March 11,
2009
To Our Shareholders
Despite these
challenging economic times for many businesses, Baltia Air Lines has been able
to achieve major milestones in its launching process. I want to provide you with an update on our
accomplishments, our current and future plans for the company, and most
importantly, thank each of you for your continued commitment, patience and
confidence in us.
I want to share
with you some positive news on our protracted Department of Transportation
(DOT) fitness process. As some of you know, on December 19, 2008, the DOT
issued its Show Cause Order finding
Baltia fit, willing and able to operate our proposed service from JFK to St. Petersburg.
On March
10, 2009, after the statutory Presidential review period, the Show Cause Order became a Final Order. In anticipation of the DOT approval, the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had hired additional staff members to process
Baltia’s certification. And earlier in January, we met with the FAA and started
the Air Carrier Certification process. Our staff members are now auditing our
completed manuals for FAR conformity.
We are at
the home stretch now, which culminates with the inauguration of flight service.
All our hard work has paid off. With the green light now on, Baltia Air Lines
is working hard to expedite the FAA Certification and prepare
for the necessary steps needed to begin flight revenue operations.
This is a
very exhilarating time for our company, and we expect even more excitement and
challenges ahead. I can assure you that with our “can do” attitude that comes
from being a small, resourceful company full of passionate,
entrepreneurial-minded people who share a common vision for success, we will be
able to continue to meet all challenges head on and grow our company.
What can
you expect from us in the coming year? We have several projects moving on
parallel tracks; some are part of the certification process, while others are
related to service issues and marketing.
As I
mentioned, we expect to submit our manual system to the FAA in three to four
weeks time. The manual approval, also
known as the “documentation phase,” is actually the main course of the Air
Carrier Certification, even though from the outside that may not appear
obvious. The length of time that it takes to have the manuals approved is
nebulous and varies from airline to airline.
Based on
our interactions with the FAA, the document approval phase may be relatively
quick, and possibly completed in three months, based on one round of revisions.
The next and last phase is the so called “demonstration phase,” consisting of
training, a mini-evacuation test, and proving flights, which are well defined
processes. This phase should take less
than two months and runs partially concurrent with the manual approval phase.
Also on
track, as an almost separate but important project, is the airplane acquisition
process, its maintenance requirements, and interior reconfiguration and
upgrading.
We will
also be focusing our efforts on setting up the station services. The JFK Base
of Operations is well on its way with most services in place. It is still
premature to start the practical setup, but we have plans in place to implement
the St. Petersburg
station as well.
Various Inflight
Service and Marketing arrangements are being made and this continues to be an
ongoing process. We are establishing Baltia’s cargo services and, time permitting;
we also have plans to launch our own Baltia Express service.
I am
pleased to announce that from the progress we have made so far, I expect the start
of flight service to begin this summer.
If you are in
or around JFK in the near future, I would like to extend a personal invitation
to come and visit Baltia Air Lines at Terminal 4. Please call Barry Clare, our VP of Finance,
at (212) 464-8201 to make arrangements to be escorted to our offices.
We at
Baltia Air Lines have a clear vision to become the leading U.S. airline in the trans-Atlantic market
between the major U.S.
and Eastern European cities, and with your continued support we will achieve
our goal.
I sincerely
thank you for being a faithful shareholder.
Best
Regards,
Igor
Dmitrowsky
President
