Summary
- airBaltic has opted to take delivery of another ten Airbus A220-300 aircraft, with the airline following-up its order from the Dubai Airshow in November 2023.
- After the airline takes delivery of its 50th A220-300, Airbus will begin delivering the additional 40 aircraft of the type in 2026.
- Other airlines, such as Breeze Airways, Delta Air Lines, and JetBlue have substantial A220-300 backlogs.
airBaltic
has exercised ten more options for the Airbus A220-300 aircraft, bringing its total order book to 90 aircraft with the latest agreement.
Exercising options from a previous order
According to the announcement, airBaltic has opted for ten more A220-300 aircraft following its original order during the Dubai Airshow in November 2023.
Then, the Riga Airport (RIX)-based carrier ordered 30 A220-300s and added 20 options to the agreement.
Photo: Michele Ursi | Shutterstock
Martin Gauss, the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of airBaltic, remarked that the airline planned to operate a fleet of almost 100 aircraft for the first time in its history.
The exercise of the ten options was another move in the right direction since the aircraft has proven its operational capabilities and value, becoming the backbone of airBaltic’s operations, Gauss added.
“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.”
Currently, airBaltic has 48
A220-300
aircraft in its fleet, eight of which are inactive. It welcomed its 48th aircraft of the type on July 23, according to ch-aviation data.
Related
airBaltic Welcomes 48th Airbus A220-300 Jet To The Fleet
This was airBaltic’s second new aircraft delivery in 2024, with the Airbus A220-300 entering service just hours after its delivery.
Deliveries starting in 2026
Initially, airBaltic purchased 20 A220-300s, which included ten options, in December 2012, back when the aircraft program was still known as the Bombardier CSeries. The Latvian airline firmed up three options in February 2014, followed by another seven in April 2016.
In May 2018, the carrier added another 30 CSeries aircraft to its backlog, with the order including another 30 options.
Photo: StockPhotosLV | Shutterstock
Following the deliveries of its 50th aircraft,
Airbus
, which became the controlling entity of the A220 program with the Government of Quebec, Canada, in February 2020, will begin delivering the extra 40 A220-300s to the RIX-based airline in 2026.
According to Benoît de Saint-Exupéry, the executive vice president of sales of Airbus Commercial Aircraft, the company was thankful that airBaltic had added further Airbus aircraft to its order book.
“This latest agreement from Latvia’s flag carrier is a strong endorsement of the superior value and operational opportunities offered by this latest generation aircraft.”
Saint-Exupéry added that the
A220
was “quite simply the most efficient aircraft in its size category,” with its spacious cabin resulting in the best net promoter scores (NPS) in whatever part of the world airlines flew the type.
As of July 31, Airbus has booked more than 900 orders from 30 different customers for the A220, delivering around 350 aircraft of the type, the manufacturer’s statement added.
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Biggest operators of the A220-300
While currently airBaltic has the largest fleet of A220-300 aircraft, several airlines have bigger backlogs than the Latvian airline.
Air France
(36 aircraft) and JetBlue (34 aircraft) are the second and third-largest operators of the larger A220.
Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock
However,
Delta Air Lines
and JetBlue are scheduled to add another 74 and 66 A220-300 aircraft to their fleets, respectively, taking their respective A220-300 fleets to 100 aircraft.
Breeze Airways is another US-based carrier with a substantial A220-300 order book. The airline, which currently operates 26 aircraft of the type, should take delivery of another 66 A220-300s, ch-aviation data showed.
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