newstodate.aero
Aug 28, 2014 (newstodate): Latvia's airBaltic would be in the fast lane for expansion and growth, were it not for the turmoil and turbulence in nearby markets of Russia and Ukraine.
The carrier has just announced its H1 2014 results showing a development from last year's H1 loss of 12 million euro to this year's net profit of 14 million euro, despite the challenges in the eastern markets.
As one effect, the market turbulence has caused a significant drop in transit passenger volumes, while point-to-point traffic has increased from 50 percent last year to 52 percent in H1 2014. In total, passenger volumes still dropped by seven percent, y-o-y, to 1.26 mio.
Yields are lower in point-to-point traffic, but the airline has managed the situation through cost savings by capacity management, cost controls, and efficiency gains from operating a more uniform fleet of two aircraft types, Boeing 737 and Dash-8 Q400.
But airBaltic also recorded lower yields caused by a double-digit decline in transfer yields, while point-to-point yields demonstrated an upward trend as this traffic grew, proportionally.
Due to declining demand, airBaltic reduced capacity and discontinued flights to Odessa, Simferopol and Kaliningrad in the first half of 2014, currently serves sixty destinations from its home base in Riga, Latvia.
One indisputable green light for airBaltic is the recent conclusion by the EU Commission after a thorough investigation that the carrier is cleared of allegations of unlawful state support, and airBaltic has also managed to restructure its past obligations towards Latvijas Krājbanka.
The carrier has just announced its H1 2014 results showing a development from last year's H1 loss of 12 million euro to this year's net profit of 14 million euro, despite the challenges in the eastern markets.
As one effect, the market turbulence has caused a significant drop in transit passenger volumes, while point-to-point traffic has increased from 50 percent last year to 52 percent in H1 2014. In total, passenger volumes still dropped by seven percent, y-o-y, to 1.26 mio.
Yields are lower in point-to-point traffic, but the airline has managed the situation through cost savings by capacity management, cost controls, and efficiency gains from operating a more uniform fleet of two aircraft types, Boeing 737 and Dash-8 Q400.
But airBaltic also recorded lower yields caused by a double-digit decline in transfer yields, while point-to-point yields demonstrated an upward trend as this traffic grew, proportionally.
Due to declining demand, airBaltic reduced capacity and discontinued flights to Odessa, Simferopol and Kaliningrad in the first half of 2014, currently serves sixty destinations from its home base in Riga, Latvia.
One indisputable green light for airBaltic is the recent conclusion by the EU Commission after a thorough investigation that the carrier is cleared of allegations of unlawful state support, and airBaltic has also managed to restructure its past obligations towards Latvijas Krājbanka.