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Latvian flag carrier airBaltic, which also operates bases in neighboring countries such as Estonia, Finland, and Lithuania, has filed for Chapter 11 Protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. These kinds of bankruptcy proceedings are often used by airlines looking to improve their financial situation without having to put a stop to their operations altogether.
The carrier has been quick to reassure passengers that nothing will change from an operational standpoint, with flights and customer services continuing to run as normal. Crucially, however, the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection will allow airBaltic to work hard in the background to secure the additional financing that it needs to be more sustainable in the long term. Let’s examine the current situation.
airBaltic Has Initiated Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Proceedings
In a statement released earlier today, airBaltic confirmed that it had voluntarily entered Chapter 11 with the US Court, with the intention to “restructure its financial obligations while continuing its operations.” The news comes less than a week after the airline released its August results, whereby it confirmed that its load factor had fallen by 2.3% as passenger growth couldn’t keep up with capacity growth.
airBaltic explained that “the process is intended to provide it with a stronger, more sustainable capital structure, a competitive cost position and a solid foundation for the future.” It has already secured €350 million (€1 = $1.15) in new debtor-in-possession financing, which it says will “provide liquidity and support operations,” having already tied down up to €257 million in interim financing 11 days ago. It added that:
“Chapter 11 is a well-established US legal framework (…) that allows companies to restructure their finances and raise capital while continuing day-to-day operations under the supervision of the US Court.”
Nothing Should Change On An Operational Level
From a passenger perspective, particularly those booked to fly with airBaltic in the shorter term, news of bankruptcy may seem alarming. However, with Chapter 11 designed to allow airlines to keep running while raising financial capital and implementing the necessary steps when it comes to restructuring, airBaltic is set to continue its operations as normal. This was also detailed in its statement today.
On this front, airBaltic explained that “flights will operate as scheduled, tickets and reservations will remain valid, and customer service will continue as usual.” Likewise, it adds that “refunds, vouchers, gift cards and credits related to baggage or service claims will continue to be handled in line with existing policies.” With this in mind, passengers with future bookings are advised that no action is required from them.
As flights continue to operate, airBaltic will continue to work through Chapter 11 in the background in order to optimize its long-term viability. Andrejs Martinovs, who is the Chair of the Supervisory Board of airBaltic, said that “our aim is to complete the process with a financially stronger airBaltic and a substantially reduced level of obligations that the company can sustainably manage over the long term.”
The Current State Of airBaltic
Among other interesting operational aspects, airBaltic is notable for being a one-type operator, with its fleet consisting entirely of modern Airbus A220-300 narrowbody twinjets. According to present fleet data made available by ch-aviation, the carrier currently has 54 of these aircraft at its disposal, with orders for another 40. Historically, it has flown three more, and they are just 5.4 years old on average.
Data from aeroLOPA shows that these jets have either 148 or 149 seats on board in a flexible two-class layout that can be altered to accommodate business class loads of varying sizes by blocking out certain seats. According to Cirium, an aviation analytics company, airBaltic has scheduled 4,261 A220 flights this September, with the top route being Riga to Tallinn (five flights a day in each direction).
