Latvian national carrier airBaltic (BT) has announced the delivery and acquisition of the company’s 42nd Airbus A220-300 aircraft.
The aircraft was ferried from the Montreal Mirabel Airport (YMX) to Riga (RIX) on May 27, and becomes the third A220-300 delivery for airBaltic so far in 2023.
Thus far, the company has seen great success with the aircraft type, and has recorded more than 11,600,000 passenger flown with the aircraft. Across the fleet, the type has completed close to 133,000 flights and logged over 289,000 block hours.
The delivery
airBaltic has officially welcomed its 42nd A220 aircraft, carrying the registration YL-ABP. The ferry flight from Montréal Mirabel Airport (YMX), was tracked to 7 hour and 56 minutes to airBaltic’s hub of Riga and Riga International Airport (RIX), on May 27, according to Radarbox.com.
The delivery becomes the third one this year for the company, and acts as part of the 50 A220 aircraft ordered by airBaltic. The company holds an additional purchase right for 30 more aircraft within the agreement.
The previous deliveries
April 29 saw airBaltic, the Latvian national airline, take delivery of their latest Airbus A220-300 aircraft registered YL-ABO.
The delivery concludes the second Airbus A220 delivery for airBaltic so far in 2023, with both deliveries having taken place in April. YL-ABN, the first delivery of the year, was seen delivered previously the same month.
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AviationSource previously covered airBaltic’s reveal of their 40th Airbus A220 aircraft prior to delivery, which featured quite a spectacular livery. Revealed on airBaltic’s social media accounts, YL-ABN was showcased in the hangar of Montréal Mirabel (YMX), featuring the company’s fourth flag-livery aircraft.
The airframe becomes the second of airBaltic’s aircraft to feature the Latvian flag as its livery, with the second one being YL-CSL, an airframe that was painted to mark the 100th anniversary of Latvia.
When YL-ABN was delivered to the carrier, it became their 5th special, alongside the following –
- YL-CSJ – Carrying an Estonian Flag special livery.
- YL-CSK – Carrying a Lithuanian Flag special livery.
- YL-CSL – Carrying a Latvian Flag special livery.
- YL-AAU – Carrying a 100th Airbus A220 sticker.
On Twitter upon the reveal, airBaltic commented, “We’re happy to reveal a long-awaited milestone – our 40th Airbus aircraft will carry the Latvian flag colors!”
“We’re proud that A220-300 carries Latvia’s name in the world and we’re looking forward to strengthening the bond with our valued partners between Latvia and Canada in the future!”
About airBaltic
airBaltic is a international airline from Latvia and is the national flag carrier for the country, with bases in neighbouring Baltic countries, Estonia and Lithuania.
The airline flies to more than 70 destinations across Europe and the Middle East from its bases in the Baltic countries.
Furthermore than airline operates a total fleet of 40 Airbus A220-300s. In fact, it is the only airline in the world with a all-A220 fleet and the airline with the largest fleet of A220s.
The airline was formed in was formed in 1995 with the signing of a joint venture between SAS and the Latvian state.
The airline began operations with a Saab 340 which grew to 3 aircraft before being replaced by 10 Fokker 50s, plus 4 Avro RJ70s.
2003 saw the first 737-500 delivered to the fleet and then in the following year, the airlines base in Vilnius, Lithuania was established with 5 destinations initially.
