Paraphrasing the famous book by Louisa May Alcott, small airlines are growing. The Latvian carrier airBaltic was recognized by the web service provider ch-aviation as the winner of the European’s Youngest Aircraft Fleet Award 2021. In the world ranking, airBaltic ranks 5th with an average age of the fleet of 2.40 years.
Martin Gauss, managing director of airBaltic: “We are proud to be recognized as the airline with the most modern aircraft fleet in Europe. Since May 2020 we have been operating with a single type of aircraft, the Airbus A220-300, thus minimizing fuel consumption and benefiting from the additional efficiency provided by the new aircraft. We see the Airbus A220-300 as one of our main competitive advantages that we enjoy today and in the future as well. Each of our Airbus aircraft can generate around € 20 million in revenue per year if used efficiently. In the case of airBaltic this could mean a turnover close to 1 billion euros in the year 2025 “.
Thomas Jaeger Founder, owner and CEO of ch-aviation: “We find the growth of airBaltic over the past two years impressive. Upgrading the aircraft fleet from the Boeing 737 Classics and Dash 8-Q400 to the all-new Airbus A220-300 is no easy task. Our data also clearly shows how quickly airBaltic has renewed its fleet, which shouldn’t go unnoticed. On behalf of ch-aviation, I congratulate airBaltic on the successful rollover of the fleet “.
The Youngest Aircraft Fleet Award honors airlines around the world for maintaining a young, modern and efficient fleet. To determine which airlines currently have the youngest aircraft fleets, ch-aviation relies on an extensive database of over 5,000 operators and more than 65,000 aircraft worldwide.
Since the introduction of the Airbus A220-300 at the end of 2016, airBaltic has carried over 5,600,000 passengers to destinations such as Rome, Amsterdam, Paris, London and Moscow. The Airbus A220-300s completed nearly 60,000 routes for a total of over 141,000 flight hours.
The Airbus A220-300 went beyond business expectations, delivering overall performance, fuel efficiency and convenience that was beneficial to both passengers and staff. The passenger experience is excellent thanks to wider seats, larger windows, more space for hand luggage in the cabin, improved toilets and much more.
The Airbus A220-300 is equipped with a high-quality HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) air filtration system with the best filtration level currently available: the air in the cabin is recycled throughout the duration of the flight with a total air exchange 20-30 times per hour.