The fact that the international agency Fitch downgraded the credit rating of airBaltic to CCC+ ("very risky") is most likely the result of a peculiar approach of rating agencies to aviation, said the chairman of the supervisory board of airBaltic, Andrei Martynov, to the Latvian Radio News Service.
The reasons for the downgrade cited by Fitch are the high debt burden on airBaltic, rising costs, and uncertainty regarding the attraction of new capital. The agency also downgraded the bond rating (which will be issued for €380 million), pointing to the company's weak liquidity and potential difficulties in worsening market conditions.
Behind such a strict assessment is the cautious attitude of rating agencies towards air transport, said the chairman of the supervisory board of airBaltic, Andrei Martynov.
"If you look at the attitude from the rating agencies, they evaluate the aviation industry as a whole quite conservatively. To put it simply, for them, the glass is more often half empty than half full.
The downgrade is just another opinion about our credit rating, about our ability to continue operations and attract the necessary financing to support it. But it does not affect our operational work or our daily activities in any way, and it does not determine our future."
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