The Latvian government-owned airline airBaltic carried 4,135 711 passengers or 17% more than 2017 during 2018. It is the highest number of passengers carried in airline’s history.
Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “Our airline has a strong and efficient hybrid business model, loyal passengers and dedicated employees. In addition to our new aircraft, we were able to continue our sustainable growth and build the groundwork for future success.”
“In 2019, we will continue to grow, by adding at least six new routes and additional capacities on various other destinations. From Riga, we will launch flights to Dublin, Stuttgart and Lviv. We will continue to grow our presence also in Tallinn, by adding flights to Malaga, Brussels and Copenhagen,” Martin Gauss added.
In 2018, airBaltic operated a total of 56 261 flights or 12% more than in 2017. The airline’s load factor, which represents the number of passengers as a proportion of the number of available seats, was at a level of 75% in 2018.
2018
|
2017
|
Change
| |
Number of passengers
|
4 135 711
|
3 523 300
|
+17%
|
Number of flights
|
56 261
|
50 093
|
+12%
|
Load factor
|
75%
|
76%
|
-1%-point
|
15-minute flight punctuality indicator
|
88%
|
88%
|
0%-points
|
December 2018
|
December 2017
|
Change
| |
Number of passengers
|
292 765
|
264 879
|
+11%
|
Number of flights
|
4 470
|
3 951
|
+13%
|
Load factor
|
64%
|
67%
|
-3%-points
|
15-minute flight punctuality indicator
|
86%
|
83%
|
+3%-points
|
On January 3rd, 2019, it was announced that Latvian airline airBaltic has retained its place as the most punctual airline in Europe and is the second most punctual in the world according to the OAG analysts. They tracked the performance of over 58 million flight records in 2018 to create a ranking of the best on-time performance (OTP) for the world’s largest airlines and airports. airBaltic has been on the top of the global on-time performance ranking for the past five consecutive years.
airBaltic serves over 70 destinations from Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius, offering the largest variety of destinations and convenient connections via Riga to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, the CIS and the Middle East. For summer 2019, airBaltic will launch new direct routes from Riga to Dublin, Stuttgart and Lviv. In addition, next summer airBaltichas introduced three new destinations from Tallinn to Malaga, Brussels and Copenhagen.
airBaltic is the most punctual airline in Europe connecting the Baltic region with over 70 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, and the CIS. airBaltic is a joint stock company that was established in 1995. Its primary shareholder is the Latvian state, which holds 80.05% of the stock, while Lars Thuesen holds around 20% through his fully-owned Aircraft Leasing 1 SIA. The airBaltic fleet consists of 34 aircraft – 14 Airbus A220-300s, 8 Boeing 737s and 12 Bombardier Q400Next Gen aircraft. airBaltic has received numerous international awards for excellence, innovative services, and achievements in reshaping its business. In 2017, the airline received the CAPA Regional Airline of the Year awards, while in 2018 airBaltic received the ATW Airline Industry Achievement Award as the Market Leader of the Year. airBaltic achieved the best on-time performance globally in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017. 
(Images airBaltic / Airbus)
