airBaltic receives its 31st Airbus A220-300
On September 16, 2021, Latvian airline airBaltic welcomed its 31st Airbus A220-300 jet, registered as YL-ABE, in Riga. This is the sixth out of seven planned Airbus A220-300 aircraft deliveries for airBaltic in 2021. This aircraft is a part of the 50 Airbus A220-300 which airBaltic has ordered. In addition, airBaltic holds 30 options and purchase rights for the same aircraft type.
Since introduction of the Airbus A220-300 aircraft in late 2016, airBaltic has carried over 6 505 932 passengers on the aircraft. Thus far, most passengers have been carried to such destinations as Amsterdam, Paris, London, and Moscow. Airbus A220-300’s have completed over 78 246 flights and flown over 175 312 block hours.
Since May 2020, airBaltic operates all its flights with a single aircraft type – Airbus A220-300, thus minimizing the complexity and benefiting from the additional efficiency provided by the aircraft.
The Airbus A220-300 has performed beyond the company’s expectations, delivering better overall performance, fuel efficiency and convenience for both passengers and the 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 Airbus A220-300 has a high-quality air filtering system equipped with High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) type filter that provides the best level of filtration currently available for recirculated cabin air from the very beginning of boarding, during entire flight and until all passengers have left the aircraft. The quality of cabin air is carefully controlled and is recirculated with ventilation rates that provide a total change of air 20-30 times per hour.
In addition, 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.
airBaltic in brief:
airBaltic (Air Baltic Corporation AS) is one of the most punctual airlines in the world 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 96.14% of the stock, while Lars Thuesen holds 3.86% through his fully-owned Aircraft Leasing 1 SIA. airBaltic operates 31 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. 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 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.
