While carriers the world over are slashing their networks and grounding aircraft in a bid to keep their heads above the rising tide, a bold group of investors believe that the time is ripe to launch a new airline offering flights between New York and St. Petersburg, Russia. Baltia Air Lines has recently won approval from the US Transportation Department to provide nonstop service between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo 2 Airport, with flights beginning this summer, the airline’s chief executive, Igor Dmitrowsky, told The Moscow Times. The airline will initially start utilising a B747, with one flight per week, later expanding to three days per week and then five days per week, Dmitrowsky said.