Emperor Aviation - Forum

“The Baltics are, probably, the closest region to the CIS in the European business aviation market”

The Baltics business aviation market has changed both in terms of the volume and, most importantly, of the quality over recent years. Such changes have been caused by investments, efficient policy of aviation regulators, and geographic location. All these factors make the Baltics rather attractive both for flying operations and for the business in general. Today we are meeting CEO of Emperor Aviation, Irakli Litanishvili who has personal experience of working in the Baltics market. Mr Litanishvili kindly agreed to answer some questions and share his vision of the processes in the business aviation market of Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania.

Irakli, let us start with the main question. In your opinion, to what extent has the Baltics business aviation market changed recently and what key processes can be seen there?

The Baltics business aviation market has demonstrated revitalization recently. This is primarily due to development of new infrastructure facilities promoting the traffic growth in the region. As one of the most illustrative examples, I can mention the Latvian business aviation center FBO RIGA. I think that the investors have successfully implemented this project, benefiting from the advantageous geographic location of Riga in relation to the CIS and European countries, applying advanced technologies to set up the terminal and associated on-ground maintenance services, and selecting an appealing pricing scheme. This is why Emperor Aviation was one of the first companies to make in May 2015 an agreement for basing our first long haul Gulfstream G650 in FBO RIGA. 

Judging by your personal experience, is it comfortable to work with the Baltic partners and what primary peculiarities of operating in this market would you underline?

In our partners, we appreciate, above all, their professionalism and high level of service, as we strictly comply with such quality standards ourselves and strive to anticipate wishes of our clients. This is why we have chosen FBO RIGA as our main partner in the Baltic countries that not only meets our key requirements, but also offers tailored approach. Moreover, Riga is just 60 minutes of flying from Moscow where heavy business aviation traffic sometimes results in shortage of hangar spaces and aircraft parking areas. Given that our company flies under the Maltese flag, i.e. freely flies from and to all countries of the European Union, Riga is the perfect place for basing our business jets now and in the future.

What do you like most of all about working with the Baltic partners and what do you still have to improve?

The Baltics are, probably, the closest region to the CIS in the European business aviation market. Close social and cultural ties, geographic vicinity, and reasonable pricing policy create the solid base for building long-term strategic partnership. It is important that, as the practice shows, the Baltic market players are open for the dialogue with Russia and CIS countries; for example, in the charter market, they often optimize their own costs to offer Russian passengers better prices, as compared with other European operators.

Irakli, thank you for your detailed answers.

For reference: Emperor Aviation is the first Maltese operator working in the Russian business aviation market. Emperor Aviation has been operating in the market since 2013 and is part of Aim of Emperor Group. Emperor Aviation employees have gained ideal reputation in the area of flying private aircraft over 10 recent years and have worked in the major industry companies:  Ocean Sky, Petroff Air, Rusaero, DC Aviation, and Vibro-Air. The fleet of business jets of Emperor Aviation consists only of long haul business jets, including Global XRS, Global 5000, Falcon 7X.