Air Baltic has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States to carry out a financial restructuring. The airline says that operations will continue as usual and has hired Seabury Global Aviation Advisors as its financial advisor – the same advisory group that worked with SAS during its restructuring.

The Latvian airline has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York. Chapter 11 means that a company can continue operations while restructuring its debts and financing under court protection.

Air Baltic states that the reconstruction process does not affect ongoing operations.

– Flights will be operated according to schedule, tickets and reservations remain valid and customer service will continue as usual, the company writes in a press release.

Air Baltic operates routes from Stockholm Arlanda to destinations in the Baltics and Finland, among other things.

Seabury also advises Air Baltic

Air Baltic has hired Seabury Global Aviation Advisors as financial advisor in the reconstruction.

Seabury also worked with SAS during the Scandinavian airline's Chapter 11 process, which began in 2022 and ended in 2024.

In 2023, SAS also hired Ginger Hughes, then a partner at Seabury, as head of the company's restructuring process.

Seabury's work for SAS has subsequently come under scrutiny for its costs. According to an investigation by Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv, the advisor received around $55 million in hourly fees during SAS's restructuring and about the same amount in other fees and success-based fees.

Latvian state largest owner

Air Baltic is owned by the Latvian state to a little over 88 percent. Lufthansa owns 10 percent, while the remaining share is owned by private shareholders.

The airline describes the Chapter 11 process as a financial reconstruction and states that passengers' travel and bookings will continue without changes during the process.

Source: di.se