airBaltic is celebrating the milestone delivery of their 50th Airbus A220-200 in Mirabel, Canada with the first in-person reveal of a special livery. The design features an artistic portrayal of the Latvian flag, and elements representing all three Baltic States.
On Wednesday (February 6, 2025). airBaltic announced the milestone delivery of their 50th Airbus A220-300 in Mirabel Canada. To mark the occasion, the carrier conducted their first-ever in-person reveal of the aircraft, which features a bespoke livery. The design includes an artistic rendering of the Latvian flag, as well as elements representing all three Baltic States – Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania, and features an artistic depiction of a girl soaring through the clouds. Other elements inspired by the rich heritage and nature of the Baltic Region include a ladybug, a swallow and a stork. The uniquely painted aircraft is scheduled to join the airBaltic fleet later this month.
Speaking at the reveal ceremony in Mirabel, Canada on Wednesday, airBaltic’s President and CEO, Martin Gauss, said,
“More than eight years ago, we became the global launch operator of the Airbus A220-300, which has since become the backbone of our operations. This milestone aircraft represents the completion of our initial order and brings us halfway to our goal of doubling in size and operating a single-type fleet of 100 A220-300s by 2030.
“We are glad to be here with our long-standing partner Airbus and stakeholders to celebrate the reveal of our special milestone aircraft. airBaltic continues to lead the aviation industry in the Baltics, and with this rich culture in mind, we wanted the livery to reflect a glimpse of all the beauty the three Baltic nations have to offer. Every time it will take to the skies, it will proudly carry a small part of the Baltic spirit with it.”
Also commenting at the ceremony, Airbus Canada’s CEO, Benoît Schultz, added,
“As the first to have received an A220-300 eight years ago, airBaltic is one of our long-standing customers. We are pleased to celebrate the revealing of their 50th A220. We are honoured to continue being the partner of choice of airBaltic as they continue increasing their A220 fleet.”
airBaltic launched a global design contest in late 2023 soliciting ideas for the special 50th A220-300 livery. In total, 840 entries were submitted, and after votes from over 28,000 airBaltic Club loyalty members, 21 designs made the cut. The top three designs were then acquired by airBaltic, with the winning design ultimately receiving over 30 percent of the total shortlisted design votes. The aircraft painting was accomplished over 18 days, using a total of 21 colors, and using, for the first time, a stencil overlay technique to layer the colors.
airBaltic Celebrates the Milestone Delivery of Their 50th Airbus A220-300 on Wednesday, February 5, 2025 - Courtesy airBaltic
Established in 1995, Air Baltic Corporation SA (airBaltic) is a joint stock company with most of the equity (97.97%) held by the Latvian state and the remaining 2.03% held by other shareholders. Lufthansa Group plans on taking a minority stake in the company by Q2 2025, subject to regulatory approval. One of the most punctual carriers in the world, the airline connects the Baltic region with over 130 routes from Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius, Tampere, and seasonally from Gran Canaria to more than 80 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus region. The carrier operates a single fleet type of 50 Airbus A220-300s, and plans on expanding their A220-300 fleet to 100 aircraft by 2030. The airline Group also includes Air Baltic Training SIA, Loyalty Services SIA, Baltijas Kravu Centrs SIA and Crew Resources AS. airBaltic currently employs over 2,700 team members.
Source: airBaltic