The Incredible Story of an Airline That Has Been Operating for 34 Years Without Success: It’s Yet to Carry a Single Passenger

In recent years, particularly in 2024, Boeing has faced significant challenges, including financial struggles and the layoff of thousands of workers. The situation hasn’t been favorable for airlines either. The aviation industry is adapting to the changing times and grappling with new issues, including profound concerns like climate change and more straightforward challenges such as regulatory restrictions and shifts in aircraft models.

However, many in the industry can still consider themselves “lucky” compared to USGlobal Airways, which has been attempting to take off for more than three decades.

Seeking a runway since 1989. Baltia Air Lines started like any other startup airline, filled with ambitious plans. However, 34 years and a name change later, the air carrier hasn’t operated commercial flights yet. The situation has baffled many and sparked speculation about the company’s true nature.

While the initial plans seemed reasonable, the airline’s history has been riddled with questionable decisions, regulatory hurdles, and continuous restructuring that have kept it grounded.

Fasten your seatbelts: turbulence ahead.

A transatlantic dream. Baltia Air Lines was conceived by Igor Dmitrowsky, a Latvian immigrant in the U.S. with a clear vision: connecting New York City with St. Petersburg in Russia at a time when routes to the former Soviet Union seemed promising. Dmitrowsky sold his dairy distribution company and gathered a group of investors. He also had plans to extend routes to Belarus, Estonia, Ukraine, and Georgia from JFK Airport.

In 1998, Baltia obtained permission to operate flights between JFK Airport and Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg. To realize its plan, the air carrier acquired a Boeing 747-200 from airline Cathay Pacific. However, the first setback came when the Department of Transportation revoked its license due to insufficient funds. Some say the main concerns revolved around the airline’s ability to provide safe emergency evacuations. Baltia never fully recovered from this.

Despite securing new investors and acquiring more aircraft, including a Boeing 747-200 from Pakistan International Airlines and another from Northwest Airlines, Baltia never operated these planes. In the end, both aircraft were dismantled and sold for scrap, leaving the airline without an operational fleet.

What happened next?

Rebranding efforts. In 2017, Baltia restructured and rebranded as USGlobal Airways, abandoning the transatlantic flight idea in favor of regional operations from Stewart International Airport in New York. The new plan aimed to offer flights to nearby destinations such as Albany, Baltimore, Long Island, and Trenton. However, once again, these plans failed to materialize because the airline was unable to secure necessary approvals.

Subsequently, USGlobal revised its strategy to focus on transatlantic flights from Stewart to “underserved” European cities, following a business model similar to that of Norwegian Air Shuttle and WOW Air. Despite signing a letter of intent in 2017 with Kalitta Air to lease a Boeing 767-300ER, the aircraft never flew under the USGlobal Airways name. There was simply no way to make it happen.

Conspiracy theory. Industry experts have always questioned the authenticity of USGlobal’s story. In 2014, the airline had a market capitalization of $70 million, which was sufficient to purchase used aircraft and commence operations.

However, in 2016, U.S. regulators accused a USGlobal executive of misleading investors. Three years later, the Securities and Exchange Commission revoked the company’s stock listing due to its failure to file financial reports. With a history marked by questionable decisions and frequent management changes, the airline failed to fulfill its promises, leaving a trail of suspicion and conspiracy theories in its wake.

Current status. For many, USGlobal Airways serves as a clear example of how ambitious dreams can devolve into a continuous cycle of empty promises and operational failures. Despite not having operated a single flight in more than three decades, the airline remains a surreal curiosity in the aviation industry.

While most companies struggle to survive in an increasingly competitive environment, USGlobal has managed to exist on the periphery of the industry without providing any services to passengers. Its history, filled with unfulfilled promises and dubious decisions, serves as a warning about the risks of unchecked ambitions and a lack of transparency in the business world.

USGlobal is an airline so peculiar that the day it finally takes to the skies will be a truly newsworthy event.

Image | JC Gellidon

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