23 October 2023
Another airline has stepped up the financial assistance it provides for student pilots. This time it’s Air Baltic, the national airline of Latvia.
Effective immediately, once a potential student has passed Air Baltic’s assessment process, the airline will lend most of the fee for the training course.
Students of the airBaltic Pilot Academy will now have to cover the costs of ATPL theory studies and 45 flight hours, at a cost of 15,000 euro. After passing airBaltic pilot assessment and becoming an employee of the company, the airline will provide financing [a loan] for the rest of the studies.
Martin Gauss, President and CEO of airBaltic, said, “The relatively high cost of studies posed a significant obstacle for young, aspiring students looking to join the airBaltic Pilot Academy and fulfil their aspirations of becoming future airline pilots. The new system emphasises airBaltic’s commitment to the Pilot Academy as an educational institution and will facilitate more students in achieving their dream of becoming a pilot.”
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There are 103 active students at the airBaltic Pilot Academy at the moment. Most of them are from Baltic countries, however, there are students also from other EU countries such as Germany, France, Finland, Spain and Italy among others. Overall, more than 10% of airBaltic Pilot Academy students are female. As for now, 89 students, after graduating, have joined airBaltic as First Officers.
Air Baltic is largely owned by the Latvian state. It gas connections to more than 70 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Caucasus region. It employs more than 2,400 people and has an aircraft fleet consists of 44 Airbus A220-300 aircraft, making it one of the youngest fleets in Europe.
AirBalticTraining, a subsidiary of AirBaltic, is a training facility offering a wide range of aviation training services at a purpose-built training centre in Riga, Latvia.
Exciting Day at the @airBaltic Maintenance Hangar!🛠️
Our future pilots had the incredible opportunity to step into their future office – the state-of-the-art Airbus A220 aircraft!
This is where passion meets precision, and the journey to the skies truly begins. pic.twitter.com/G8vw8R0AHx— airBaltic Training (@airbaltictrain) September 25, 2023
