Air Baltic becomes first airline to accept Bitcoin payments

  • 2014-07-22
  • From wire reports, RIGA

Latvian national airline AirBaltic has become the world’s first airline to accept Bitcoin payments.

"Introducing the Bitcoin payment option is a part of our innovative approach to service with a central focus on our customer,'' said Martin Gauss, AirBaltic'' Chief Executive Officer.

Bitcoin, a software-based payment system introduced in 2009, means payments are recorded in a public ledger with bitcoin as its unit of account. Bitcoin payments are accepted by other companies including WordPress.com, Overstock.com, Expedia, Dell, and others.

The ticket prices on the website will be displayed in euros. However,  when AirBaltic' customers pay for their flight, their ''bitcoins'' are converted into euros at the current exchange rate. 

AirBaltic serves sixty destinations from its home base in Riga. The airline is a joint stock company established in 1995. The primary shareholder is Latvian state with 99.8 percent of stock. The AirBaltic fleet consists of 25 planes - five "Boeing 737-500", eight Boeing 737-300" and twelve Bombardier Q400Next Gen".