I was reading BLTA's company overview on crowdfund
Post# of 41413
Point 1:
"Baltia plans to start its flight operations as the only U.S. airline connecting directly two of the world’s prominent cities – New York and St. Petersburg (4th largest city in Europe). Baltia’s objective is to provide quality three-class passenger service, reliable cargo and mail transportation, and to provide “Baltia Express” overnight service for express mail and small packages. On the JFK-St. Petersburg route, management is projecting revenues for year one of operations of approximately $100 million at a projected 64% load factor (filed with the U.S. DOT)."
In conjunction with this:
"In addition to being the only direct flight, Baltia intends to operate quality passenger service in a three-class cabin layout (starting with two-class seating). Typically, in the market served only by connecting flights, significant traffic migrates over to a nonstop service when such service becomes available. Starting with one Boeing 747 on the JFK-St. Petersburg route, Baltia projects approximately 85,000 passengers during year one, representing a small amount of the market size."
Point 2:
"Baltia plans to start with one weekly non-stop flight between JFK and St. Petersburg during the initial months of operation. Baltia plans to expand to five weekly flights in the following months. During years one and two, Baltia plans to build its initial route network by adding nonstop routes from JFK to Moscow, Riga, Minsk, and Kiev."
Point 3:
"In addition to its scheduled flights, Baltia is also being certificated for “supplemental” operations (e.g. charter service). Baltia plans to operate domestic and international charter flights, cargo shipment services, and contract flights. In the future, management is considering qualifying the company for U.S. military contracts."
Point 4:
"Following the completion of the FAA Air Carrier Certification (Baltia is currently in Phase 3 of the Certification process) and the processing of documents at the Russian Federation (has accepted Baltia as the U.S. designated carrier), Baltia intends to inaugurate nonstop service with one round trip flight per week to St. Petersburg. A transition to five roundtrip flights, with possible early addition of Moscow, is planned."
Point 5:
"Because of the reliability of a nonstop flight, Baltia expects to capture a good portion of the existing cargo traffic. Further, government cargo, such as that of the U.S. Postal Service and diplomatic cargo, is required to be carried on a U.S. flag carrier when service is available. Baltia has had discussions with major freight shippers that have an interest in utilizing the cargo capacity on Baltia's direct flights on a pre-committed basis. The anticipated additional cargo revenue from these shipping companies would exceed Baltia's revenue projections."
Point 6:
"Baltia’s initial marketing strategy is based on working with existing travel agencies that specialize in the market, select travel and business publications, supplemented by direct mailings to corporate travel planners, as well as American businesses that are currently involved in Russia."
Point 7:
"The marketing strategy relating to capacity and overall quality of service is reflected in the Company’s choice of its aircraft. Baltia’s management has concluded that the cabin size of a Boeing 747 offers the greatest degree of comfort and capacity for the JFK-St. Petersburg market. Baltia’s on-time dependability is enhanced because B-747, a four-engine aircraft, is not subject to the ETOPS regulations which could cancel or divert flights during certain weather conditions."