Baltia Air Lines second Boeing 747-200 (N706BL) sits in Victorville, CA in September 2011.
Ah, Baltia Air Lines — the little airline that is trying. In 1989, the airline was founded with the hope of connecting New York to old soviet countries non-stop. It has been a long process and many felt the airline would never make it this far, but Baltia has been full of surprises.
It has almost been a year since I last took a look at the airline and they are making some pretty good progress. A big emotional step has to be seeing their second aircraft, a Boeing 747-200 (N706BL), in Baltia Air Lines livery for the first time.
Their first Boeing 747-200 (N705BL) was delivered to TAP Air, then bought by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). It still has not been painted in the Baltia livery and is undergoing maintenance in Malaysia. Their second aircraft, another Boeing 747-200 (N706BL), was delivered to Northwest Airlines in 1979 and put into storage in 2009 before Kalitta took ownership. They held the title for only about a year before Baltia purchased it.
In September 2011, Baltia Air Lines was accepted into the FAA’s Safety Management Systems (SMS) Pilot Program, which will allow the airline to create a safety plan for the future.
“Senior Management at Baltia is committed to pursuing the safest operational environment possible. We are committed to implementing, developing and improving strategies, management systems and processes to ensure that all operational activities uphold the highest level of safety performance in the industry. Our Safety Management System will meet and exceed national and international standards.”
Yes, it is a big unorthodox to see a new airline start up using a Boeing 747-200, but who can complain about seeing one of these beauties flying in the US again? Will they make it? I am staying optimistic and hope they can at least get off the ground. Looking at their summary of tasks needed to be completed, they are on the home stretch.
Ah, flying how it used to be. Although a fun commercial with a great cast of airplanes, I feel it overly beautifies the earlier years of air travel. Sure, it was a big deal at the time since it was so costly and it was still new, but even comparing to 1984’s standards it would have been a bad experience for most people.
For aviation nerds, being able to fly on an old United Airlines Ford Tri-Motor would be an amazing experience. However, for most people it would be horrid. Very loud, lots of vibrations, uncomfy seats, and lots of fuel stops between point A and point B. Your coffee might have been served on a silver platter and given a glass of chocolate milk, but that doesn’t make it worth while.
Even with the “now” portion of the video, which takes place in 1984, it is a lot different than it is in 2011. A first class seat on a current United Airlines Boeing 747 is going to be much more comfortable and probably a bit cheaper. Not to mention all that interesting in-flight entertainment available now.
Sorry, I am not trying to harp too much on this video, I really enjoy it. Who can not like a video with a Ford Tri-Motor, Boeing 747-200, DC-10 and DC-8? I think it just supports the idea that flying used to be so much more glamorous, where I think it is just as glamorous or even a bit more than it used to be (not to even mention safer) — it is all about perspective.
Baltia Air Lines Boeing 747-200 (N705BL) at LAX aftering being taken out of the airline junkyard in August 2010..
I have loved following Baltia Air Lines for quite sometime now. Since August 2009 when Tom Luly on The Airline Blog first talked about the airline, or lack of an airline, I have been intrigued.
Really the story starts long ago. Back in 1989, Baltia Air Lines was founded in New York City. The idea was to provide service from New York to what used to be the Soviet Union. After lots of planning, it looked like things were going well for the start up. Baltia had plans to fly to multiple cities in the Soviet Union and were looking to purchase a few Boeing 767’s and 737’s. Then the Soviet Union collapsed, which was great for America, but not so great for the new American-based Baltia Air Lines. There was too much instability in the Baltic region and plans to start a new airline were shelved.
It took until 1996 when Baltia was able to get authority to fly from New York (at JFK) to St. Petersberg. At the time Baltia was planning on flying a single Boeing 747 and in 1998 put a $100,000.00 down payment for an ex-Cathay Pacific Boeing 747-200. However, in 1999, the airline did not have enough capital to start flying and the Department of Transportation (DOT) revoked their route authority. In 2007, Baltia received more capital and once again filed to fly from JFK to St. Petersburg. The DOT approves the plan and allowed them to fly in 2008.
