newstodate.aero
Sep 22, 2017 (newstodate): The Latvian charter carrier RAF-AVIA based at Riga Airport has seen sound performance in 2017, with all aircraft assigned.
-Starting especially from May 2017, this year has seen demand by far outstripping supply in the market, which of course translates into a positive rates development and rising revenues, says Jelena Rigere, RAF-Avia Commercial Director.
-In the fleet are now four An-26 and two SAAB 340 freighters plus our first ATR-72 freighter. Plans were to start retreating the AN-26 from service with the first to go in January 2017, but the service life of the AN-26 freighter fleet has now been extended by another year.
-We took in the first of two ATR-72 freighters in May 2017, and the delivery of the second aircraft was planned for summer - but this has now been delayed till December as the aircraft is still not available.
-On the passenger side we are operating two SAAB 340 aircraft for charters, and one aircraft is currently operating on behalf of another carrier on a route between Tbilisi and Batumi in Georgia.
-We had plans for launching flights on new routes between Riga in Latvia and Linkoping in Sweden, starting from September 3, 2017, and between Linkoping and Oslo in Norway also from the same date and with three weekly rotations on the routes. Eventually, this plan was scrapped as deemed too risky by our management.
-We will however still seek a fixed route, and if we succeed in this we will add a third SAAB 340, basically as a stand-by capacity, says Ms Rigere.
-Starting especially from May 2017, this year has seen demand by far outstripping supply in the market, which of course translates into a positive rates development and rising revenues, says Jelena Rigere, RAF-Avia Commercial Director.
-In the fleet are now four An-26 and two SAAB 340 freighters plus our first ATR-72 freighter. Plans were to start retreating the AN-26 from service with the first to go in January 2017, but the service life of the AN-26 freighter fleet has now been extended by another year.
-We took in the first of two ATR-72 freighters in May 2017, and the delivery of the second aircraft was planned for summer - but this has now been delayed till December as the aircraft is still not available.
-On the passenger side we are operating two SAAB 340 aircraft for charters, and one aircraft is currently operating on behalf of another carrier on a route between Tbilisi and Batumi in Georgia.
-We had plans for launching flights on new routes between Riga in Latvia and Linkoping in Sweden, starting from September 3, 2017, and between Linkoping and Oslo in Norway also from the same date and with three weekly rotations on the routes. Eventually, this plan was scrapped as deemed too risky by our management.
-We will however still seek a fixed route, and if we succeed in this we will add a third SAAB 340, basically as a stand-by capacity, says Ms Rigere.