A/S Air Baltic Corporation | Origins
Origins
Latavio, the local branch of Aeroflot, provided air transportation during the Soviet occupation of Latvia, which lasted from 1940 to 1991. At the fall of the Soviet Empire, Latavio had 22 jet aircraft and 14 turboprops, according to Flight International. It employed about 550 people in 1995.
The regional aviation market was attracting interest from outside investors because of its untapped growth potential. In 1991, the American company Baltic International USA (BIUSA) attempted to acquire a share in Latavio. According to Flight International, BIUSA wanted to develop Riga, Latvia, into a regional hub.
These ambitions were temporarily scaled back, however, in the face of resistance from neighboring republics Lithuania and Estonia. While the old Latavio stayed in place, BIUSA launched a smaller project with a pair of the Tupolev Tu-134 airliners to fly to just Germany and Switzerland. Baltic International Airlines, a joint...
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