When Luly with The Airline Blog first contacted Baltia back in August 2009, they assured him they were planning on purchasing one Boeing 747 from an airline that was based in the US. Many were skeptical that the airline would actually purchase an aircraft and questioned if the airline would ever take off (pun intended).
It was quite shocking when they announced that they purchased a Boeing 747-200. They didn’t end up getting a 747 from an American carrier, but they still found one. Baltia ended up purchasing one which was first delivered to TAP Air Portugal in 1975. Then in 1976 it was sold to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), where it flew until it was stored in 2005. Then in July 2009, Baltia Air Lines purchased the jumbo jet and registered it as N705BL. They paid a little less than a half-million for the plane, which did not come with engines.
Baltia Air Lines Boeing 747-200 (N705BL) arriving to Malaysian Airline System Berhad ("MAS") facility in Malaysia for scheduled maintenance
Even though they had a plane, it became questionable if it would ever fly. Doubters were amazed, when on August 4th 2010, she arrived at the Malaysian Airlines Maintenance Center where it will be updated and painted.
The choice of an older, less fuel efficient aircraft is a bit puzzling. Of course there is a lower up front cost, but it will cost a lot in the long run. Will passengers be willing to fly in such an old aircraft? Will most even realize how old she really is?
This airline surely is interesting. Not only a US airline flying passengers in a Boeing 747-200, but flying non-stop to major Russian cities is too good to ignore. These people sure seem to have the drive and ambition to make an airline happen, no matter what the time line.
The keen eye of a ramp worker caught N705BL at LAX on its way to Malaysia (photo) and was allowed to go in to take a look. The interior is still looks like PIA (photo), but they plan to install a VIP interior. I kind of hope they can keep the classic spiral stair case going up to the upper deck (photo).
More recently, Baltia Air Lines has announced the purchase of a second Boeing 747 and that they plan to start flying during the second quarter of 2011. According to Airliners Gallery News, Baltia Air Lines President, Igor Dmitrowsky stated, ’œSignificant progress has been made in the FAA Air Carrier Certification document process and that Baltia is anticipating a second quarter launch.” He continued with, “There are still other pre-launch certification tasks to be accomplished such as the completion of the Safety Attribute Inspection audit process of the manuals, the completion of maintenance on our newly acquired Boeing 747 aircraft, the training of our crewmembers, and the mini evacuation test and proving flights, which should all be completed prior to our inaugural flight.’
You can be sure I will be keeping a close eye on Baltia and sharing anything new they might have.
Here is PanAm Boeing 747-200 N724PA taken in 1990, about a year before Pan Am went out of business.
A while back after I blogged a photo of a Pan Am Boeing 747-200 taking off at Seattle, an ex-pilot that flew for Pan Am emailed me and thought the registration number had to be wrong. He remembered quite clearly that N724PA was not for a 747, but it belonged to a Boeing 707-300 that flew for Pan Am. This was curious for me, since when I looked up photos of aircraft belonging to N724PA there was a photo of a Boeing 707 in Alaska Airlines livery. It is common for airlines to re-use registration numbers, but I felt a story involving a Pan Am Boeing 747 and 707 used by Alaska needed to be told.
It turns out he was right. N724PA a Boeing 707-300, which Pan Am called “Clipper Mercury,” went into service on December 8, 1959 and served Pan Am well, until 1971. Mercury was leased to GE, then Donaldson International Airways until being leased to Alaska Airlines for the summer of 1972. After Alaska’s lease was up it went back to Donaldson and the registration number was changed from N724PA to G-BAEL.
When Mercury’s registration number was changed, it allowed Pan Am to “re-use” the number and register a new aircraft. When Pan Am got a Boeing 747-200 in 1984 from Sinapore Airlines, they gave her the name “Clipper Fairwind” and the registration number N724PA, which previously belonged to the Boeing 707.
I can’t find where the Boeing 747 ended up, but based photos taken in 2005, I am guessing she is no longer flying (can anyone else confirm that?).
So, that explains the confusion of the registration numbers, but left me wondering why the heck Alaska was flying a Boeing 707 for only one summer. For that answer you will have to wait until tomorrow!
This Pan Am livery is not my favorite, but what an awesome photo from the past. Reader Dave H. was excited to share this photo he took from 1987 at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Check out that DC-3 in the background.
