airBaltic marks 27 year anniversary

Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “Our growth over the last 27 years has been staggering – from just 190 flights in an average month of 1995 to 3685 this August. We have achieved major milestones over the past 27 years which has helped to strengthen and continue our successful growth path. airBaltic’s success wouldn’t be possible without our employees, passengers and partners, therefore I would like to thank them for being with airBaltic throughout all these years. Our aim for the future is to continue improving our services to remain the number one carrier in the Baltics, providing the best connectivity to and from the region.”

The airline was established in the early autumn of 1995 with the signing of a joint venture between the Latvian state and Scandinavian Airlines (SAS). On October 1, airBaltic operated its first commercial flight, from Riga to Stockholm, with the Saab SF340 aircraft. Throughout October 1995, airBaltic carried 4 400 passengers on 209 flights. During these 27 years, airBaltic has carried a total of over 50 million passengers on more than 841 thousand flights.

Today airBaltic operates a fleet of 36 Airbus A220-300 aircraft, making airBaltic the largest operator of the type globally. The airline connects Baltic region by performing direct flights on more than 70 routes. The company currently employs more than 2000 professionals.

airBaltic in brief:

airBaltic (Air Baltic Corporation AS) connects the Baltic region with over 70 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, and the CIS. Over the last 26 years airBaltic has developed as a strong, profitable and internationally respected airline, which employs more than 2000 employees. airBaltic is by far the best known international brand of Latvia and responsible for more than 2.5% of the Latvian GDP. airBaltic operates 36 Airbus A220-300 aircraft. airBaltic has received numerous international awards for excellence and innovative services. Skytrax has awarded Latvian airline airBaltic a five–star COVID-19 safety rating and the Best Airline in Eastern Europe in 2022. In addition, airBaltic is one of the Top twenty airlines for COVID-19 compliance by the safety, product, and COVID-19 rating agency Airlineratings.com. 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 is a joint stock company that was established in 1995. Its primary shareholder is the Latvian state, which holds 97.96% of the stock, while the rest of the shareholders hold 2.04%.

Aviation industry indirectly provides close to 30 000 jobs in Latvia, while millions of people transfer through Riga, yet many more arrive to Latvia. Each year foreign tourists spend more than EUR 750 million in Latvia. Find out more: https://blog.airbaltic.com/airbaltic-an-asset-for-the-national-economy-of-latvia/.