AirBaltic to take sixth and seventh CS300 within four days

Latvian carrier airBaltic expects to receive two more Bombardier CS300s by mid-July, eight months after becoming the launch customer for the larger CSeries variant. The airline plans to receive its sixth Bombardier CS300 on July 10 and its seventh on July 14.

“Within four days, two additional CS300s will join our fleet,” airBaltic chairman and CEO Martin Gauss told ATW on the sidelines of an Airlines for Europe (A4E) event in Brussels, June 29. “We expect aircraft number eight later this year. This will be then the last one for 2017. ”

By the end of 2019, airBaltic plans to have 20 Bombardier CS300 aircraft in its fleet.

“The CS300 became already our workhorse“, Gauss said, adding within the next two years employee training will continue as new aircraft join the carrier.

During the transition period as the airline switches from Boeing 737s to CS300s, three additional wet-leased aircraft will operate during the summer peak period.

“From 15 Boeing 737-300/500s, we [now] have eleven in our operations. Nine we bought from leasing companies,” Gauss said. “We need these aircraft during the transition period.”

“AirBaltic has been never [as] successful [as during] the first six months of 2017,” Gauss said. “The new CS300 is changing the image of airBaltic every day. Now we are focusing [on] the carrier [to] get an even more European touch“.

AirBaltic will add eight to 10 new routes next year. The airline has 20 CS300 jets on firm order.