On Friday, 28 November 2019, Latvian airline airBaltic received its 21st Airbus A220-300 at the Airbus aircraft programme’s headquarters in Mirabel, Canada.
Sporting an updated livery, this aircraft marks the next phase in the airBaltic fleet modernization plan. From now on, 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 will be the first delivery of the additional order that was signed on 28 May 2018, for purchase of 30 Airbus A220-300 aircraft with options for an additional 30 aircraft of the same type.
At the end of 2019, airBaltic plans to have a total of 22 Airbus A220-300 aircraft in its fleet, and that number will rise to 26 by the end of 2020.
“We are truly proud to be the launch operator of the Airbus A220-300 aircraft which, being an integral part of airBaltic’s fleet over the last three years has demonstrated an outstanding performance,” said Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic. “To introduce this aircraft was a forward-thinking decision that has most certainly paid off as A220 family aircraft are not only considerably more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly, but also more convenient for both passengers and staff. The vision of an all-Airbus A220 fleet by 2023 is the backbone of airBaltic’s Destination 2025 business plan and the celebration of our 21st A220-300 aircraft from the newest order marks another step towards the set aim.”
Celebrating 100th A220 Milestone
The A220-300 jet, registered as YL-AAU, is also the 100th of the aircraft type to be produced in Mirabel.
In honour of the 100th aircraft milestone, a special ceremony took place yesterday at the Airbus aircraft programme’s headquarters in Mirabel, Canada gathering Airbus and airBaltic representatives, partners and media.
Three years ago, on 29 November 2016, airBaltic took delivery of the world’s first Airbus A220-300 (at that time Bombardier CS300) aircraft, registered as YL-CSA, which departed from Montreal-Mirabel and landed in Riga on 30 November 2016.
airBaltic was the first airline in the world to launch commercial operations with Airbus A220-300 on 14 December 2016, on its route linking Riga with Amsterdam. The very first world’s Airbus A220-300 aircraft registered as YL-CSA also has just received the new, improved livery.
- Thus far, airBaltic has carried over 4,000,000 passengers on the Airbus A220-300 aircraft, with every second airBaltic passenger flying on the plane.
- 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 CO2 and NOX emissions by 20% and 50% respectively.
As informed previously, 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.
About airBaltic:
A joint stock company established in 1995, airBaltic connects the Baltic region with over 70 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, and the CIS. 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, 5 Boeing 737s and 12 Bombardier Q400Next Gen aircraft.
airBaltic has received numerous international awards for excellence and innovative services and achieved the best on-time performance globally in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017.