airBaltic (BT, Riga) has ended the wet-leasing in of all aircraft and will operate all of its in-house flights using its own A220-300s during the Winter 2024/25 season.
"Our adaptability this past summer allowed us to maintain all planned operations despite external challenges. Our first priority is always to deliver the best customer experience through focusing solely on our A220-300 fleet, while we have sufficient aircraft availability, and we're committed to expanding and strengthening our fleet to support the growing demand for air travel from our passengers," President and CEO Martin Gauss said.
The Latvian carrier operates forty-eight A220-300s and has 42 more on firm order from Airbus. One delivery is expected "soon." The airline had been forced to resort to multiple wet leases during the summer season largely due to Pratt & Whitney PW1500G engine issues. The ch-aviation fleets module shows that ten A220s are currently inactive.
Gauss told ch-aviation before the peak season that while the situation had improved compared to 2023 (when airBaltic had to wet-lease in up to 14 aircraft), it was not good enough to avoid the use of supplemental ACMI. As of October 2024, the airline contracted six aircraft: three A319-100s (two from Carpatair and one from Avion Express) and three A320-200s (two from Heston Airlines and one from Avion Express). All of them ended operations for airBaltic on October 26, 2024.
airBaltic continues to pursue opportunities to wet-lease its own A220s out to other carriers. Sixteen of its A220s are currently operating for Lufthansa Group carriers: seven for Swiss, five for Eurowings, and four for Lufthansa.
