in 2007.
AirBaltic carried some 285,555 passengers in July 's significantly more than the 205,287 carried in July 2007, an Aug. 11 press release from the airline said. The total number of flights also increased.
"Between January and the end of July, the airline increased its number of flights by 34 percent over the same period in 2007 's up to 26,684 flights in all," the press release said.
The numbers come as a surprise to many because of the current economic situation. With the inflation level remaining relatively high and economic growth at a near stand-still (see story, page 12), the high number of people flying is one of the few positive economic indicators that the country can boast.
Janis Vanags, airBaltic's vice-president for corporate communications, told The Baltic Times that taking cost-cutting measures and breaking into new markets were the main reasons for the company's success in the flagging economy.
"One of the things is that we have improved our efficiency quite a lot. We have constantly focused on reducing our costs through different means," the communications officer said.
"There has also been very successful route planning. [That means] seeing the potential where others haven't seen it and tapping into these potential markets. We are developing a product that is unique 's developing routes that no one else flies," he said.
Vanags said that in order for the company to see a continued increase in business in the future, it would have to continue taking advantage of possibilities to enter new markets.
"We are watching the situation constantly and absolutely we have to keep our attention sharp. This is a constant process. You have probably observed the speed with which we open new routes. This is one of the indicators. If we see a potential then we act immediately," he said.
During the first seven months of 2008, airBaltic transported a total of 1,402,472 passengers 's 31 percent more than during the same period in 2007, when the total number of passengers was only 1,071,662.
The press release also boasted a relatively high rate of flight punctuality. The press release noted that "more than 76 of every 100 airBaltic flights in July departed at the planned time or with a delay of no more than 15 minutes."
AirBaltic is a joint-stock company established in 1995. The majority share of the company, some 52.6 percent of stock, is held by the Latvian government. Scandinavian airline giant SAS AB, meanwhile, holds a 47.2 percent share. The airBaltic fleet consists of twenty-six aircraft: ten Boeing 737-500s, six Boeing 737-300s, two Boeing 757-200s and eight Fokker 50s. AirBaltic offers direct flights out of the Baltic capital cities of Riga and Vilnius as well as direct flights between Kaliningrad and Copenhagen, Liepaja and Hamburg, and Liepaja and Copenhagen.
