airBaltic on buying spree, to have 100 Airbus A220-300s by 2030, ET TravelWorld

The Latvian national airline, airBaltic, has sealed a major deal with Airbus, to acquire 30 Airbus A220-300 aircraft. Additionally, the airline secured the rights to potentially purchase 20 more of the same model in the future.

According to the airline, this move underscores airBaltic’s ambitious plans to expand its fleet substantially, aiming to reach a remarkable milestone of operating 100 A220-300s by the year 2030. As a result, airBaltic is aiming to claim the title of the largest A220 customer across Europe, solidifying its position as the foremost operator of A220-300s globally.

“This day marks a significant milestone in the history of airBaltic – our plans for the first time ever to operate a fleet of 100 aircraft by 2030. For almost seven years already, the Airbus A220-300 has been the backbone of our operations and has played an integral role in the international success story of airBaltic. Being the global launch customer of the Airbus A220-300, we continue to be a proud ambassador of it. We are grateful to our partners at Airbus for the incredible support, trust, and collaboration over these years,” said Martin Gauss, President and CEO of airBaltic.

“The A220 has been the instrument for airBaltic in its success and growth thus far and we are particularly proud to be extending this partnership well into the future with this latest order”, said Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer and Head of International.

The A220 offers a unique capability in terms of range, performance, and passenger appeal. Scherer said that it is a game changer for their customers in this important market segment, which Airbus is serving with less fuel-burn, lower emissions and noise.

In late 2016, airBaltic became the global launch operator of the A220-300 and since May 2020 operates all its flights with a single-type fleet of this aircraft type. Since then, the airline has carried more than 13 441 000 passengers on the Airbus A220-300 aircraft. The airBaltic A220-300s have completed over 150 000 flights and flown 328 000 block hours.In passenger experience, the Airbus A220-300 crafts an exceptional journey for travellers with features such as wider seats, expansive windows, increased cabin hand luggage space, upgraded lavatories, and other amenities.

In addition, the aircraft is also considerably quieter – with a twice smaller noise footprint when compared to the previous generation aircraft. Additionally, at the moment, it is the most efficient commercial aircraft in the world with a transparent declaration of the life-cycle environmental impact, helping to reduce CO2 and NOX emissions by 25 per cent and 50 per cent respectively in comparison to the previous generation aircraft and industry standards.

airBaltic, a prominent airline in the Baltic region, boasts a robust network of over 100 routes originating from its key hubs in Riga (Latvia), Tallinn (Estonia), Vilnius (Lithuania), and Tampere (Finland). This network connects passengers to diverse destinations across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Caucasus region.

Presently, airBaltic’s fleet comprises a lineup of 44 Airbus A220-300 aircraft, positioning the airline as one of the youngest and most modern fleets in Europe.