AirBaltic opens lights to Baku

The Latvian national airline AirBaltic starts making direct Baku-Riga-Baku flights from May 17. The flights will be made two times a week until mid-October.

The new route will create opportunities for the transit of Azerbaijani tourists and business people through Riga to Scandinavian and other European countries, AirBaltic manager on Azerbaijan Janis Romans said at the presentation.

According to the Latvian Embassy in Azerbaijan, every eleventh person who has received a visa to Latvia in Azerbaijan, was a tourist in 2010, while it was every ninth person in 2011, Latvian Ambassador to Baku Hardijs Baumanis said at the presentation of the new flight.

AirBaltic is a joint stock company established in 1995. The main owner having a 99.8 per cent stake is the Latvian state. In 2011 AirBaltic transported more than 3.3 million passengers.

At present, the airline offers direct flights from the three Baltic capitals - Riga (Latvia), Vilnius (Lithuania) and Tallinn (Estonia). Its fleet comprises 34 aircraft, two Boeing 757-200, six Boeing 737-500s, eight Boeing 737-300, 10 Fokker-50s and eight Bombardier Q400 NextGen type.

"We have been working with the Azerbaijani tour operators for nearly seven years," SPARE Travel tour company representative Yvonne Kezbere said. "I think that the number of tourists will increase after a direct flight is opened."

The company offers Azerbaijani tourist groups and individuals, sightseeing tours It is possible to change the tour programme to make them tailor-made if requested.

Expressing satisfaction with the current cooperation with the Azerbaijani tour companies, Kezbere thoroughly briefed the representatives of local travel agencies about the Latvian travel agency's proposals for the summer tourist season.


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