Executive Appointments & Leadership Moves Europe Aircraft Manufacturing (OEMs) airBaltic Airlines

euroAtlantic Airways appoints former airBaltic COO Pauls Calitis as CEO effective 18 May 2026

Portuguese wet-lease and charter provider euroAtlantic Airways has named former airBaltic COO Pauls Calitis as chief executive, effective 18 May 2026. Calitis succeeds Stewart Higginson, who led the company since 2024 and will shift to chairman of the board as the airline enters its next growth phase.

Discovered 2026-05-05T01:37:48.283716-07:00 | 2026-05-05T01:37:48.283716-07:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

Signals a leadership shift for euroAtlantic Airways as it continues scaling its widebody wet-lease and charter model, with a transition from CEO Stewart Higginson to chairman.
Calitis’s move from airBaltic—where ACMI expansion was central to recent performance—ties the appointment to proven wet-lease growth experience rather than a generalist airline leadership hire (see airBaltic cuts 2025 net loss 40% to €44.3m as ACMI wet-lease expansion drives record revenue).
For partners and competitors, the May 18 start date and governance changes provide a near-term datapoint on how euroAtlantic will execute commercial strategy and capacity deployment decisions.

Reported By

Aviation Week Airline Economics AeroTime aerotelegraph.com businessairportinternational.com FlightGlobal