newstodate.aero
Jan 07, 2013 (newstodate): The future for the Latvian carrier airBaltic is with a new owner, to lift off the state's obligations after it took on 99 percent of the shares in November 2011.
In August 2012, the Latvian state launched a tender for attracting non-binding expressions of interest by November 1, 2012, for a stake of up to 50 percent minus one share.
Since then, the carrier has remained tight-lipped about what came out of the tender and which parties it may be negotiation with.
One problem may be that for airBaltic to remain an EU carrier enjoying the benefits as such, a potential new owner must itself be another EU-based carrier.
In the absence of any company information on the issue, industry sources are left to provide clues about which way the carrier and its state owner are looking.
So far, indications have been that Turkish Airlines has vented interest, and other carriers mentioned include Qatar Airways, Hainan Airlines - and most recently Azal, Azerbaijan Airlines that already cooperates with airBaltic on the route between Riga and Baku.
All of these options are, however, based on non-EU airlines.
Anyway, the state's interest in ridding itself of its airline ownership is further enhanced by the fact that the EU Commission is currently scrutinizing the carrier to assess if earlier state capital injections into airBaltic were legal, or will produce a fine and demands for return to the state.
This would be a further threat to the carrier's plights, already burdened by red figures in the annual reports.
In August 2012, the Latvian state launched a tender for attracting non-binding expressions of interest by November 1, 2012, for a stake of up to 50 percent minus one share.
Since then, the carrier has remained tight-lipped about what came out of the tender and which parties it may be negotiation with.
One problem may be that for airBaltic to remain an EU carrier enjoying the benefits as such, a potential new owner must itself be another EU-based carrier.
In the absence of any company information on the issue, industry sources are left to provide clues about which way the carrier and its state owner are looking.
So far, indications have been that Turkish Airlines has vented interest, and other carriers mentioned include Qatar Airways, Hainan Airlines - and most recently Azal, Azerbaijan Airlines that already cooperates with airBaltic on the route between Riga and Baku.
All of these options are, however, based on non-EU airlines.
Anyway, the state's interest in ridding itself of its airline ownership is further enhanced by the fact that the EU Commission is currently scrutinizing the carrier to assess if earlier state capital injections into airBaltic were legal, or will produce a fine and demands for return to the state.
This would be a further threat to the carrier's plights, already burdened by red figures in the annual reports.