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Message: Ypsilanti Courier > News
Baltia Air Lines makes debut with title sponsorship of Thunder Over Michigan airshow
Published: Tuesday, August 12, 2014
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By Krystal Elliott
kelliott@digitalfirstmedia.com
Twitter: @_KrystalElliott
Hundreds of people gazed at (and took shelter under) the largest piece of aircraft at the Thunder Over Michigan airshow last weekend. The Boeing 747 was brought in by Baltia Air Lines, a brand new airline that made its big debut by sponsoring the airshow. Courtesy photo.
YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP — A brand new airline headquartered in Michigan used the annual Thunder Over Michigan airshow as its coming out party this year. As its first major marketing push, Baltia Air Lines bought itself the title sponsorship of the airshow.
“This is our first chance to actually promote our air line. It’s sort of our ‘coming out’ party,” said Barry Clare, vice president of finance for Baltia Air Lines.
[PHOTO GALLERY: Warbirds thunder over Willow Run at Thunder Over Michigan airshow]
Baltia is hoping to make its maiden voyage from the John F. Kennedy International Airport this fall, once the airline receives its Air Carrier Certificate. Baltia currently has one Boeing 747 airplane in its stock, but hopes to grow to 10 to 15 aircraft in the coming years, with all flights traveling from New York to Europe.
“We’re hoping to fly to European cities with underserved, non-stop service,” Clare said.
Despite the actual flights happening quite far from Michigan, the airline’s headquarters are located at the Willow Run airport. All of the airline’s maintenance will be done in Oscoda, Mich.
“Most of our personnel is from Michigan. Just because we fly out of New York doesn’t mean we’re not taking advantage of the employees right here in Michigan,” Clare said.
Currently, there are 30 full-time employees working out of Baltia’s Willow Run headquarters, with additional staff located in Oscoda. And they’re hoping to grow. As the company adds more planes and scheduled flights to its roster, it will need additional staff members to keep things running smoothly; Clare said that each plane with flights scheduled five times per week needs 100 staff members.
All staff will be trained at Willow Run, Clare said, and with Baltia’s goal of rapid growth, new employees will be a consistent need. “There will always be someone in the pipeline,” Clare said.
With title sponsorship, Baltia’s name was on every piece of paper and advertisement related to the Thunder Over Michigan. But the airline cemented its visibility by showcasing it’s 747 at the airshow. It was the largest plane at Willow Run over the weekend
“This is our first chance to actually promote our air line. It’s sort of our ‘coming out’ party,” said Barry Clare, vice president of finance for Baltia Air Lines.
[PHOTO GALLERY: Warbirds thunder over Willow Run at Thunder Over Michigan airshow]
Baltia is hoping to make its maiden voyage from the John F. Kennedy International Airport this fall, once the airline receives its Air Carrier Certificate. Baltia currently has one Boeing 747 airplane in its stock, but hopes to grow to 10 to 15 aircraft in the coming years, with all flights traveling from New York to Europe.
“We’re hoping to fly to European cities with underserved, non-stop service,” Clare said.
Despite the actual flights happening quite far from Michigan, the airline’s headquarters are located at the Willow Run airport. All of the airline’s maintenance will be done in Oscoda, Mich.
“Most of our personnel is from Michigan. Just because we fly out of New York doesn’t mean we’re not taking advantage of the employees right here in Michigan,” Clare said.
Currently, there are 30 full-time employees working out of Baltia’s Willow Run headquarters, with additional staff located in Oscoda. And they’re hoping to grow. As the company adds more planes and scheduled flights to its roster, it will need additional staff members to keep things running smoothly; Clare said that each plane with flights scheduled five times per week needs 100 staff members.
All staff will be trained at Willow Run, Clare said, and with Baltia’s goal of rapid growth, new employees will be a consistent need. “There will always be someone in the pipeline,” Clare said.
With title sponsorship, Baltia’s name was on every piece of paper and advertisement related to the Thunder Over Michigan. But the airline cemented its visibility by showcasing it’s 747 at the airshow. It was the largest plane at Willow Run over the weekend
“It’s the actual airplane that we’re going to be using on our maiden flight,” Clare said.
The 747 was not open for tours and it didn’t leave its parking space during the airshow, but it attracted hundreds of visitors –including those excited to see a large, commercial airplane for the first time ever, as well as those seeking shelter from the sun in the plane’s enormous shadow.
Clare said the airline is ready to wrap up its certification process and start making its flights across the Atlantic Ocean.
“When we’re done, we’ll be America’s newest airline. It’s taken us a long time to do this. Stating an airline America is extremely difficult, time-consuming and expensive. It’s just hard to do,” Clare said. “This is the furthest we’ve ever been in the process. We believe that we’re going to get our certificate on or before Sept. 30 and then we’re good to go.”
Clare said once the airline is off the ground and growing strong, Baltia will continue to look to Michigan for new employees.
“We’re proud to be a part of the Michigan community,” he said.
Krystal Elliott is a multimedia reporter for Washtenaw Now. She can be reached via email at kelliott@digitalfirstmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter and Tout
http://www.heritage.com/articles/2014/08/12/ypsilanti_courier/news/doc53e929a73f557173166120.txt?viewmode=default
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