Celebrations have occurred in Mirabel, Canada, as the Latvian airline airBaltic unveils its 50th A220-300 Airbus. The celebrations consisted of a portrayal display representing the flag of Latvia, along with elements of the Baltic states Estonia and Lithuania.
The Competition to Unveil the Best Portrayal
In late 2023, artists competed to design the best livery portrayal of airBaltic’s new A220-300 Airbus. Over 28,000 airBaltic loyalty members could submit their say on which of the 840 designs stood out the most.
Soon after the voting, 21 designs for this livery competition were shortlisted, and the top 3 designs were chosen to represent it commendably. Over 30% of voters then agreed that one of these three designs was worthy of being the winner.
Producing this livery portrayal, which took 18 days and used up to 21 colours, has been dubbed the most complex A220 design to date. Nonetheless, it has maintained an accurate representation of the Baltic regions.
The Vision of airBaltic Moving Forwards
Reaching the 50th A220-300 Airbus is a fantastic achievement for airBaltic. It has done this while continuing to provide a service of accommodating 100-150 passengers per aircraft, using a maximum of 3600 nautical miles.
However, it is looking towards its current vision: launch its 100th A220-300 aircraft by 2030.
The CEO and President of airBaltic, Martin Gauss, explains this further:
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.
He continues
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.
Let us know what you think of this milestone in the comments below.
