DALLAS — On November 21, 2023, an A220-300 with the registration YL-ABS arrived at Riga International Airport (RIX), marking the arrival of the 45th Airbus plane in airBaltic’s (BT) fleet. This particular aircraft is the final addition to the airline’s fleet from a Baltic country for the year.
Since November 2016, when the first Airbus A220 landed in Riga, this model of aircraft has completed approximately 150,000 flights for BT. The 45 planes in the fleet have collectively carried a staggering 13,441,000 passengers and flown a total of 328,000 block hours in the air.
The Largest A220 Operator in Europe
During the Dubai Airshow 223, BT confirmed an incremental order for 30 A220-300 aircraft, making the airline the largest A220 customer in Europe and second-largest in the world. The airline’s total firm order book for the A220-300 reached 80 aircraft.
With the order and the latest A220 arrival, the flag carrier of Latvia is the largest operator of this aircraft type in the world. BT has a long history with the Airbus A220-300, having been the launch customer in 2016 and subsequently refreshing its fleet to exclusively operate this aircraft type in 2020.
airBaltic’s mission is to standardize its fleet, leading to the retirement of the Bombardier Dash Q400 and Boeing 737 families by the end of April 2020. This strategic move allows the airline to offer a unified product to its clients.
Featured image: Airbus A220-300, YL-ABS. Photo: airBaltic via Facebook
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Article source: https://airwaysmag.com/airbaltic-45th-a220-300/
