airBaltic receives its 21st Airbus A220-300 in the new livery

RIGA - Latvian airline airBaltic on December 6, 2019 in Riga welcomed its 21 st Airbus A220-300 jet, registered as YL-AAU in a new livery. The 21 st aircraft for airBaltic marks the next phase in the airBaltic fleet modernization plan. Gradually, all the company's new aircraft will have greener tails, thus emphasizing airBaltic's commitment to becoming a more sustainable airline operating one of the greenest fleets and launching other sustainability initiatives in the near future.

This is the first delivery of the additional order that was signed on May 28, 2018 for purchase of 30 Airbus A220-300 aircraft with options for an additional 30 aircraft of the same type. Till the end of 2019, airBaltic plans to have a total of 22 Airbus A220-300 aircraft in its fleet, but by the end of 2020 – 26.

As informed previously, The 21 st Airbus A220-300 was the 100 th manufactured aircraft of this type thus in the honour of this milestone a special ceremony took place on November 28, 2019, at the Airbus aircraft programme’s headquarters in Mirabel, Canada gathering Airbus and airBaltic representatives, partners and media.

Thus far, airBaltic has carried over 4 000 000 passengers on the Airbus A220-300 aircraft with every second airBaltic passenger flying on the aircraft. Airbus A220-300’s have completed more than 40 000 flights and flown over 100 000 block hours.

The Airbus A220-300 has performed beyond the company’s expectations, delivering better overall performance, fuel efficiency and convenience for both passengers and staff. This aircraft offers an excellent flying experience with such benefits for passengers as wider seats, larger windows, more hand luggage space in the cabin, improved lavatories and much more.

The new aircraft is also considerably quieter – with a four times smaller noise footprint. Moreover, at the moment it is the greenest commercial aircraft in the world, as it is the first aircraft to have a transparent declaration of the life-cycle environmental impact, helping to reduce CO 2 and NO X emissions by 20% and 50% respectively.

airBaltic aims to minimize complexity and benefit from the additional efficiency of the Airbus A220-300 aircraft which will be the only jet type operated by airBaltic by the end of 2022.

airBaltic in brief:

airBaltic (AIR BALTIC CORPORATION) is the most punctual airline in Europe connecting the Baltic region with over 70 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, and the CIS. airBaltic is a joint stock company that was established in 1995. Its primary shareholder is the Latvian state, which holds around 80% of the stock, while Lars Thuesen holds around 20% through his fully-owned Aircraft Leasing 1 SIA. The airBaltic fleet consists of 37 aircraft – 21 Airbus A220-300s, 4 Boeing 737s and 12 Bombardier Q400Next Gen aircraft. airBaltic has received numerous international awards for excellence and innovative services. In 2017, the airline received the CAPA Regional Airline of the Year award, while in 2018 and 2019 airBaltic received the ATW Airline Industry Achievement Award as the Market Leader of the Year. In addition, in 2019 airBaltic received Sector Leadership Award by Airline Business. airBaltic achieved the best on-time performance globally in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017.