AirBaltic Corp AS is doubling its fleet, which consists entirely of Airbus SE A220s. The Latvian airline has now placed its fourth follow-on order for this model to accelerate growth in its home market.
The airline has confirmed options for an additional 10 jets to its previous order of 30 aircraft, which it announced in Dubai in 2023, AirBaltic said in a statement on Tuesday. The airline already operates a fleet of 48 A220s and the new batch will be delivered from 2026, it said.
Latvia’s flagship airline is one of the largest operators of the A220 and plans to expand the fleet to nearly 100 aircraft. CEO Martin Gauss is a strong advocate of the A220, calling the model the “backbone” of Air Baltic’s operations.
“We will secure even more in the future and these 100 aircraft will then expand our operations from the Baltics,” Gauss said in an interview.
AirBaltic plans to base more aircraft in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania and expand further into the Nordic countries as the fleet grows. The company will also increase flight frequencies from destinations where it makes sense, Gauss said.
The airline is one of those affected by Pratt & Whitney’s engine problems on Airbus planes. Gauss said in July the situation was improving and fewer jets were grounded compared to last summer.
AirBaltic plans to conduct a potential IPO in the second half of the year after the company reports its first annual profit since 2018. The Latvian state owns almost 98% of AirBaltic shares.
