Baltia: the oldest, newest airline that isn’t

A great article on Baltia, the airline which has yet to take off on the long-promised route between New York and St Petersburg, carrying passengers and cargo. (According to one report, the airline initially appeared to have cargo revenue forecasts based on it carrying 180,000lbs per trip, with the potential of making $2m per week over the first year. It later said it was reviewing its cargo revenue prospects.) A penny stock, it has used up more than $35.5m in cash – $7.5m in the first nine months of this year, in which it spent $6.9m. A recent quarterly update stated it “may not have adequate readily available resources to fund operations through December 31″ – although when The Loadstar reported that in June, Baltia was quick to respond that it was a statement commonly found in Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board company updates. This time, suggests the FT, investors may have tired of an airline that hasn’t flown. “Some might conclude the act of building an airline is more lucrative, for those involved, than actually running one,” notes the writer.

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