The Department of Transportation (DOT) has approved airBaltic
adding the United Airlines designator code UA to the flights that it operates on behalf of Lufthansa Group airlines, including Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines.
Gaining DOT approval
On November 15, the DOT approved airBaltic’s request to add United Airlines’ UA designator code to its flights that it operates on a wet lease basis on behalf of Austrian Airlines
and 
Lufthansa
, which are part of the Lufthansa Group, as well as 
Star Alliance
.
The approval, which has no expiration date, allows airBaltic to add the United States-based carrier’s code to any flights between points in the European Union (EU) and from the EU to third countries.
Photo: MBekir | Shutterstock
However, the Department outlined several conditions, including that the approval will remain in effect as long as all four airlines have the necessary underlying authority to operate codeshare services, and the quartet must also notify the DOT no later than 30 days before they begin new codeshare services.
They must also notify the DOT
if the codeshare agreement is no longer effective or the airlines decide to cease operating any approved codeshare services, the Department’s filing read.
“Notwithstanding any provisions in the contract between the carriers, our approval here is expressly conditioned upon the requirements that the subject foreign air transportation be sold in the name of the carrier holding out such service in the computer reservation systems and elsewhere […].”
The airline selling the codeshare agreement must also accept responsibility for the entirety of the codeshare journey for all passengers, and that the operating carrier’s traveler liability will not be affected.
The DOT also warned that the codeshare agreement must stipulate that no US-based carrier’s flight code – in this case, 
United Airlines
– would be displayed on flights that fly through the airspace of any area for whose airspace the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA
) has issued a flight prohibition.
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Wet lease operations
In September, Lufthansa Group
announced that it extended its wet lease agreement with airBaltic for up to three additional years beyond the summer season in 2025.
“This partnership enables to flexibly deploy up to 21 additional aircraft of the fuel-efficient Airbus A220-300 in summer and five aircraft of this type in winter at various hubs.”
Data from the aviation analytics company Cirium showed that between March and October, airBaltic had operated an average of 267.7 weekly flights on behalf of Lufthansa and Swiss International Air Lines ( SWISS
).
Photo: Michael Derrer Fuchs | Shutterstock
The Riga Airport
(RIX)-based airline had begun flying its aircraft for Lufthansa in April, with the schedules showing that it should not operate any itineraries on behalf of the German airline during the current winter season.
Meanwhile, it will continue operating a substantial network on behalf of SWISS beyond the summer season in 2024, which ended in late October.
Cirium data showed that in November and December, airBaltic is scheduled to operate 218 and 178 weekly departures on behalf of the Swiss airline, respectively.
The DOT approved airBaltic to carry United Airlines’ designator code on SWISS-marketed flights on September 26.
When airBaltic applied for the DOT’s approval for the codeshare flights that it would operate on behalf of Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines, it said that United Airlines carried out a safety audit as part of its application submission regarding codeshare flights with SWISS.
“That safety audit remains valid for this additional application for United to codeshare on airBaltic [flights operated on behalf of] Lufthansa and […] Austrian [Airlines].”
In late October, reports emerged that Lufthansa Group was eyeing a minority stake in airBaltic, which has been preparing to launch its initial public offering (IPO) and become a publicly traded company.
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Aligning closer with Lufthansa
On November 6, airBaltic said that it would extend its codeshare partnership with Lufthansa, which will result in the airline placing its BT designator code on the German carrier’s domestic flights from Munich Airport
(MUC):
Photo: Great Circle Mapper
The two airlines have had a codeshare agreement since 2020, which has resulted in Lufthansa placing its LH code on the Latvian airline’s flights from Riga, Tallinn Airport (TLL), and Vilnius Airport
(VNO) to Munich.
At the same time, airBaltic has a close relationship with Air France-KLM
. In addition to an extensive codeshare agreement, the carrier’s loyalty program allows customers to earn points on specific codeshare flights operated by either of the Franco-Dutch group’s carriers.
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