Latvian flag carrier airBaltic is continuing to firm up orders for more aircraft, and I can’t help but be impressed by this carrier’s growth.
In this post:
airBaltic now has 90 firm Airbus A220 orders
airBaltic has just firmed up an order for an incremental 10 Airbus A220-300s. With this airBaltic now has firm orders for 90 A220s, with options for an additional 10 aircraft, meaning the carrier could eventually have up to 100 aircraft.
For context on this order, prior to mid-2023, the airline only had a total of 50 A220s on order — the airline already has 48 A220s in its fleet, so it was nearing the end of its prior order book. Then the airline announced plans to order up to 50 more of these jets, including firm orders for 30 more jets, and options for 20 more jets. So with today’s announcement, 10 of those 20 options have been made firm.
airBaltic has made it clear that the airline hopes to operate a fleet of 100 jets by 2030, as an all-Airbus A220 operator. The airline was the launch customer for the A220-300 in 2016, and it’s currently the largest operator of this variant in the world. The airline has exclusively been flying A220s since 2020, with no signs of that changing.
The Airbus A220-300 is an incredibly capable jet. airBaltic has equipped these planes with 145 seats, and the planes have great fuel economy (25% less fuel burn than previous generation aircraft), industry leading passenger comfort (thanks in large part to the 2-3 configuration), and amazing range (up to 3,450 nautical miles).
Here’s what airBaltic CEO Martin Gauss had to say about this latest order:
“For the first time in the company’s history, airBaltic plans to operate a fleet of close to 100 A220-300 aircraft, and these exercised options are the next step in the right direction. Over the years, this aircraft type has proven its operational capabilities and value – it has been the backbone of our operations and has played an integral role in the international success story of airBaltic. By exercising these options, we are strengthening our unwavering support and trust in the A220 Programme and are looking forward to our fleet expansion over the upcoming years.”
The success & growth of airBaltic makes me happy
airBaltic is just such a breath of fresh air in the airline industry, in my opinion:
- The airline is government owned, yet despite that, is run with incredible discipline and like a for-profit operation
- The level of fleet consistency that airBaltic has been focused on is basically unrivaled, and I love how the airline just keeps doubling down on the same plane, as the synergies are amazing
- airBaltic has grown slowly but steadily in recent years, with a level of consistency that you also don’t see from many airlines, let alone ones owned by the government
- Despite having a tough several years (between the pandemic and the closure of Russian airspace), airBaltic has maintained its core strategy and has gotten creative, from leasing out its jets to other airlines, to setting up hubs at other destinations in winter
- I think airBaltic’s hustle of leasing out A220s to other operators is really smart and worth highlighting; the airline has lower labor costs than many other European countries, and the A220 is a plane that’s easy to lease out, when other airlines need additional capacity in peak season
Oh, airBaltic’s CEO is also pretty darn cool, as he’s an Airbus A220 captain himself. What a guy!
Now, the one thing I’ll say is that with airBaltic planning on growing its fleet to 100 A220s over time, I do wonder where exactly the airline plans to fly all those planes during off-peak periods. I imagine this strategy has to rely heavily on airBaltic’s robust wet leasing business, but that demand exists in summer, and not winter.
While airBaltic has had success with setting up some foreign bases, having 100 jets to fly profitably in winter is no small task.
Bottom line
airBaltic now has a firm order for up to 90 Airbus A220-300s, plus options for 10 more of these planes. In total, airBaltic hopes to fly 100 A220s by 2030. airBaltic is such an impressive airline, and incredibly well run. I’m happy to see the carrier’s continued success, despite the industry challenges it has faced.
What do you make of airBaltic’s A220 order?
While I do agree that Air Baltic is a fascinating carrier, and has an excellent on board experience, I do have to point something out about its consistency, as you highlighted above.
The airline is currently wet-leasing 2 Airbus A319 from a sub-par Romanian charter airline called Carpatair to operate their own flights, while leasing out their new A220 to other carriers. In past summer seasons, they have even wet-leased old Fokker 100's to...
While I do agree that Air Baltic is a fascinating carrier, and has an excellent on board experience, I do have to point something out about its consistency, as you highlighted above.
The airline is currently wet-leasing 2 Airbus A319 from a sub-par Romanian charter airline called Carpatair to operate their own flights, while leasing out their new A220 to other carriers. In past summer seasons, they have even wet-leased old Fokker 100's to run on their own flights.
It's certainly not a good look when you're leasing out your own brand-new, state of the art aircraft to other carriers, yet operating your flights with other old, out of date wet-leased aircraft.
This is great news. I am a huge fan of airBaltic‘s A220s. Being Munich-based, I regularly find myself on board one of these planes, as airBaltic operates several Lufthansa routes as a wet-lease partner. From a passenger perspective, it‘s like day and night between an airBaltic A220 and any LH plane - seat pitch, seat comfort and padding, the large windows, the bright cabin etc. Always a delight!
There's nothing wrong with a government-owned airline, as long as the guidance is limited to "Go away and make money"! Does the airline borrow commercially or is it able to use government rates of interest, though, which would give it an advantage over private sector competitors. I'm wondering the same about Ethiopian, which seems to have a similar relationship with its government owner.
Is there no leasing market during the winter months in the southern hemisphere?
1 The airline will have financing at regular market rates due to EU rule for fair competition.
2 The market for wet leasing in the Southern Hemisphere it way too small. Additionally it would be way too bureaucratic to transfer European airplanes & crews there, while shifting within the EU is much more easy.
I believe that the wet-leasing market in the southern hemisphere is much smaller than in the north. SunExpress is wetleasing a couple of aircraft and crew to SAA in northern winter, which seems to work well. However, I believe that other markets like Australia don't have a similiar volatility in demand compared to Europe.