newstodate.aero

Nov 28, 2023 (newstodate): For the Latvian charter and ACMI carrier RAF-Avia, 2023 has been a challenging year.
   Usually, the first three months of the year have been seeing a seasonal uptick in demand for regional air cargo - but not this year.
   -In 2023, even January-March have been rather low in demand, with tough competition over each request and consequently low rates, says Elena Rigere, RAF-Avia Commercial Director.
   -In response, we have focused efforts on the air passenger market, keeping our SAAB 340QC in passenger configuration. And as the regional cargo market remains low, we will so far continue operating this aircraft in passenger traffic.
   -Anyhow, even while the cargo and passenger markets remain a challenge, we are considering adding more aircraft capacity for the simple reason that operating costs per unit go down with the number of aircraft in the fleet.
   -Also, with more aircraft we can more easily respond to requests at different points in the market, being closer to customers.
   -We are therefore looking around for acquisition of more SAAB 340 aircraft, preferably in the QC version that grants us the optimal flexibility to adapt to changing market conditions. There are not many aircraft available for acquisition - but they can still be found, says Ms Rigere.
   In the fleet of RAF-Avia are currently two ATR72 freighters and three SAAB 340, of which one in QC version.