DUSHANBE, February 23, 2011, Asia-Plus — Latvian air company, AirBaltic, has officially resumed flights to Dushanbe.
According to AirBaltic’s office in Dushanbe, after a five-month interruption, the air carrier will operate the first flight from Dushanbe to Riga on April 20 and air tickets for this flight are available in all selling offices of AirBaltic across the country. The company will operate a triple-weekly service from Dushanbe to Riga, the source said.
We will recall that AirBaltic suspended fights to Dushanbe last autumn. Officials from Tajik Ministry of Transport and Communications noted that time that the suspension was connected with bankruptcy of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) that assumed the 47.2 percent in AirBaltic. Aircraft that were used to operate flights to Dushanbe belonged to SAS.
The air route between Dushanbe and Riga was launched on June 1, 2009. It was a twice-weekly service – the flights were operated on Mondays and Fridays.
According to Wikipedia, A/S Air Baltic Corporation, operating as AirBaltic, is the Latvian flag carrier airline and a low-cost carrier, with its head office on the grounds of Riga International Airport in the capital, Riga. Its main hub is at Riga International Airport with secondary hubs at Vilnius International Airport and Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport. On September 23, 2010 AirBaltic made an announcement to establish a new secondary hub at Oulu Airport.
The airline was established on August 28, 1995 with the signing of a joint venture between Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) and the Latvian state. AirBaltic previously had strong links with SAS, which owned 47.2% of the airline (the Latvian state holds the remainder) until January 2009, when they sold all their shares to AirBaltic management.
As of January 2010, the AirBaltic fleet includes 8 Boeing 7373-300, 6 Boeing 737-500, 2 Boeing 757-200, 8 Bombardier Dash 8 Q400, and 10 Fokker 50.
