Baltia to resume AOC drive; plans rebrand, restructure

Baltia Air Lines (BQ, New York JFK) has taken a step toward acquiring its Air Operator's Certificate (AOC), announcing that the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has allowed it to resume its application.

According to a Baltia press release, the potential airline and the FAA have reached a settlement agreement which will allow Baltia to re-start its certification process. The agreement comes after the appointment of new company President, Anthony Koulouris, in November 2016, who has committed to restructuring Baltia to bring it in line with industry standards.

Baltia Air Lines has been trying to launch a New York JFK – St. Petersburg route since 1991 but has failed to negotiate numerous regulatory, financial and equipment obstacles. The previous vice president of finance, Barry Clare, reached a settlement with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) for USD1 million in mid-2016 after being charged for acting as an unregistered broker for the airline.

Up until recently, Baltia had proposed to use an almost forty-year old B747-200, but scrapped those plans in early 2016. It most recently signed a Letter of Intent to lease a B767-300(ER) from Kalitta Air (K4, Detroit Willow Run) to complete its certification.

Baltia's board of directors and shareholders will meet in mid-April where the company intends to seek approval to change its name and reduce its outstanding shares under a reverse stock split.

Koulouris is hopeful about the airline's future as it closes in on 30 years of start-up attempts. "The concerns of employees and shareholders have been incorporated into the new corporate vision and strategy and the executive management team remains committed to launching the Company's next phase of operations".