Main Contemporary Directions in the EU Integration

Air Baltic History Air Baltic is the national Latvian airline and serves many European capitals and major cities. Air Baltic employs around 500 people, the majority of whom are directly involved in flight operations, with less than one fifth working in administrative roles. Latvian airline A/S “Air Baltic Corporation” (airBaltic) commenced operations on October 1, 1995. The company's major shareholders are the Latvian State with 52.6% and SAS AB, who own 47.2%. Air Baltic operates in a strategic partnership with SAS. Almost all Air Baltic flights are code shared with SAS. Air Baltic aims to be a strong regional carrier. The goal is to assure regular air transport between Riga and Vilnius to Europe's major cities, for the prices that are competitive not only with other airlines, but also with the prices of bus, car, train or ferry. In parallel with direct flights, provides convenient connections through Scandinavian transit hubs - Copenhagen and Stockholm. EU and AirBaltic Since the Baltic states joined the EU, the airline market has gone from strong to stronger. The opening of national borders and media awareness generated by EU accession has led to a record number of passengers. Estonian Air’s customer count grew 31 percent in 2004, while Lithuanian Airlines’ soared 41 percent. Latvia’s airBaltic, however, set the record with a staggering 75 percent increase. As Bertolt Flick, company president, says, “The Baltics have seen strong economic growth, an increase in foreign business and tourism and growth in local purchasing power. EU entry has been a very positive experience.”