Bertolt Martin Flick is the current president and CEO of airBaltic airline. He was born in Germany in 1964, and has law degrees from German and U.S. universities. In 1995 Mr. Flick become a member of airBaltic's Supervisory Board and in 1999 he was elected the Chairman of the Board. Since 2002 he has been the president and CEO of the company.
The Lithuanian national airline announced in the Lithuanian media today that the Vilnius Regional Court had upheld a request from “FlyLAL - Lithuanian Airlines” to ensure security for a lawsuit by placing property of the Latvian national airline airBaltic and the Riga International Airport under arrest for a total sum of LTL 199.83 million (LVL 40.77 million).
At this time, airBaltic has received no official document from Lithuania’s court institutions to confirm that this is so.
The court ruling vis-à-vis airBaltic and the Riga International Airport cannot be implemented in Latvia. Before handing down such a ruling, the court surely must have solicited the views of airBaltic and the airport. According to a ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Communities (21 May 1980, Bernard Denilauler v SNC Couchet Frères), a court ruling cannot be applied in another EU member state if the relevant parties are not heard. In this case that applies to airBaltic and the Riga International Airport, and a ruling in Lithuania cannot have legal effect in Latvia.
Ordinary legal practice is that security for lawsuits is ensured and properties are put under arrest only in those cases in which there is reason to believe that the respondent will seek to avoid a judgment or engage in malicious activities which lead to a situation in which there are no assets to collect. The Latvian state owns 52% of airBaltic and 100% of the Riga International Airport, and it is liable for the activities of those two enterprises with all of its property. The ruling in Vilnius apparently means that the judge believes that the Republic of Latvia would not be able to make payment if the court were to rule that monies are to be collected.
airBaltic welcomes the fact that the rule of law prevails in the European Union and that shameless and arbitrary actions against businesses are not permitted.
FlyLAL apparently believes that it is normal “business” to attack the reputation of airBaltic and the Riga International Airport. Instead, the company has blackened its own reputation and that of the Republic of Lithuania, and this may have a seriously deleterious effect on the investment environment in that country. If an international airport in a neighbouring country can be put under arrest at the initiative of a small enterprise, then there is truly reason to be upset. We are concerned that this will have a negative effect on the development of business in all of Lithuania. The fact is that the aviation market in Lithuania already lags far behind the one in Latvia, as is seen in the following facts:
During the winter season this year, departures from the Riga airport will lead to more than 60 destinations, while departures from Vilnius will lead to only a few more than 20;
This year the Riga airport forecasts a total of 3.7 million passengers, while the Vilnius airport expects fewer than 2 million.
The point is that the situation with the aviation market in Lithuania is worsening, and it is a better option for residents of our neighbouring country to depart from the Riga International Airport.
airBaltic will continue operations as always. During the winter season, the airline will offer four new destinations (Tampere, Hannover, Amsterdam and Dubai), with 48 routes in all from Riga. That is the most extensive offer of flights in the Baltic States, and the airline has no doubt that it will attract numerous passengers from Lithuania.
airBaltic is also prepared to continue its operations in the Lithuanian market. This winter airBaltic will offer flights to Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Helsinki, London, Milan, Munich, Oslo, Paris (from 9 March), Riga, Rome (from 10 March), Stockholm and Tallinn from the Vilnius airport. Since the beginning of September, the airline has increased the number of flights between Vilnius and Riga to as many as five flights a day.
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I will find this Bertolt Flick and his company, now i will really make things public about how passengers are getting lost in the AIRBAltic flights and from now on, I will contact all the sources of press,i will find all numbers and contacts of Airbaltik management and tell my story!!!
ReplyDeleteI have bought two times tickets for my sisters with Airbaltic airlines.once my sister had to stay overnight in Riga and thanks god she didnt need visa to go out of airport to sleep in a hotel.and it toook a while untill we knew where she was. this time my three sisters flew from berlin Tegel on 30.07. to Riga and because the flight was delayed they didnt catch their flight, and my brother in tashkent reported my sisters did not arrive at home.later on after checking in the airport in tashkent he informed me about my sisters not coming. i called the Airbaltic administration under +37167207069 in the morning my time in germany aroun 1130 and a woman on the telephone assured me that they were on board,and assured my husband who called an hour later. after we asked an official confirmation of three passengers getting on board and flying with the flight number BT742, we have not got any official reply.
ReplyDeleteafter that we of course continued investigating,called all friends,and finally reported to local police station in tashkent airport. these all calls,worries,all worries of all the family members,for about 7-8 hours costed us not only telephone and other service bills but also the health of 6 members of our family! and time of our friends, and other people involved in this whole operation, and who is going to reimburse it,god knows,I will continue making this case public untill i will get a comprehensive reply and appology from this company!