I have flown HY (Uzbekistan Airways) a few times on TAS-IST route on 767-300 in Y (2077nm).

It's an adequate service and adequate aircraft interior, and the seat was pretty much what you'd get on AA or UA TATL, and the food was edible and fairly generous portions.

Overall, the whole HY environment, I would say was fairly similar to what you get on AZ, and certainly better than FR!

AY will be bit better than HY of course, but if you're a student and need to purchase mostly on price (and direct flight if possible), I'd happily go for HY.

If you want to go to Germany as well as Latvia, my suggestion would be to look for a cheap ticket to Germany and LCC it from there.

Frankfurt has edged out London as the cheapest place to fly into (or rather, out of) in Europe because the British government has slapped various "carbon"-taxes onto tickets departing from there.

So, look for a decently priced flight to Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Stuttgart or Berlin, and then continue on on Air Baltic.

You can also fly Ryanair to Riga, but personally, I'd rather have bowel surgery in the woods with a stick than fly with that sorry excuse for an airline again.

Only if the bus or train can swim. The baltic sea is between the both countries. So there is a ferry service.

Partially corrected? It's OK just to say you were mistaken.

i.e. "there are currently no train links between Lithuania and Latvia"

What's unuseful or undoable to you may be someone else's adventure

But it is true that Latvia is not well-connected to the rest of Europe by rail.

Thank you all for the advice. It seems that HY hasnt posted their schedules for JFK-TAS yet, but when they do I will be calling around to get a quote. Whoever answered their phone spoke very poor English, and I speak very poor Russian, so it was fairly humorous trying to get my point across.

At the moment I am considering JFK-RIX with HY, and then on the way back taking a LCC to Germany and then finding a cheap way home.

Latvia is tough to get to from most other Eastern European countries because the rails are Soviet Style. The 'easiest' way to Riga from Poland or farther west is with Ecolines bus lines, Berlin-Warsaw-Vilnius-Riga, however by train is also possible Cologne-Warsaw/ Warsaw-Vilnius/ Bus Vilnius-Riga or once nightly Train Vilnius-Sankt Petersburg stops in Daugavpils, where I have a few contacts. I have taken Ecolines bus from Riga-Moscow, and Sankt Petersburg-Riga, and would really love to avoid riding with them. We will see what I choose, but if i take HY, i will be more than happy to report back on their JFK-RIX service.
Thanks all. Any other ideas are welcome

Well, one thing to keep in mind is that on intercontinental flights round-trip tickets still tend to be significantly cheaper than two one-way tickets. It may be a better idea to book a roundtrip into RIX or into Germany.

If you're dead-set on two one-ways, consider flying Air Berlin back to the States from Germany - they are one of the few European airlines that offer one-way pricing even on their long hauls. Oh, and Condor does so as well, and often has reasonable deals on their nonstops to Vegas from Frankfurt.

On the subject of things to avoid... I would also avoid the train from Warsaw to Vilnius.

The first part (Warsaw to Sestokai) is fine - it's very old rolling stock, but it's rolling stock that was designed for long-distance journeys.

The train from Sestokai to Vilnius is a real bone shaker - with seatbacks that only go up to your shoulder so you can't lean back.

I enjoyed the journey (for the adventure factor) but wouldn't do it again.

I flew Uzbekistan Airways once from RIX to JFK. Old 767, old style projector showing some Russian cartoons and movies that are impossible to see given the light on the big screen at the front. OK seats. I had a woman from Uzbekistan in front of me keep farting non-stop the whole flight, so it was not an enjoyable flight. The cups for the drinks keep leaking, so each time you are given a drink as it leaks out it's put in a second and sometimes even third cup to prevent leakage. No diet/light (sugar-free) drinks, as such don't exist in Uzbekistan (wonder why don't they just grab those in RIX).

But, other than that it's fine. Really just like any lower end airline..