Editing AirBaltic (section)

===Early history===
[[File:Air Baltic Avro RJ70 Jonsson.jpg|thumb|A former airBaltic [[British Aerospace 146|Avro RJ70]] in historic livery, which was retired in 2005]]
[[File:AirBaltic Boeing 757-200 at RIX.jpg|thumb|An airBaltic Boeing 757-200WL taking off from Riga International Airport, the airline's base, with other aircraft in the fleet in the background (May 2010)]]
[[File:Riga_Airport_2016.jpg|thumb|The airline's hub, [[Riga International Airport]], also houses the corporate head offices.]]
[[File:Check-In at Riga Airport.jpg|thumb|airBaltic check-in area at Riga International Airport]]
[[File:AirBaltic Bombardier CS300 mainenance (33093274391).jpg|thumb|The cabin of an airBaltic [[Airbus A220]]]]
Baltic International Airlines (BIA) was a Latvian and US joint venture company owned by SIA Baltic International Airlines whose main airport was Riga International Airport. It was founded in June 1992, after the US-based private company Baltic International USA (BIUSA) failed to buy a part of the state-owned Latvian national airline [[Latavio]]. In the joint venture, the Latvian government owned 60%, while BIUSA owned 40%. After unsuccessful privatization attempts, Latavio was declared insolvent in October 1995. It was liquidated and the [[Government of Latvia]] together with Baltic International Airlines created airBaltic.

The airline was established as Air Baltic on 28 August 1995 with the signing of a joint venture between [[Scandinavian Airlines]] (SAS) and the [[Government of Latvia]]. Operations started on 1 October 1995 with the first Air Baltic aircraft, a [[Saab 340]], in Riga, and that afternoon, the plane made the first passenger flight for Air Baltic.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.airbaltic.com/public/company_history.html |title=Company history |publisher=Airbaltic.com |access-date=2013-04-20 |archive-date=1 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601121148/http://www.airbaltic.com/public/company_history.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1996, the airline's first [[BAe 146|Avro RJ70]] was delivered; and Air Baltic joined the SAS frequent flier club as a partner. In 1997, a cargo department was established and, in 1998, the airline's first [[Fokker 50]] plane was delivered. The adopted [[livery]] was mainly white, with the name of the airline written in blue on the forward [[fuselage]], the 'B' logo being heavily stylized in blue checks. The checker blue pattern was repeated on the aircraft [[Vertical stabilizer|tailfin]].{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

In 1999, Air Baltic became a [[joint stock company]]; it was previously a [[limited liability company]]. All of the Saab 340s were replaced by Fokker 50s. In September, the airline began operating under the European Aviation Operating Standards, or JAR ops. Air Baltic welcomed the new millennium by introducing new uniforms<ref>{{cite web| url=https://25years.airbaltic.com/dress-code.html |title=Dress Code|publisher=airBaltic|access-date=2022-08-02}}</ref> and opening a cargo centre at Riga's airport.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

The first [[Boeing 737 Classic|Boeing 737-500]] joined the fleet in 2003, and on 1 June 2004, Air Baltic launched services from the Lithuanian capital, [[Vilnius]], initially to five destinations. In October 2004, Air Baltic was rebranded as '''airBaltic'''. Its present livery consists of an all-white fuselage and [[lime (color)|lime]] tailfin. airBaltic.com is displayed on the forward upper fuselage, and the word "Baltic" is repeated in blue on the lower part of the tailfin. In December 2006, the first Boeing 737-300 joined the fleet and was configured with [[winglet]]s. In July 2007, airBaltic introduced an online check-in system, the first online check-in system in the Baltic states.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.airbaltic.com/en/company-history | title=Company history | publisher=airBaltic }}</ref> In the spring of 2008, two long-haul [[Boeing 757]]s were added to the fleet. In 2010, the airline began leasing [[De Havilland Canada Dash 8]]-400 aircraft, it retired these aircraft in 2023.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://airwaysmag.com/air-baltic-returns-final-dash-8-q400/ | title=airBaltic Returns Final Dash 8-Q400 | first=Lee | last=Cross | work=Airways | date= 1 February 2023}}</ref>

airBaltic had strong links with SAS, which owned 47.2% of the airline, and operated frequent flights to SAS hubs in [[Copenhagen]], [[Oslo]] and [[Stockholm]]. Some of airBaltic's products and services are still shared with SAS, including co-ordinated timetabling and shared airport lounges. airBaltic is not a member of any [[airline alliance]] but does have codeshare agreements in place with several [[Star Alliance]] member airlines and others.

airBaltic had secondary hubs at [[Vilnius Airport]] and [[Tallinn Airport]].<ref name="Opening of base at Tallinn">{{Cite web|url=https://www.easier.com/68507-airbaltic-to-open-tallinn-base.html|title=airBaltic to open Tallinn base &#124; Easier|website=www.easier.com|accessdate=21 December 2022}}</ref> The majority of the routes commenced from Tallinn were cancelled shortly after opening, leading to complaints from the Estonian Consumer Protection Department.<ref name="Consumer Protection Department Warning re airBaltic">{{cite web|url=http://bnn-news.com/estonians-warned-to-be-careful-with-airbaltic-5498|title=Estonians warned to be careful with ''airBaltic''|date=15 October 2010|publisher=Baltic News Network|access-date=2013-04-20}}</ref>

In January 2009, SAS sold its entire stake in the company (47.2% of the airline) to Baltijas aviācijas sistēmas Ltd (BAS) for 14 million [[Latvian lats|lats]]. BAS was wholly owned by [[Bertolt Flick]] (President and CEO) until December 2010, when 50% of BAS shares were transferred to Taurus Asset Management Fund Limited, registered in the Bahamas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bnn-news.com/airbaltic-shareholders-structure-11608|title=Changes in airBaltic shareholders structure|date=16 December 2010|publisher=Baltic News Network|access-date=2013-04-20}}</ref>