Baltia Airlines was founded in August 1989 by Igor Dmitrowsky, who had planned to operate the service between the John F Kennedy Airport in New York, US and Pulkovo Airport in St Petersburg, Russia.
The airline though, never actually got off the ground and instead continued to exist for years without making any revenue.
On its website, Baltia offers holiday packages, a concierge service and a frequent flier program, just like any other carrier. The company also owned one of the biggest jets in the world, a Boeing 747.
The airline claims it is still awaiting its operational approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) – after 27 years. The airline is said to have failed the evaluation from the FAA seven times, apparently due to a problem with the deployment of its aircraft slides, Michigan Radio reported last month.
The New York-based carrier expected to begin operating flights last year, according to the company’s website. But in March this year, the airline announced it would also be abandoning its plan to operate its only aircraft, the 37-year-old Boeing plane. The plane did fly one route last year (from Willow Run to a maintenance facility in Oscoda, Michigan), but it has been dormant since.
Despite the lack of revenue during a period of over two decades, the airline, which had raised capital through stocks and other means, had accrued deficit to the tune of more than $119 million by March 2016.
While the airline might not have an aircraft to its name, the airline has said in May that it would look into leasing planes to finally get its operation off the ground.
